Research Into Censorship

Do you think music videos should be censored?

Ofcom receives complaints regarding communication services such as television, radio, magazines, newspapers etc. They have a high level of power across these areas and therefore have a statutory duty to represent the interests of consumers. Their overall aim is to protect the public from what might be harmful or offensive material. Ofcom mainly has control over licensing, research, codes and policies, competition and protecting radio stations from abuse. Whenever a complaint is made about something they’ve seen or heard, the Ofcom assess it against the code.

Ofcom are responsible for banning or censoring specific music videos from YouTube. An example of this is Born Free by M.I.A, which was banned from YouTube in 2010 as it contained graphic and disturbing violence. This included scenes of a sexual nature, an image of a young boy being shot through the head and an extremely graphic image of a man being blown up as he stepped onto a land mine. There was also an underlying narrative, which included military police officers wearing American flag badges raiding a city for all citizens who were ‘ginger’. This evokes a negative image of the military police officers and therefore would provide the audience with a false perspective of the forces. Ofcom ensure that they protect the public from anything that may be harmful or offensive material. Therefore it is evident why this music video was banned from YouTube, as it could be offensive and disturbing for viewers to witness. 

Another example of a music video that Ofcom was responsible for protecting viewers from is, S&M by Rihanna. S&M stands for Sadist and Masochist, which already provides an insight into what the music video may contain. The music video contains extremely sexual references with people wearing ‘gags’ and the words ‘chains and whips excite me’ being used. The language and elements of the music video is extremely inappropriate for younger viewers and may be offensive to anyone who watches the video and regards the S&M factors as unacceptable. Ofcom ban music videos if they believe they may cause harm to people under the age of eighteen. Therefore it is obvious why this music video was banned, as Rihanna is popular with younger teenagers. 

Madonna is an artist who causes an enormous amount of controversy within the music industry. She has created a number of music videos that involve sexual references and elements that could be seen a derogatory. An example of this is the music video for her song “Justify My Love”. It presents Madonna undressing and engaging in sexual activities with men and women, which is so raunchy that it makes Lady Gaga look innocent. Also in Madonna’s video for Girl Gone Wild presents images of her and a man dancing subjectively in very revealing clothing. This video was given an age restriction from YouTube due to the fact she took her music video to a whole new level, which all viewers may not accept. Therefore Ofcom were following their regulations of protecting under eighteens, so that no harm would come to them through watching Madonna’s music video.

Another artist that has been known to cause havoc in the music industry is Lady Gaga. She is known to wear outrageous and over the top outfits such as one made completely of meat, which could be offensive to a majority of people. Lady Gaga was also banned from performing a concert in Indonesia as they objected her show as they claimed it was too vulgar. People from Indonesia were also threatening violence which would of therefore sparked controversy if the show was to go ahead. The Police in Indonesia stated they would allow the singer to perform only if she toned down her show; however Gagas’ management decided to pull her out of the show altogether.

In class we partook in a debate about whether Rihannas music videos should be censored. This is due to the fact she wears provocative clothing and includes sexual references in many of her music videos. Within the debate we had people becoming the roles of; Rihanna, a 15 year old fan, her record label, parents for and against, Kiss100, MTV and AKA. Throughout the debate we came across a varied opinion amongst the people holding these roles. The person with the role of Rihanna stated how Rihanna makes good music and lots of money from it, so therefore people like it. She is successful and stands up for women to make them proud of what they have. This point was supported by the fan who believed Rihannas music videos are a narrative and should not be taken seriously; the focus should remain mainly on Rihanna. The record label also expressed how it is Rihannas job to release music and not to be a role model, so therefore it is down to the audience to idolize her or not. Parents For also commented that if parents educate their children properly they will understand not to copy Rihanna and that her music is purely for entertainment purposes. Conversely Parents against protested how Rihanna should tone down the nudity and drugs in her music videos in case they are influential to children. Kiss100 also added that they only play music that is censored so Rihanna should tone down as she is a role model to a lot of people; this was supported by MTV who said they censor music videos from children so they are not influenced. To finalize AKA stated how their aim is to provide a true reflection of an artist and therefore censorship would prevent this. Consequently, opinions on whether Rihannas music videos should be censored are mixed due to the fact she is so influential on children.