MTV’s weirdly conservative censorship
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Though it’s no longer in its heyday as the arbiter of all things cool, MTV is still associated with youth, provocation and rebellion.
But when I excitedly flicked on one of my favorite movies, “Hustle & Flow,” when I saw it was being aired on the network this weekend, I was reminded of how weirdly obsessed it remains with being safe and politically correct – concepts that are squarely at odds with its reputation as a destination for disaffected youth.
The movie is a great fit for the network, since it’s about an aspiring rap star, and even co-stars Ludacris, a real-life rap star who is an MTV mainstay. But the plot revolves around a man who makes his living as a pimp who deals drugs on the side. When I tuned in, Terrence Howard’s character was handing a client a bag of weed, a delivery that the network blurred out. Bleeping out language that will get your network fined is one thing; but censoring objects and content in a movie that is all about offensive objects and content is futile – either air a movie about a drug dealer, or don’t. But don’t air a movie about a drug dealer then blur everything associated with dealing drugs.
Even when you take movies out of the equation, MTV has made consistently bizarre choices in what it decides to censor. It has taken to sanitizing lyrics that even mainstream radio stations air unhesitatingly, such as the word “suicidal” in Sean Kingston’s song “Beautiful Girls;” the phrase “take a gun and put it to my head” from Rihanna’s “Unfaithful;” the phrase “can full of gas and a handful of matches” from Eminem and Dr. Dre’s “Forgot About Dre;” and even the mere sound of gunshots on MIA’s hit “Paper Planes.”
For the past 10 years, MTV has been criticized for moving away from its bread and butter – music videos – in favor of reality TV programs and other shows that have little or nothing to do with music. Just this year, in fact, it removed the words “music television” from its iconic logo. It only adds insult to injury that on the rare occasion the network does play music videos, that they’re censored and changed. The only people who would appreciate their bending-over-backward efforts to be inoffensive certainly aren’t watching MIA videos.
Pandering to groups like the Parents Television Council, which is so hyper-reactive that it could easily find offense in a shot of a banana, should be beneath MTV. Other networks and programs have begun reveling in being called out by the group – “Gossip Girl” even based an entire ad campaign around the insults leveled at it by the PTC.
I still have a hard time reconciling how a network that has taken the lead in controversial content – from making a star out of an AIDS patient long before it was socially acceptable to the content handled in its brilliant documentary show “True Life,” which begins a new season tonight – can fret so much over lyrics and content.
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Here’s a newsflash: MTV has always – *always* – been that way.
I remember when MTV first appeared on local cable lineups. I was young, but it’s still clear as day. Through the early 90’s – a magical period when MTV did in fact still play music videos and only had The Real World (a deceptive misnomer if ever there was one) episodes to air a few times a week – they still heavily censored just about everything that didn’t fit the political climate of the day.
Oddly enough, it was during these same days when MTV stopped being “music television” and became hip-hop television. Not to take away anything from rap artists and the music they make, but there is more to music as a whole than just hip-hop and R&B.
In my own opinion, MTV jumped the shark a long, long time ago. Personally, I lost all use for it when they cancelled Headbanger’s Ball on Saturday nights.
MTV was so yesterday.
A) The reason “Hustle & Flow” is a perfect fit to air on MTV is because MTV Films and its parent company Paramount Pictures, which used to be owned by MTV Networks parent company Viacom, produced it. It was developed specifically to appeal to the “MTV audience.”
B) A lot of your observations here are incorrect and one I can specifically point out to you is the MIA video. MTV made zero edits to that video. Her label, Interscope Records, handed it in exactly as you saw it air, with gunshot sounds removed. MIA was unaware of this and raised a stink about it on her MySpace blog at the time, which was later deleted. The record was corrected with outlets that reported that news item, like Pitchfork. A lot of times record labels self-censor before they send videos to MTV, anticipating edits that are never requested.
C) MTV’s target audience starts as young as 13. Because of this, their standards & practices requirements are tighter than even The CW. There are legal issues at play that I’m sure you can research, should you care to.
You are kidding right, did you even read the article? The reason artists “self censor” is because they know full well that Mtv will have nothing to do with the video otherwise. It is causing artists to “sell-out” for airplay.
In response to another comment. See in context »Mtv is a failing network, it wont be around much longer.
If you read what I wrote, you’ll see I specifically said the RECORD LABEL censored MIA’s video. The artist did not self-censor or even know anything about it in that particular case. Nor did MTV. Frankly, based on the construct of what you’re saying, seeking a wider audience at all via submitting your video to MTV or radio is selling out. Most people don’t get into music to try to stay as obscure as possible. If you have a problem with what can and can’t be aired, you should probably start a letter writing campaign to the FCC. Or, you know, do what most people do an watch music videos on the Internet.
Artists like Madonna, Jay-Z, and most recently Lady Gaga have turned in videos telling MTV to play them as they are because no edits are going to be made. Obviously they want to play “Telephone” or “99 Problems” or “Human Nature.”
I don’t think you or the author of this article have any idea how television standards & practices or the relationship between artists and MTV work.
I don’t think MTV is a failing network so much as TV in general is a dying medium. Why tune in to watch music on MTV when it’s all online anytime and on demand.
In response to another comment. See in context »