Music Censorship

3 Pages 762 Words

Music Censorship

From the shocking pelvis shaking of Elvis Presley in the 1950’s, to the much questioned lyrics of Eminem and Marilyn Manson of today, the music industry has always had a way of stirring up controversy in the United States (Zuckerman152). Some may argue that music is too violent and too negative for today’s youth. To other people, music is simply freedom of speech. It’s expression. The battle of music censorship has been fought tome and again, and still there seems to be no resolution to this debate.
The government should not have the right to censor music. Some people may use the influence of music as an argument to censor. But, what is negative influence. Who decides? "Whether a person finds a work obscene depends largely on his or her moral or religious beliefs. These views change with each generation and further complicate the censorship dilemma" (Steffens 97). Religious or moral beliefs have a great influence on how a person feels about censorship, and as generations pass on the common beliefs on it may change.
“They (Americans) may be irritated or outraged, by pop culture, but the polls tell us they understands that the principal causes of violence and other national problems lie elsewhere then in the entertainment industry” (Zuckerman 153). Is there any hard, solid evidence that music has this amazing ability to brainwash the youth and force them to break the law or end their life? Music is not responsible for what goes wrong in society.

Many children often hear explicit language from older siblings or parents at an early age. If parents cannot censor themselves in front of their own children, they should not have the right to censor somebody else.
If a parent takes their child to a record store and buy them a new album, they should know what they are purchasing by screening the album first for any questionable content. If they don't like the content, they can always return it to the store....