TOPIC: Music and Criminality
BACKGROUND INFO: According to a New York Time article published on Sept. 3, 2007, 'after a spate of shootings, the police in Colorado Springs are saying that rap music is contributing to the violence, luring criminal activity to nightclubs.'
NOTE: to read full 9/3/07 NY Times article follow this link http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/us/03hiphop.html?ref=us
TOPIC QUESTION: Write a response on the link between music and criminal behavior. Address the following questions in your response:
(a) What role (if any) does music (hip-hop, hard rock, etc.) play in a person's commission of a crime? (b) Are law enforcement officials in urban cities across America unfairly targeting a genre of music as a source of violent crime? (c) Is it fair to blame rap music specifically for the rise in criminal activities and behaviors?
NOTE: If you elect to use online sources for the basis of your argument please site the web site in your response.
FORUM RULES: Use real examples and examples from the article to bolster your views. NO RANTS…use FACTS to support your response. If you assert a political, secular or non-secular view…you must SUPPORT with FACTS!!! Keep your response to under 100 words.
POINT VALUE: A WELL WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THIS FORUM TOPIC IS WORTH 25 POINTS. YOU MUST PUBLISH YOUR RESPONSE ON THIS SITE IN THE CORRECT FORMAT ON (OR BEFORE) THE DEADLINE.
FORUM RESPONSE FORMAT: This is the appropriate format for a response to a question in this forum... Your response.....remember it should be at least 100 words......and it should be specific and contain some facts. You MUST use the ASSERTION/EVIDENCE/COMMENTARY format.
At the end of your response please include the following: First name and last name initial (i.e. Larry K.)
DUE DATE: All posts must be submitted on or before 2/7/11
14 comments:
Music has been around for almost as long as people have been, but in the past it was looked upon as a good thing, now it’s being associated with crime and certain genres are even being prohibited in different places. Music does tend play a certain role in these crimes because people look up to these artists that have explicit lyrics and tend to mimic them. But it is not fare to these artists for law enforcement officials and people in general to target their genre of music and completely blame them for crime because any type of music can have lyrics that talk about drugs and violence not strictly hip-hop or rap.
Taylor G
Music, in a way, plays a role in someone committing a crime. Music can effect a person's emotions. Many basketball teams carry out a warm-up routine while listening to fast-paced or up-beat music because the players want to get "hype" before the game begins. In the same way, music that contains violent content can put a person in a hostile mood. BUT, those who listen to music ought to know that it is just music. As rap artist T.I. said in his 2009 hit 'Dead and Gone': "...could this be 'cause of hip-hop music or did the ones with the good sense not use it..."
Rap is unfairly targeted as the source of violent crime. While some have violent lyrics, not all "gangsta rap" songs influence violence nor are they all demeaning to women. For example, 'Keep Your Head Up' by Tupac is a song that expresses how women are disrespected and how they should be treated. Violent lyrics are not only found in rap or hip-hop songs, so the rap genre as a whole cannot be blamed for the rise in criminal activities and behaviors.
-Karmen H.
Music is a controversial topic for some, but a celebrated one for most. Music irrefutably has an obscure link to crime, though it is often over exaggerated, music does define people and it can help people cope with issues or inflame issues, for example, if you are real mad and you’re driving down a road listening to real-hard rock (or rap) it only makes you feel more invincible making you speed even more. This is not only breaking the law but also endangering you and your fellow drivers. I do not think music genres are specifically targeted by police, I could be wrong, but new-wave and “gangster” rap as a whole is generally frowned upon by some in our modern society. Blaming rap for a rise in criminal activity is a wrong statement, lots of people listen to rap and it’s safe to say a majority are good, active, moral citizens.
-Hamza Ajmal
They say that one bad apple spoils the bunch. With rap music and crime it is the same way. Because of maybe one or two instances where a crime was influenced by rap music everyone thinks that it was caused by rap music. You cannot put all rap music in the same boat though. Not all rap music is created equally. There is Lil Wayne and his explicit lyrics that talk about drugs, violence, and sex. But then there is also Lecrae who talks about all the things good in life and focus on God instead of on drugs, violence, and sex. Not all rap music can be associated with violence. This really is just another form of racism. They are discriminating against people who listen to rap music.
Jonathan K.
In recent years, rap and crunk music has become increasingly vulgar and crude. Sadly, the mainstream music of the 21st century never seems to stray far from shallow materialism like drugs, women, and sex. However, music cannot be blamed directly for the behaviors of criminals, just like parents cannot always be blamed for the actions of their children. Yes, rap music most definitely influences our generation, but listening to vulgar music shouldn’t make a responsible person want to act on it. If anything, music is a reflection of the generation; the classics of the 1960s like Bob Dylan, The Stones, Velvet Underground, and The Beatles signaled revolution and change.
All rap music is not alike, similar to how all rock or jazz music isn’t alike. Accusing the entirety of one genre for a lack of common sense is not only irrational, but also ignorant. If law enforcement chooses to blame a genre of music for criminal behavior, they are choosing to ignore the real reasons, which mean the problem of juvenile delinquency won’t be solved in the near future.
