Frank Zappa called them “Mothers of Prevention”, the group of wives married to members of the Congress who decided in the mid -1980s to go to the war against the words of rock and prepare a good old conservative hysteria.
We talked about this time on this site, especially as Zappa himself testified in front of the congress and fought in the program of Sunday Beltway as Crossfire.
VOX's earworm series is attacking at this time at a time that would have little branch before the “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content” sticker. (Just one side: I know that their title is a click, but really? Heavy Metal and Satan gave us this sticker? More like Tipper Gore and the presidential ambitions of their family gave it to us. Oy.)
Anyway, Gore de Gore's Music Resource Center (PMRC) gave us a list of “Fillthy Fifteen“, Including songs like” Sugar Walls “by Sheena Easton and” Dress You Up “by Madonna, which contained words” promoting “violence, sexual references, drugs and alcohol, and the favorite of Satan, the” occult “.
Estelle Caswell explores this last category and plunges into increasing popularity during the 80s of Heavy Metal music, which often invoked Satan in her words, or created occult atmospheres in her production.
This campy and horror culture ran directly in the growing power of conservative Christians and evangelical preachers who made a lot of money whipping the “satanic panic” among their national herd. They listened to Rock Records upside down, believing that they had heard subliminal messages.
Of course, none of this would have gone much further than churches if it was not for the main networks transforming a story of nothing into titles – Vox video reminds us of how Ted Koppel, Barbara Walters, Geraldo Rivera, and Al were accomplices. They also examined the increase in the suicide rate of adolescents and used the heavy metal as a scapegoat, instead of – as explained by video – family breakthroughs, drug abuse, economic uncertainty and increasing access to firearms.
The warning label itself appeared in 1990, just like rap decocated and that a new lyrical boogeyman appeared. Digital media and file sharing, as well as YouTube and other sites, have attenuated this type of censorship. And parents, in the end, must still do the work on what their children see or do not.
However, censorship is back, but there are no Washington women acting like rumbles. Now, it is the whims of the capital, or it is a defective algorithm that censures the old masters filled with nudity, just as guilty as porn, which are our new guards of decency. Where are these Congress audiences?
Note: a previous version of this article appeared on our site in 2019.
Related content:
Young Patti Smith Rails against the censorship of his music: an animated and NSFW interview of 1976
A brief history of Hollywood censorship and the rating system
Ted Mills is an independent writer on the arts.
At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.