R22: Censorship and Controversial Music Videos
- 1. R22: Censorship And Controversial Music Videos
- 2. Some Music Videos Which Have Been Banned Or Censored Blurred Lines By Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, T.I. 2013 Born Free M.I.A 2010 Just Lose It Eminem 2004 Low Foo Fighters 2002 What It Feels Like For A Girl Madonna 2000 Dead End Street The Kinks 1994
- 3. Dead End Street- The Kinks Why was this video controversial? One of the early music videos created by the Kinks in 1966, depicted the bands members as ‘top hat-wearing pallbearers’ and this was deemed as tasteless by the BBC (even though the ‘corpse’ jumped out of the coffin alive and well) this resulted in the BBC banning its first pop video Why was it censored? Quoted from Ray Davis: Not Like Everyone Else “Unfortunately, after its screening, this remarkable three-and-one-half-minute film was banned by the BBC for being distasteful. With minimal controversy, the BBC could allude to the darkly humorous treatment of widows, pallbearers, coffins, and corpses. Perhaps, however, Davies surmised the true reason for the ban: “It showed slums and poverty and so they wouldn’t run it. I guess they prefer films about running around in parks, jumping over chairs.” It is therefore debatable what the real reason for the censorship was however it is presented that it was because of its ‘distasteful’ themes and dark topics such as the pallbearers, coffins and corpses.
- 4. Girls On Film- Duran Duran Why was this video controversial? Even though MTV wanted ‘to appear hip and edgy’ according to the article in Rolling Stones Magazines about 10 Banned Music Videos, they ended up not airing and including “the racy mud-wrestling scene in this 1981 video”. Finally, a edited version was made which featured half the footage and none of the boobs which were originally featured made the cut. However the band used this and ‘capitalised on the controversy’ Why was it censored? The raunchy video created an uproar and it was eventually banned by the BBC and before it ran on MTV originally, it was heavily edited. Moments leading to the censorship of the video: - “A petite female Sumo wrestler mounts the catwalk to confront heavyset male Sumo wrestler. The woman is wearing a sheer top and a mawashi loincloth; the camera follows her as she enters, offering a generous, fetishistic view of her partially exposed buttocks” - “A brunette model removes her fur coat to reveal her breasts and skin-tight see-through plastic knickers underneath”
- 5. Killed By Death- By Motorhead Why was this video controversial? This video illustrated “excessive and senseless violence” which included a scene of the lead singer Lemmy Kilminster ‘zapped in an electric chair” which resulted in MTV sentencing “this metal video to death by obscurity”. To make matters worse, the band had “two female executives deliver the video to MTV while dressed in chains and biker gear” which didn’t at all help the video get on air. Why was this video censored? Because of the ‘excessive and senseless violence’ which was not appropriate for audiences and the way the band presented itself and the video.
- 6. This Note’s For You- Neil Young Why was this video controversial? This satirical video pointed out ‘big-money TV sponsors”. Some of these included Coke, Pepsi and Budweiser. Why did they censor it? MTV decided to ban the video in 1988 because of the singling out of the sponsors however this resulted in the ‘uncool impression’ that MTV did not want to support corporate sponsors. Even though the video was ‘reinstated’ and was able to win the Video of the Year, it made a lot of damage to MTV . In addition to this, Micheal Jackson sent MTV legal threats because of representations of him in the music video.