Rap music’s psychological effects have been tested for listener’s perception of crime and violence, attitude towards women, behavioral problems, academic achievement, and mood through many years of collaborative research. The collective data shows that those who watched rap videos were more accepting of violent actions, especially towards women. According to Basic & Applied Social Psychology, research has found a correlation between preference towards heavy metal or rap music and behavioral problems, but these problems usually begin before the introduction to these genres of music. Law enforcement officials often unfairly target a genre of music, such as rap or heavy metal, as a scapegoat for an increased violence rate among audiences who listen to rap music. It is therefore, unjustified to accuse an artist, or an entire genre of music for a slight percentage of wrongly influenced listeners.
Brandon G.
Since the beginning of time, music has influenced many people to do certain things. Gospel music, for example, encouraged people to go to church and pray to their god. However, over time, the music has turned to using quite profane language while, simultaneously, the world is becoming more violent. Mostly, hip-hop and rap encourage drinking, women, and sex. Urban officers across America are targeting these kinds of music. They should be, especially with the new single I Just Had Sex, by The Lonely Island featuring Akon. However, rap isn’t to blame for the murderous actions of a citizen, just mostly the drunk driving and underage drinking crimes.
Kathryn M
Although we listen to music out of instinct, many people don't know that it has an affect on us. Big or small, the results may vary depending on what we listen to. The role that music plays to us is an inflence. Yes, we have a mind of our own, but certain situations make you think of those lyrics in a rap song. Even though law officials think music has to do with crime, I think they are wrong. Its not just the music, but the video that goes along with it. If we see that a person got shot in a grocery store, what if somebody takes that seriously? I dont think its fair to blame criminal activities on rap music. Its just like saying I would blame a teacher for not teaching me. We all have a mind of our own. We should know the difference between an influence and common sense.
-Alexis Brown
I believe that song lyrics do not influence someone’s violent attitude with any significance. If one did not already have a predisposition for violent acts, then the lyrics would not effect their standings, however if someone already was a largely violent person, this behavior can be escalated.
Music is not solely responsible for criminal activities in certain groups, but the culture of the group itself. If parents and peers raise a child saying ‘yes, this behavior is acceptable’, and then the child listens to songs filled with violent imagery, then the amount of comfort that child has with violence will rise. If they were raised knowing that those things are bad, and will not be accepted by the culture, then the lyrics will fall on deaf ears, so to speak, or the child would not want to listen to those types of songs in the first place.
Therefore, I believe that the types of lyrics a person listens to is a result of their culture and moral standings, not the other way around.
Leah P
What several listeners do with their time should not spoil how society views the other listeners. One genre of music did not brainwash people into committing acts of violence, to assume To blame rap music for the rise in homicides is inane. Society needs a scapegoat to exist and rap music takes the cake. Although lyrics may be incredibly offensive, to say that murder rate and gang violence has risen due to some swear words and a dirty reference is senseless. What people do with their lives is not based one hundred percent on a song, if anything it’s a culmination of things. Law enforcement officials around the country need to stop blaming one particular source for violence. Violence does not come from one starting place; it evolves over time from many different foundations. To assume that all listeners of a particular genre are being brainwashed, or are more prone to violence is absurd.
Rachel Jaffe
Today, anyone of any age can turn on a radio, and hear a rap song that advocates sex, drugs, and violence, all at once. To grow up listening to music such as that could have an impact on the way a child, and later teen, believes it is the way to live- however, their society should be able to steer that differently. Parents of the youth who listen to rap see it as an unconscious way of ruining the morals of their children because the music fails to teach any good lessons. Studies have shown connections between violence against women and music, drugs and music, and sex and music. Because of the media, "the average U.S. child starts elementary school he or she will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,00 acts of violence on TV."(New Scientist, 2007) A study published by the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation provides information that young people who listen to rap music are more likely to commit violent acts. Rap music is openly teaching youth that using drugs and being violent is a fun and correct way to live, and fail to mention the bad aspects of that life.
-Laura Gerbec
When it comes to music and behavior, psychologically speaking, the two can easily become one.
Studies on the topic have created heavy debate between parents and children. Since the emergence of violently charged lyrics, in every genre of music, teens and young adults have been able to identify with the artists on an emotional level that “parents just don’t understand.” However, parents may understand a lot more than they are given credit for.
The rise in violent actions among teens and young adults who prefer to listen to explicit content is evident. An incident occurred a few years ago when a teenaged girl was beaten up by a group of guys acting out in response to aggressive rap lyrics encouraging violence against women. Although it was caught on tape, no one stepped in and officers looked on as though it were not happening.
It would be ignorant to say that certain types of lyrics do not have a profound and noticeable affect on the youth that listens to it. Teens will continue to argue until the end of time that what they choose to listen to has no effect on them, but there is evidence to the contrary in support of parents who are uncomfortable with explicit and violent lyrics that provoke and advocate violent tendencies.
(Joc’lene S.)
Through out time, music has made an big impact in alot of people's lives. Wether its in a good way or bad. Music can influence criminals from the lyrics in a song, it may encourage them or be in the mood to commit a crime.People feel music is their only way of escaping reality, and helps people feel good, AKA "vibing". I dont think that specific genre's can be targeted and said to influence crime, it can be a variety of genre's.
Durati A.
Music is universal to the human experience because of its ability to convey and evoke emotion. Its effects are subtle though. It is the words rather than the music itself that can be dangerous. One sexually explicit song will not cause an increase in domestic violence and rape, but raising children in an environment filled with these songs will. One genre of music is not to blame; if anything it is pop culture as a whole that encourages behaviors that could lead to violent actions. Music gains its influence in the social interactions it teaches kids, including how they view crime.
Post a Comment