Artists and the right of free speech
A great opportunity of being a performing artist is to have an outlet to express what one believes in to the public. They are able to to a send message for a cause in need of having a large audience. to have their work on every music channel and playing on every radio station to express what they stand for and what they believe listen. But when does the right of free speech crosses the line of offensive, and what happens to the artist?
madonna - "Justify My love"
In 1990, Madonna released her outrageous black and white music video for the hit "Justify My Love". The video has Madonna involved in some racy behavior with men, women and some of unclear genders. While MTV was set to premiere the video, they banned it from ever seeing airtime as soon as they watched a clip. Madonna took to NBC's Nightline to discuss "Justify", calling it a "celebration of sex". Though the video was pushing some serious boundaries, it is an honest display of Madonna's feminist beliefs. An article out of the archives of The New York Times published during the same time as the video release calls The Queen of Pop "A true feminist. Madonna has taught young women to be fully female and sexual while still exercising total control over their lives. She shows girls how to be attractive, sensual, energetic, ambitious, aggressive and funny -- all at the same time." The controversy surrounding the singer and the song only helped its success: 260,000 VHS copies of "Justify" were sold and the hit spent two consecutive weeks at the top of The Billboard Hot 100.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/513610/banned-music-21-artists-censors-tried-to-silence?page=0%2C10
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/14/opinion/madonna-finally-a-real-feminist.html
http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/513610/banned-music-21-artists-censors-tried-to-silence?page=0%2C10
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/14/opinion/madonna-finally-a-real-feminist.html
SINhead o'connor- Saturday night "war"
Irish singer and songwriter Sinhead O'Connor appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1992 to perform an a cappella version of Bob Marley's song "War". O'Connor stunned the audience when she unexpectedly ended the song by ripping photo of Pope John Paul ll then shouted "Fight the enemy!" The performer was attempting to make a statement about child abuse in the Catholic Church. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels said that O'Connor's performance was to be the last time she would utter a word on their stage. O'Connor's career started and ended with that SNL performance. Her actions were before her time, given the recent controversy of child abuse that has come out of the Catholic church. O'Connor later became an ordained priest.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/513610/banned-music-21-artists-censors-tried-to-silence?page=0%2C10
http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2010/10/03/sinead-oconnor-pope-snl-video-war-bob-marley/
http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/513610/banned-music-21-artists-censors-tried-to-silence?page=0%2C10
http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2010/10/03/sinead-oconnor-pope-snl-video-war-bob-marley/
Dixie Chicks: Not a Bush fan
During a London concert in 2003, Dixie Chick's lead singer Natalie Maines announced to the crowd: “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.” Considering the first amendment, the country trio should've had no problem, right? Wrong. Country radio fought back by banning the Chicks from 262 stations across the country. There were even events put together to bulldoze their albums! The controversy reached so much national attention that it went to Washington and was brought up at a Senate Commerce Committee meeting. The Presidential candidate at the time, John McCain, called the results of the incident an "erosion of the First Amendment". The Dixie Chicks did a lot of press stating their side of the matter and even made the cover of Time magazine. Maines apologized, stating: “As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers’ lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American.”
http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/513610/banned-music-21-artists-censors-tried-to-silence?page=0%2C11
http://www.thenation.com/blog/173271/ten-years-ago-today-dixie-chick-dared-hit-bush-war-and-hate-campaign-began#
http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/513610/banned-music-21-artists-censors-tried-to-silence?page=0%2C11
http://www.thenation.com/blog/173271/ten-years-ago-today-dixie-chick-dared-hit-bush-war-and-hate-campaign-began#