Argumentative Essay: Should Music Be Censored?

Improved Essays
One day in English class, my class and I were assigned to choose a certain topic to debate about with another partner. I decided to quickly choose the one that was well related to me, about music and censorship. There were other topics to choose from: immigration reforms, confederate flag issues, and fast food industry success. Music was an easy choice since it has always been a backbone of my life. For me, music didn’t have to be censored because it expressed our message to the world. What could our culture be without music today? Music has been around for thousands of years, but it wasn't the same as what we have today. Day after day, I would feel that music is still growing at a tremendous rate. From hundreds of sources, music is popping …show more content…
Who was this music being directed to actually? Different genres get accepted by a mix of races throughout the whole world. Music connects people from all over: different countries, different languages, and different ethnicities. My argument was set at a strong point because music could not be stopped and not especially in today’s “world”. Social media has been a great advantage for music to be shared worldwide to millions of users surfing the web daily. Music helps people develop and become someone new by learning a new experience. Should it be taken from us? All music does is change the world, give people the freedom of expression and growth. As teens say nowadays, “Music is my life”, and it is true for me because it gives me motivation on a daily basis. Some songs may talk about sex, drugs, and violence, but all it is describing is the life of what hundreds artists have gone through at some point in their life. My opponent would still argue on how the older crowd should lead on the younger ones into a productive environment instead of introducing hood music to a child at a young age. Music can be expressed in various different ways. One of the most probable ways is having explicit language. The explicit language on a track quickly categorizes the song with a “Parental Advisory” label, showing that it is not recommended to a younger

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Elton John Research Paper

    • 1498 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Music and society have a large impact on each other, and how they shape the way people view and act in the world. There are four themes that identify and characterize how music has evolved over the past one hundred years. These themes also show how music affects and expresses the culture that not only we live in today, but also how we have changed in our views on numerous aspects of today’s society. The four themes that are explored directly with a specific artist and, or, band are how they impact society, politics, and several cultural issues that have stood the test of time and the way race, class, and gender are expressed in music. The development of the music industry and the technology used in it are widely affected by the change in music over decades, but also by outstanding individuals during their careers, which span over a variable amount of time.…

    • 1498 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Juvenile delinquency was a national topic of discussion in the 1950’s. A movement of censorship swept through as a result of parents fearing Rock ‘n’ Roll’s challenge to traditional values and abstinence. The campaign was successful in making artists and producers of Rock ‘n’ Roll more reserved in the music they made. In doing so, they failed to damage the industry as a whole. The toned down nature of songs and performers encouraged Rock ‘n’ Roll’s acceptance to a broader audience.…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Music is part of our lives, we listen to music all the time one way or another. Music can bring many kind of emotions and at times it reflects our feelings. But not only that, music is also really influential in many positive and negative ways. The kind of influence that I will be referring throughout this essay is the powerful influence music can bring to us in our understanding of race and ethnicity. This is call pop-culture “the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images and other phenomena that are within the mainstream of a given culture”.…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To quote Tyler Joseph, the singer and song-writer for Twenty One Pilots, “It’s music. It can change things. It can maybe make things make sense for moments at a time. It can make you feel like you’re not alone in what you’re going through, and give you a release.” Without music, I would definitely not be who I am today, and I believe that it has helped shaped me into the person I have…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The words of a song can shift your emotions to make you feel contentment and merriment but it can also make you feel worthless and insulted. In your essay “Songs of the Summer of 1963… and 2013” you speak of the difference in music in the year of 1963 and how it was gleeful and uplifting and still is but you believe the music of this generation is so discrediting and malign. In my opinion, I agree this music can be extremely offensive to many people and it is saddening that we have to come to a time in the world when it’s a daily normality to hear the word “nigga” in a song or to hear women referred to as “bitches” and “hoes”. The music we hear today should be changing the way we feel by making a great difference in the world and unifying us as people not bringing us apart with derogatory statements in songs.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nicholas Wolterstorff states, “Many Christians join their fellow citizens in going to concerts, attending plays, visiting museums, reading novels; all are nowadays united with their fellow citizens in being subjected to advertising art in all its many forms” (Charry, 2000, p. 295). A common form of art used for expression today is music. When you turn on the radio you are inundated with songs that deal with cheating, promiscuity, and drug references. Most of the songs on the Top 100 Billboard deal with these issues, yet everywhere you turn kids are singing these songs like it is no big deal. This past summer Demi Lovato’s song “Cool for the Summer” was an instant hit.…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Music lyrics express emotions, experiences, and tell stories. They are used to communicate with other people and for the artist to express themselves through song. “Music is what feelings sounds like” (Georgia Gates). The lyrics of popular music shouldn’t be censored because they aren’t harmful to children’s development, lyrics have meaningful content, they help people through rough times, and they teach about the world. Many favorite artists come from unique backgrounds, “some had to deal with their friends dying … others had to deal with their mothers being prostitutes, and maybe they had to deal with not having their dad around” (University Wire).…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The music industry is a major media institution that is widely influential in the way that people perceive their surroundings and how they experience discrimination and oppression within society. Popular media, such as music, acts as a catalyst for social construction (Glantz 3). Whether by way of radio, MP3 downloads, or music videos, people throughout the country, and all over the world are exposed to dominant ideologies through music that shape their thoughts and behaviors. One specific genre of music that is guilty of discriminatory and oppressive messages, yet might be slightly unexpected, is country music. “Country music is often labeled conservative, which makes it seem innocent and wholesome” (Rogers).…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Music censorship is a very controversial issue in America because parents believe there are certain things that their kids should not be exposed to, and these parents possess the right to control it. Pediatricians and parents across the nation are concerned for the mental health of young Americans when they entertain themselves with vulgar music lyrics and music videos. Many people believe it is the parent’s responsibility to set their own limits for what things their children encounter as they grow up, but it may become harder as they get older and start school. Once children start school, they are exposed to new words, hear about new songs, and meet kids from many different cultures. Music has been censored historically in an attempt to enforce morality in humanity.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Red Scare Essay

