Marilyn Manson Tupac Shakur and Faith Evans
"Bennett bashes Bronfman for Satanic Rock." Human Events 20 Dec. 1996: 6.
This article gives the reactions
of National Political Congress of Black Woman Chairwoman C. Delores Tucker,
Empower America Co-Director William Bennett and Senator Joseph Lieberman on
the topic of MCA releasing CDs that promote "violence, degrade women and
contain liberal doses of profanity and sexually explicit language." Their
main focus was upon the releases of Marilyn Manson and Tupac Shakur. Some
music containing lyrics that m ay offend people is a good point, but a statistic
showing the amount of new releases containing parental advisory would be
stronger. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers made the best
point of the argument that "parents are best positioned to make informed
decisions about music purchases." A parent that interacts with his or her
child would not allow such a graphic CD to be purchased especially if the
child is under the age of sixteen or seventeen. Many stores that sell CDs
containing parental advisory do not sell such CDs to minors because of possible
legal liability. These examples make Tucker, Bennett and Lieberman's argument
of banning all explicit music very weak. There needs to be more evidence
of how bad explicit lyrics can be to children. Also Tucker makes a comment
of selling pornography to children is illegal, this is agreeable, but that
all explicit lyrics are pornographic is very disagreeable; she does not specifically
make this claim, but it can be understood by her comment. Tucker , Bennett
and Lieberman could be so headstrong against Shakur and Manson because neither
can relate to the message in the lyrics. Tupac Shakur is known for his lyrics
to reflect his life experiences on the West Coast in California, and it is
highly probable that Ms. Tucker, Mr. Bennett and Senator Lieberman have not
had a full experience of living in the ghetto surrounded by warring gangs.
Marilyn Manson
Tupac Shakur and Faith Evans
Lieberman, Senator Joseph I. "The Social Impact of Music Violence." Subcommittee on Oversight. Senate, Washington, D.C. 6 Nov. 1997. <http://www.senate.gov/member/ct/lieberman/releases/r110697c.html> 26 Nov. 2002
Senator Lieberman's focus is America's
"broken culture and the risk it presents to our children and our country."
His next point addressed to the subcommittee is about children carrying weapons
and well-known businesses giving the children violent celebrating music.
He believes that society's worst problem is the belief "that anything goes."
This belief exists because of the power of trendsetters and their lack of
responsibility of this power on impressionable children. Lieberman believes
songs by some trendsetters are very disgusting and offensive, which creates
a culture of violence that desensitizes children. Lieberman also mentions
the dispute between Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. The life portrayed
by these two rappers and the music channels make the thug life seem more
appealing than its actuality. Lieberman makes some good points in his arguments,
but he also makes a weak point. His weak point is that the people behind
the records companies need face the problem that some of their products are
causing and stop hiding behind the first amendment. A stronger statement
would be if Lieberman gave actual evidence of a problem caused by the music.
Overall, he makes good points that explicit CDs should not be easily available
to children.
Mcfadyen, Warwick. "When Music Turns to a Howl of Hatred." Sunday Age [Melbourne] 6 Oct. 2002, News: 17.
This article by Warwick Mcfadyen
clearly shows his disgust with German skinhead punk band Landser. Mcfadyen
sees this type of music to be of nihilism "dressed up in coats of rage and
steel-pointed boots of violence." The members of the band have been banned
as a terrorist organization where three members were recently charged with
provoking hat red. In Germany, hate crimes are not taken lightly; the police
have seized numerous CDs containing race-hate lyrics. Mcfadyen believes that
bands on the Imperium label, one of few groups to support Landser, are a
group of the " apoplectic bully." Such an opinion shows Mcfadyen's disgust
with punk rock music. Mcfadyen gives a statement from a government official
and prosecutor Kay Nehm saying that punk rock music is extremely right wing
that leads to violence against foreigners and people who do not have the
same neo-Nazi ideas. Although some of Landser's lyrics praise Rudolf Hess,
Hitler's deputy, and charges of provoking hatred, Mcfadyen does not give
much support of their music causing any violence. Violence may pave a path
for violent acts, but the lyrics do not actually cause violence; therefore
he makes a weak argument.