- 7. The Thunder Rolls- Garth Brooks Why was this video controversial? Brooks presented himself as ‘a cheating husband with bad hair and an even worse temper” in the 1991 video which was eventually banned by the Nashville Network and Country Music Television. This video was controversial because of its depiction of domestic violence Why was it censored? A CMT representative commented the network was "in business to entertain, not to promote or condone gratuitous violence or social issues.“ The Nashville Network therefore wanted ‘Brooks to add a spoken message explaining the violent subject matter” however he refused and said it would appear that he was trying to make money of spousal abuse
- 8. What It Feels Like For A Girl- Madonna Why was this video controversial? Madonna’s partner and ‘slick filmmaker’ Guy Ritchie produced the 2001 video which featured Madonna (the “Vogue” girl) living on the edge. The video was controversial because it included ‘a fictional crime spree that ends with a suicidal bang’ and was overall too violent and graphic. Why was this video censored? Madonna had other videos such as “Justify My Love” and “Erotica” as well as the recent “Girl Gone Wild” banned or limited for its saucy content. For the video “What It Feels Like For A Girl” MTV and VH1 didn’t approve of it because of the fictional crime which ended in suicide. There is a argument that the video was banned off MTV because there was a scene which included Madonna pointing a gun towards the police and MTV had banned previous music videos which had guns. Miller explained that "while Madonna is one of MTV's darlings, she's still a woman, and the idea of a woman taking her aggressions out on men is something the network can just not have
- 9. Low- Foo Fighters Why was this video controversial? The music video included scenes with sex toys which Dave Grohl said he spent six hours of film shooting with actor Jack Black. There were also scenes of Jack Black taking a dump and vomiting and Dave Grohl fondling himself and finally ‘a cross- dressed spanking’ Why was this video censored? The scenes with the sex toys were eventually edited out because of discretion. However MTV still deemed the 2003 video unsuitable for all ages because of this kind of content
- 10. Just Lose It- Eminem Why was this video controversial? Michael Jackson personally called Eminem’s representation of him in this video “inappropriate and disrespectful”. The video was portrayed as controversial because there was ‘one point depicted a noseless Jackson on a bed full of children. Other scenes included ‘Pee-Wee Herman, Vanilla Ice and Madonna are also lampooned”. Furthermore “The music video for "Just Lose It" generated controversy by parodying singer Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984”. Why was this video censored? Because of the inappropriate behaviour and representation Eminem illustrated of Michal Jackson. Furthermore, the timing was worse for Jackson, who at the time was battling child molestation charges and Jackson had many supporters such as Stevie Wonder who disagreed that the music video was out of order.
- 11. Born Free- M.I.A Why was this video controversial? Scenes from this video included one young male getting shot in the head and another blown to pieces in the shocking video ‘depiciting redhead genocide’. Since this video appeared on YouTube, it encouraged thousands to debate racism. Why was it censored? Disturbing scenes such as the ones mentioned above. Additionally, the violence and nudity (that paled by comparison) prompted YouTube to ban the video. There was too much graphic content which depicted political censorship. On 27 April, the BBC reported that the video was being removed in some instances by YouTube, and labelled with an age- restriction in others
- 12. Blurred Lines- Robin Thickle Why was this video controversial? Even though Thicke’s wife gave him permission to shoot surrounded by topless models, the 2013 video was controversial because of scenes such as the one with the helium balloons spelling ‘Robin Thicke has a big dick’. Furthermore, the lyrics of the song and the way he objectified women for his pleasure in the video is also a controversial issue. Overall, it was felt “the song and the music video trivialize sexual consent” and it promoted rape culture because of the title. It was felt that it was sexist towards the female race. Why was this censored? YouTube felt the video was not appropriate because of the naked women who were arguably presented as ‘sexual passive objects’ and were trivialised, however it was then edited so the women were fully dressed and it ‘quickly surpassed a million views after its Vevo debut’
- 13. Reasons Why Music Videos Keep Getting Censored Or Are Controversial Objectifying Women: This issue was even demonstrated as early as the 1900s, there is a sexism issue that women are illustrated as ‘pleasures’ rather than an independent being. This is even presented at now, in the 2013 Blurred Lines video. Violence: Too much ‘uneeded’ and ‘excessive’ violence seems to be another common occurrence. If a video is seen as something which will promote violence among its viewers, it is seen as controversial or having the right to be censored. This clearly happened in M.I.A’s music video which was arguably showing the idea of racism and heavy violence against a certain race Parody Issues: Celebrities such as Michael Jackson have faced this in a number of videos e.g. Just Lose it. The celebrities can pose legal threats to the company airing the video which is another reason videos are censored. Furthermore, they are controversial as people may not agree to the way the celebrity is being represented and deem it as unfair and inappropriate Sexual Content: This is shown very early in music videos. From Madonna to Robin Thickle’s video, the demonstration of too much sexual content needs to be age restricted, so children who are young do not feel this is a trivial lifestyle. Many videos are censored mainly because of this reason, too much sexual content is deemed inappropriate These are the issues which still seem to be a common occurrence in today’s music videos…