CENSORSHIP IN MUSIC
by: Ms. Brittany Dorsey
OBJECTIVES
• Students will study examples of censorship in
music in order to discover what it is, in what
ways it is used, and how it is regulated
• Students will discuss their feelings and ideas
about censorship and personal experiences
they have encountered with it
• MD Technology Teacher Standard: III. Legal,
Social, and Ethical Issues - Demonstrating an
understanding of the legal, social, and ethical
issues related to technology use
• Music Content Standard: 9. Understanding
music in relation to history and culture
ANTICIPATORY SET
• Song that does not need
censorship: "New Soul" by
Yael Naïm [scroll down the
page and play track #3]
• Song that needs censorship:
"The Real Slim Shady" by
Eminem [scroll down the
page and play track #8]
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What are some characteristics of
the first, uncensored song?
What are some characteristics of
the second, censored song?
CENSORSHIP AND MUSIC
• Censorship is the act of altering words or
statements in order to conform with and
abide by the rules and laws of society
• In music, censorship is primarily
implemented in music that contains words,
such as songs, opera, or musical theater
• The two categories used to decipher
musical censorship are profanity and
politics
CENSORSHIP AND PROFANITY
•
•
•
•
•
Curse words
Racial slurs
Group hatred
Sexual material/innuendo
Violence
Example: "If U Seek Amy" by
Britney Spears [scroll
down the page and play
track #6]
CENSORSHIP AND POLITICS
• Against the President
• Anti-American - violence
against America
• Anti-American - unsupportive,
unpatriotic
Example: "American Idiot" by
Green Day [scroll down the
page and play track #1]
HOW TO SPOT MUSICAL CENSORSHIP
• Logo is located on covers of
albums with uncensored
material
• Many “family friendly”
(Target, Wal-Mart) do not
carry uncensored albums
• Albums with this logo cannot
be purchased by people
under 17 years of age
• “Explicit Lyrics” discontinued
use in 2001
• Regulated by the Recording
Industry Association of
America (RIAA)
MORE EXAMPLES
• Song that does not need censorship:
"Miami" by Will Smith [scroll down the
page and play track #10]
• Song that needs censorship:
"Nothingtown" by The Offspring [scroll
down the page and play track #8]
WARNINGS:
Censored and uncensored music is
not limited by genre,
instrumentation, gender, or race.
While people under 17 cannot buy
uncensored music in stores, it can
be downloaded online via iTunes,
LimeWire, and Napster.
BE CAREFUL AND USE CAUTION!
RADIO-EDIT WORD COVERINGS
Radios edit censored music using some of the
following techniques:
• Bleeping - putting a "bleep" sound over the word
• Repeating - repeating the word before the
censored word
• Skipping - skipping over the entire word
• Echoing - echoing the last word in the line instead
of saying the censored word
• Disc scratching - using a scratched record to cover
the word
• Blanking - omitting the word completely
• Backmasking - reversing the audio on the word
INDEPENDET LEARNING ACTIVITY
DIRECTIONS
Break up into groups of four.
Rewrite the following lyrics using bleeping, repeating,
skipping, and echoing to censor the bold words.
Each person will read the original lyric and then the
re-edited lyric.
“My whole life feels like a war
I don’t know what the heck I’m here for
Suppose I’ll talk to my old friend
Get out of this place in the end”
ASSESSMENT
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
True or false: Profanity is words and phrases that are
deemed hateful and offensive.
True or false: Musical censorship does not apply to words
that are politically disrespectful.
Which of the following is NOT an example of radio editing:
bleeping, echoing, backmasking, highlighting
All of the following are considered profantiy EXCEPT:
violence, racial slurs, burp noises, sexual innuendo
All of the following are considered political censorship
EXCEPT: violence against America, curse words, anti
President, unpatriotic
Who regulates censorship of music: National Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences, Recording Industry
Association of America, National Endowment for the Arts,
Music Educators National Conference
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
DISCUSSION
Talk about your own experiences with musical
censorship, such as albums you own or have
heard with/without censorship, performances you
have seen that lacked censorship. How do you
think censored albums are similar to R-rated
movies?
Reminder: only the student holding the drumstick
may speak. Listen carefully to others and wait
patiently for your turn to speak.
CLOSURE
EXIT TICKET - Countdown Processing
DIRECTIONS
Spend one minute silently reflecting on what you have
learned today. After the minute is up, write down your
responses on the sheet and hold onto it until it is time
to leave.
4 New Words That I Learned
3 New Facts That I Learned
2 Questions That I Have
1 Most Valuable Piece of Information
HOMEWORK
Write a 1-2 page essay describing why you
think censorship in music is a positive or
negative idea. There are no right or wrong
answers, just write about what you think. If
you are unsure about how you feel, write
about that and tell why. The only wrong
answer is no answer at all.
WORKS CITED
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_censorship
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxysm.researchport.umd.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/40602?q=censorship&search=
quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit
http://libraries.mit.edu/music/news/407/home.html
http://www.officialpsds.com/Parental-Advisory-PSD26044.html
http://feat-dogg.webs.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Yael-NaimNaïm/dp/B0013LP86Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253983574&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Marshall-Mathers-LPEminem/dp/B00004T9UF/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253983657&sr=1-4
http://www.amazon.com/American-Idiot-GreenDay/dp/B0002OERI0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254002848&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.com/Circus-BritneySpears/dp/B001GO09MI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254002514&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Rage-GraceOffspring/dp/B0018OAPAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253983699&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Will-Smith-GreatestHits/dp/B00007E8UU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253983720&sr=1-1