Medved, Michael. "Glorification of rapper Shakur degrades African Americans." USA Today 21 Nov. 2002, News: 21A.
Medved's main focus is on the shame
of glorifying violent African Americans and portraying Tupac Shakur as an
innocent. Shakur has an arts center and garden to open in 2003 in his honor
and "other victims of violence." This is not seen as appropriate in Medved's
opinion because Shakur had a history of being in jail for various charges.
Many given examples of Shakur's charges support Medved's statement of Shakur
not being an innocent, such as when Shakur attacked director Allen Hughes
of Menace II Society, which resulted in a jail sentence. All of Shakur's
violent acts came back to him when he was robbed and shot in New York; and
three years later when he was shot again, but this time it ended his life
of twenty-five years. Shakur's music "reflects the degrading and ultimately
racist notion that criminal violence represents and essential and authentic
element of African-American identity." The violence that occurs in some African
American communities was a part of Shakur's life experiences, so he wrote
about the community in his songs. American society has grown accustomed to
particular violence associated with African Americans because of the media
or personal experience. Although such behavior is expected, it still causes
people to scorn police for shooting an African American, even though the
person is guilty. These view points are contradictory; and two ways to change
them would be to change the roles of African Americans in movies and try
to implement a program to slow crime rates in violent African American communities.
Palumbo, Frank, M.D., FAAP. “The Social Impact of Music Violence.” Subcommittee on Oversight. Senate, Washington, D.C. 6 Nov.1997 <http://www.aap.org/advocacy/washing/t1106.htm> 26 Nov.2002.
Dr. Frank Palumbo of the American
Academy of Pediatrics addresses the Senate subcommittee on the social impact
of music violence. Pediatricians of adolescents realize that music is important
to a teenager's developing identity. Dr. Palumbo makes a strong point that
there are no records in studies of a cause-and-effect relationship between
explicit lyrics and changed behavior. This point has been forgotten in the
many read editorials that criticize musicians' lyrics. Dr. Palumbo makes
an agreeable statement that "...the belief that our country, including its
youth, is losing its moral center." The statement is agreeable because there
are large amounts of violence portrayed in the media that people become desensitized
to the seriousness of violence. So the American society should, "...acknowledge
the responsibility parents, the music industry and others have in helping
to foster the nation's children." To further his strong argument, Palumbo
states recommendations of the Academy, such as parents interacting with their
children on watching television and music exposure. Palumbo's testimony to
the Senate subcommittee is strong because he gives the issue at hand and
possible solutions.
"Time to squash violence in rap." Editorial. Chicago Sun-Times 4 Nov. 2002: 33.
This editorial makes a strong point
that the violence in the African American community affects everyone. Another
strong point stated is "the violence in rap music and culture reflects and
reinforces the violence in black communities across America." Many people
who criticize rap music seem to be making the assumption that all rappers
glorify violence, sex and drugs in their songs. The recently slain rapper
Jam Master Jay of Run DMC and Lil' Romeo are two of many rappers who do not
glorify violence- both rap about sneakers, basketball and girls. The editorial
also states that it is a matter of opinion to whether any song just reflects
the reality of many African Americans or validates violence. A change must
begin in the studio and in the communities with the negative messages. The
messages of violence in songs are destructive to the African American community
and messages of a simple, rich life is a lie that can have an enormous affect
on impressionable youth of any community that listens to rap music. One weakness
of the argument is that rap music contributes to the plague of violence that
helps create an environment for crimes to occur. This statement needs justification
that the music contributes to the violence, when instead the violence of
the streets can contribute to the content of the songs. Either way, everyone
needs to stop and think before committing a violent act.
Music and Violence: Is there a Link?