Youth Violence and Music
The prevailing opinion in the media is that listening to violent lyrics tends to lead to violence. This idea permeates nearly all media, news and entertainment. According to the conservative organization Empower America, the issue at heart is such music leading us on a "slide toward decivilization" (Bennet and Tucker, 1995). The idea being that by glorifying subjects like rape, murder, suicide and homophobia [the fear of homosexuals and their lifestyle], these lyrics erode the judgement and thought capabilities of adolescents. In recent history, the popular solution to the problems of our society has been censorship [the mandated editing or suppression of the music thought to be at fault]. The Parents Music Resource Center [PMRC], headed by Pamela Howar and including such big Washington names as Tipper Gore [wife of Democratic Presidential Nominee Al Gore] pushed for Motion Picture Association of America [MPAA] style ratings of music (Deflem, 1993). The PMRC's efforts resulted in the widely noticed "Parental Advisory" warnings. While the adults seem to agree, the youth, adolescents and artists alike, seem to take a different direction. The dominant point of view among younger audiences is that no one is responsible for te
Music lyrics, as a part of the vast media, are beholden to many of the same situations. However, if research on media violence [such as violent video games, movies, and music lyrics] is to be held credible, it must be done properly. There is, however some question as to whether the research is being done in a scientifically correct manner. David Gauntlett says that the "effects model" does research the wrong way round. "Media effects research has quite consistently taken the wrong approach to the mass media, its audiences, and society in general" (Gauntlett 1999). Manson, M. (1999) Columbine: Whose fault is it? Rolling Stone. [Online] Web site address: http://www.rollingstone.com/sections/news/text/ newsarticle.asp?afl=&NewsID=8050&LookUpString=54 Gauntlett, D. (1999). The ten things wrong with the effects model. News Media Studies. [On-line] Web site address: http://www.newmediastudies.com/effects1.htm North, A.C. Hargreaves, D.J. O'Neill, S.A. (2000). The importance of music to adolescents. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 255-272 Hogan, M. (1996) Impact of music lyrics and music videos on children and youth. American Academy of Pediatrics. [On-line] Web site address: http://www.aap.org/policy/01219.html
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1038
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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