    • 1394 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Whether it is realized or not, music is a very prevalent tool in the American society. From commercial jingles to songs about love, music can be used to mirror the ideals of a culture and provide insight to specific, recurring themes throughout history. “…Comparative musicology, which is the study of musical styles and systems from different societies, an integral part of general musicology; and musical anthropology, the study of the role music plays in human societies, an integral part of general anthropology.” (Turino 1525) It was not until the birth of Rock and Roll that music really began to blatantly share ideas and grievances of the youth of the United States.…

    • 1394 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Between 1965 and the 1990s, culture and popular music had been intertwined in the United States. There were postwar promises of prosperity such as jobs, social leveling and of peace. However, this was not at all true and the promises were not kept. During these periods a counter-culture surfaced that reacted against ongoing justices and questioned the United States. One of the prominent keys were musicians who wrote protest songs and delivered their message to the people.…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Free music allows us to access any form of music through many legal sources without having to purchase a single album or song. Because of this, highly-recognized and even unknown musicians have stopped selling their music and are instead releasing their content to these free sites. This is because no one wishes to spend so much money on something that is easily accessible and free on the internet. Although, it may also be because they think that they will have a likelier chance of being recognized on these free sources. Either way, it is worth contemplating why music is suddenly changing in the lives of us all.…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Negative Effects Of Rap Music

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 6 Works Cited

    Morrison states, “Marketing messages of hate and violence to children sends the signal that violence is widespread and normal, that it is acceptable to abuse women, and that there is glamour in lawlessness” (Morrison). Teens are listening to music that sends the messages that it is okay for men to beat their wives and girlfriends because they are above the law. This has had an extremely negative effect in the black community. As stated by McWhorter, “Rap music is harmful to the black community because it links to racism, violence, and misogyny ” (McWhorter). In “Rap Music and Rap Audiences,” it states that “many scholars note that some rap lyrics attempt to objectify, devalue, or subjugate African American women through insults and name calling” (Dixon).…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 6 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In recent years, musicians have routinely used their voices in efforts to support or protest politicians and their policies. Some artists choose to release public statements in support of or decrying political candidates, while others choose to support or decry candidates by penning or dedicating songs to them. Oftentimes, especially in this past Presidential election cycle, musicians have denied political candidates permission to use their music in campaigning efforts. Some of these artists may choose to do so in efforts to keep their art as apolitical as possible, but many choose to deny political candidates permission to use their music in protest of them. Whatever decision these musical artists come to, they should continue to use their work to express their political preferences…

    • 1643 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Classical music is the key to a relaxed mind, a happy strive, and the confidence to thrive. Hence, many students can greatly benefit from the fact of listening to classical music during their exams or classwork, because it can help students to relax, be happy, provide them with confidence, and promote better grades and successful students. Therefore, classical music should be allowed in schools. Initially, classical music is the type of music that provides relaxation and creates a just go with the flow type of feeling.…

    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays