2008 Woodie Awards
Wal-Mart mutes musicians, caters to directors
Brandon Williams
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Opinion
Censorship is often talked about and people generally find themselves strongly in support of it or against it. I am against censorship but I understand the view of needing to protect our youth from seeing extreme violence, sex and drug use. The problem I find with censorship is that no person can possibly provide an unbiased opinion on what is suitable for an entire country; values differ from region and even from city to city. However, we try to do so and in the process ridiculous situations occur, one of which I can't seem to figure out; Wal-Mart will sell unrated and R-movies but will not sell unedited CDs.
How is it that violence and sex in movies are acceptable to put on the shelves but a few explicit words on a CD aren't? There is a pretty popular saying that most people know "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Wal-Mart seems to think that hearing about these edgy topics will cause much more damage than seeing them. It sends a mixed message to consumers.
As a fan of heavy rock and metal, genres that usually include a lot of songs discussing drugs, sex and violence, I get peeved walking down the CD aisle at Wal-Mart and seeing the messages behind the music dumbed down. There are plenty of music groups that use language sparingly and when they do it's only because there is no other way to express the emotions they feel about a topic.
Parents should be the only people involved in the censorship of their children. People constantly attack violent video games, movies and music, even after they purchase these forms of entertainment for their kids. In fact, some parents may be unaware of what bands their kids listen to and what music they play. It's a sad situation, as the ratings system only works if parents actually use it in an informed manner. The ratings system provides just a general idea of at what age the product is appropriate and shouldn't be taken as a strict code.
I really appreciate that there are places like Best Buy where I can listen to music the way the artists wanted it to be heard but Wal-Mart should, as a leader in retailing, understand that censorship should be dealt with by parents alone.
How is it that violence and sex in movies are acceptable to put on the shelves but a few explicit words on a CD aren't? There is a pretty popular saying that most people know "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Wal-Mart seems to think that hearing about these edgy topics will cause much more damage than seeing them. It sends a mixed message to consumers.
As a fan of heavy rock and metal, genres that usually include a lot of songs discussing drugs, sex and violence, I get peeved walking down the CD aisle at Wal-Mart and seeing the messages behind the music dumbed down. There are plenty of music groups that use language sparingly and when they do it's only because there is no other way to express the emotions they feel about a topic.
Parents should be the only people involved in the censorship of their children. People constantly attack violent video games, movies and music, even after they purchase these forms of entertainment for their kids. In fact, some parents may be unaware of what bands their kids listen to and what music they play. It's a sad situation, as the ratings system only works if parents actually use it in an informed manner. The ratings system provides just a general idea of at what age the product is appropriate and shouldn't be taken as a strict code.
I really appreciate that there are places like Best Buy where I can listen to music the way the artists wanted it to be heard but Wal-Mart should, as a leader in retailing, understand that censorship should be dealt with by parents alone.
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