“Does a performer have a responsibility to the public in terms of content?And if not, what about that content when it comes to youth? I know the above questions seem very boring and vanilla, but Bono would certainly have something to say about this.”
I have something to say. I believe performers do not have a responsibility to the public in terms of content because they are performers. Hint on the word performers. They are there to entertain who ever pays for their services. If you don’t like what you’re hearing or seeing, then don’t buy it or change the channel. You say it’s hard? It isn't that hard because it is like going to the movies; If you know a movie has obscenities throughout it and you don’t agree, then you don’t pay your money to see it.
Okay so all of a sudden rap is contributing to youth and their behaviors. Bull crap, their parents are allowing them to go out and buy explicit CD’s with their allowance money and allowing them to tune into the late night uncut videos. Children can be censored; I guess it comes down to the parent and what they have taught their child. Children should know it is not true and it’s coming from a performer only performing for an audience to make money. Once people and parents realize they are only performers, I believe society will be okay.
4 comments:
I know the whole "I totally agree" thing is frowned upon, but I totally agree! If a parent feels so strong about not having their child imitate a rapper they can easily enforce it. If a parent chooses not to allow rap music in the house, they can easily enforce it. What people don't understand is that if you can get past all the obscenities and oversized clothing, in most cases theres some sort of message behind the music. Rap is pretty much all I listen to and for someone to tell me that the CD I just bought was watered down because the rapper wants to save face, well that's just ridiculous.
The practice of blaming the performer seems to be a method of diverting responsibility from the parents, and even from the kids. There are so many performers out there, each with a different audience. You don't have to watch the music video or let your kid buy the album that depicts niggas screwin shawty in the front seat of a hummah.
I believe that it is the responsibility of the parent to monitor and protect their children as they see fit. At the same time, you have to consider the children whose parents really don't care. And there are a lot of them. The influence has to come from somewhere, and if not the parents...well, it might just come from the words sung by a performer. Messages do matter, and there are a lot of bad ones floating around on the radio. I think the difference comes when talking about someone as a performer or a celebrity. Performers simply entertain, while those who becomes celebrities are looked upon as individual role models with a lot of very real influence. Those people must have some sense of societal responsibility. Again, I do agree that it is ultimately the parent who has failed their child...
*I accidentally posted before I finished my thought. Sorry for the deleted comment.
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