“First
thing is I’m an artist and as an artist I will express how I feel with no
censorship” – Kanye West on Twitter
“Kanye did not call for approval, but did ask Taylor to release his
single Famous on her Twitter account,” said the spokesperson.
“She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a
strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric,
‘I made that b---h famous.’”
I think that these quotes could tie into my investigation
because they offer differing statements regarding the crudeness of Kanye’s
lyrics whilst also highlighting and debating on the idea of freedom of self-expression.
Kanye is clearly a believer in freedom of speech which comes across both in the
music video and in his later statements regarding it. This would allow me to
use these quotes to construct a back-and-forth argument for/against censorship
using the very person it involves and I could then apply this to the wider
range of similar music videos.
She wrote on social media: 'Where in the
video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me 'that b***h' in his song? It
doesn't exist because it never happened. You don't get to control someone's
emotional response to being called 'that b***h' in front of the entire world.
Of course I wanted to like the song. I wanted to believe Kanye when he told me
that I would love the song. – Taylor Swift - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3827274/Kanye-West-s-original-version-controversial-track-Famous-leaked-Taylor-Swift-going-like-one-less.html#ixzz4NiziG900 – This quote provides
evidence of the backlash that a lack of censorship or even consideration of
others can cause when artists decide to name and shame others in their songs.
This could provide evidence for a debate regarding censorship of opinions regarding
others and whether or not misogyny towards other artists should be allowed when
it is masked as “freedom of expression” by the artist who wrote or produced the
piece.
“The first music
video ever banned by MTV was in 1982 when Queen released their homoerotic video
for "Body Language.” -http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/no_offense_music_videos_are_still_prone_to_censorship_but_does_it_matt
This is interesting as it shows that censorship
is nothing new and has been an ongoing phenomenon for years, now. I could
therefore explore the concepts of longevity in this field because it shows that
censorship seems to be a process that is “here to stay”, thus far. This being the
first music video banned by a now main music corporation could have caused an
uproar by audiences which would be interesting to research further as it shows
the social impacts of this process from the audiences’ perspective and thus
provides us with the other side of the argument – that censorship is NOT okay.
“Lady Gaga, artists have
seen that videos with too much sex, too much violence or too many drugs (but
usually too much sex) pushed off the air.” – This piece of text is also very relevant as it explores the common
practice of particularly sexual videos being censored. It also suggests that,
again, this has been happening for years yet artists are still producing this
type of attitude. This shows that they are “standing their ground” and showing
that they will still produce their content, regardless of others’ opinions or
the possibility of their work being taken down. However, it could be argued
that controversiality could be the actual reason for why certain artists will
still broadcast their work. It could be the case that they’re wanting a
reaction, in order to stay relevant in the media. It could all be a façade for
publicity reasons and they therefore may not care or may be glad that their
work has been taken down or censored because they are aware of the impacts of
this (that they would, as a result, get media coverage from their piece which
indirectly promotes their work and their brand as an artist). It’s interesting
that Lady Gaga is mentioned, particularly, in this quote because this ties in
very well with the idea of being extravagant and crossing boundaries in order
to gain fame. An example of this is when she showed up to an event in a meat
dress.
“According to the powers that be, music videos
are now so subversive that they require film-style age certificates. - https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/23/will-age-rating-classifications-music-video-work -This is an interesting comment
since music videos are now being compared to films. This means that people are
looking beyond the artist who may have written or sung the lyrics and looking
more at the institutions behind the piece of production (referred to, here, as
the “powers that be”) at being held responsible for the decisions of broadcast
of media texts. This article is also questioning the validity of the process of
age certificates and whether or not it would work for music video content which
provides text to analyse regarding the necessity of such processes being
conducted.
“Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines gets banned at another university” - https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/12/robin-thicke-blurred-lines-banned-another-university - With this being the
title of the article, this attracts audiences who have already been exposed to
a similar article because it says ”another”. I find it particularly interesting
that this idea of being too sexual has seemingly become a topic of news, as big
firms such as the Guardian are even concerning themselves with the matter. This
makes me wonder whether the case could be that the only reason this controversy
is relevant is because so many large firms are pushing for censorship. This
could explore the ideas of 50 Cent who states that “It's
not really a tragedy to me that that's happening," 50 Cent said. "I
think for a moment a lot of people forgot that our country's at war. They'll
point to usage of content in music like hip-hop and say it maybe influences
violence on some levels and not point to actual films that are released and
have similar content. I personally believe on every level that it's easier to
attack an individual than it is to go after a corporation. They'll go after a
specific hip-hop artist as opposed to a Paramount or a Columbia Pictures.”
(http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1052066/50-cent-ti-speak-their-minds-on-lyric-censorship)
– The reason I think these two
quotations link is because on the one hand, you have large institutions (universities)
banning the work, blaming the individual and then there we have an individual
speaking out on matters of what he seemingly believes to be social injustice
about the masses who blame individuals rather than a corporation. These two
contrasting views could help me during my discussion about the true intetions
of censorship[and whether these intentions come across as well as how they are
perceived by audiences and how it develops either the presence or absence of
censorship in the future.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/robin-thicke-blurred-lines-rapey_n_3461215.html - Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ Dubbed
‘Rapey,’ Hit Song Under Fire From Critics - Yet again, here, we have another eye catching title
which in itself could cause controversy within the comments of the article from
those who criticse or agree with the views of whoever wrote the article. The
artist in question himself, here is also fighting back the critics by defending
his work: We
tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality, drug injections, and
everything that is completely derogatory towards women. Because all three of us
are happily married with children, we were like, “We’re the perfect guys to
make fun of this.”
People say, “Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?” I’m
like, “Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never
gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women.” So we just wanted to
turn it over on its head and make people go, “Women and their bodies are
beautiful. Men are always gonna want to follow them around.” – This is from the article and
I think it may be of particular use in my investigation because it could
contribute to discussions regarding whether or not lack of censorship in a
video or production of such an obscene video could be justified by the artist’s
intentions and views of their own work and perhaps of others who may produce
similar kinds of work.
How did it become such a lightning rod for moral outrage and
censorship? - This one directly mentions
the topic at hand which is help as the article is focusing on the ideas of
censorship. This could benefit me greatly in terms of being able to explore the
opinions of whoever wrote this article in relation to the topic of interest. It
also explains the story behind how this text became such a “cause for concern”
and engaged a “moral panic” as it seems it has, by audiences.
https://www.emaze.com/@ALQIZFIR/Music-video-censorship-and-regulationship
Word Count: 1435, at present.
Word Count: 1435, at present.
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