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Violence and sex also are
Album covers today routinely feature women in bondage ("Vices" by Waysted
depicts a woman in handcuffs and chains), bizarre creaturs [sic] (Ozzy Osbourne as a werewolf
on "Bark at the Moon") and violence (the Scorpions' "Blackout" shows a man
in a straitjacket with forks stuck in his eyes).
Of course, the rock world has always generated its share of controversy. Elvis
Presley's pelvic gyrations were deemed so suggestive that when he appeared on
"The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1956, the cameramen were ordered to shoot him from
the waist up. When the Rolling Stones released "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in
1965, the song was banned by numerous radio stations because of its suggestive
lyrics. When the Stones appeared on "Sullivan," censors changed the lyrics of "Let's
Spend the Night Together" to "Let's spend some time together."
Some industry leaders laugh at criticism of lyrics and behavior, saying that rock's
essence is the wild and outrageous. "All the theatrical
Others, like rock critic and author Dave Marsh, liken the actions of organizations
such as NCTV to a witch hunt. "I have no problem with violence when it is used for
a purpose," says Marsh. "For example, in the 'Beat It' video (in which Michael Jackson
unites two warring gangs through dance), the violence is used to promote racial
harmoney [sic].
But can the viewing audience of MTV and other video
No, say Dr. Gladys Halvorsen, a Tenafly, N.J., child and adolescent psychiatrist,
and Vincent Androsiglio, a family therapist with a practice in Teaneck, N.J.
"What young people are seeing and hearing is a distortion of what life is all
about," Halvorsen says. "And this distortion can have damaging effects. At this
impressionable age, young people need strong role models, and they're not getting
them.
"Exposure to such things can result in an entire range of damaging possibilities
from emotional effects to lethal ones, which could lead them to act in the same
say," Halvorsen adds.
The amount of damage caused by viewing destructive behavior has been disputed
since the U.S. surgeon-general released a report on television violence in 1972. The
report found short-term consequences but was sketchy on long term effects. The
information was updated in 1982 by the National Institute of Mental Health, which
found that "television violence is as strongly correlated with aggressive behavior as
any behavioral variable that has been measured."
The television industry disputed these findings. NBC countered with a report of
its own that found "no evidence of a causal connection between television violence
and the development of aggressive behavior patterns among children and adolescents."
WAPs Kane cites the results of a recent study by Edward Donnerstein, a psychologist
and sexual-violence researcher at the University of Wisconsin. Donnerstein
and his colleagues found that men became desensitized to violence against women
after watching such sexually violent films as "Vice Squad" and "Texas Chainsaw
Massacre."
Not all rock groups should be condemned for the violence and sexual behavior
touted by some. Neither "Brass in Pocket" nor "The
One of the biggest success stories last year was written by the politically conscious
Irish band U2. Led by charismatic lead singer Bono, the group scored big with the
album "War," sold out dates throughut [sic] the country.
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