Music is a form of art often times criticized, especially gangster rap, by people who would consider music a gateway exposure to delinquent activities. Is it really the music? Does the music glamorize delinquent activity? Maybe it’s just that non rap listeners want to put the blame on something for causing their children to behave in such a way. Rap music is not only to blame, movies, video games, the news, are all contributing factors that could influencing adolescence to behave inappropriately.
Agreeably, not all rap music is giving out positive suggestions, but it is a form of art. Artist express their thoughts, feelings, stories and struggles with the world, like a biography on a compact disk. Not often do rappers directly tell a juvenile to purposely do this crime or break that law, that’s just no the case. Not all rap is bad, but there are lyrics that can influence behavior, but the music does not change the child’s psyche by merely just listening to the words. A child may have preexisting intent to do such behaviors, the music may play as a trigger to complete the delinquent thought or act. One theory that helps the understanding of adolescence is the social learning theory, and with this in mind, a child could be influenced by this kind of music if enforced and glamorized so much that he or she is modeled into doing the delinquent acts.
“Adolescents who preferred heavy metal and rap music were compared with those who preferred other types of music. Results indicated that adolescents who preferred heavy metal and rap had a higher incidence of below-average school grades, school behavior problems, sexual activity, drug and alcohol use, and arrests.”
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 65473 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7832025
Many people would agree that music period is great to dance to whether listening to the lyrics or not, the beat catches the audience. With music and all sources of ill entertainment, many would agree that maturity becomes the biggest factor of all relating to this issue.
It just so happened to be that the majority of the rappers out there come from poverty stricken neighborhoods, a lot of these rappers have been influenced, not by other rap, but what they have experienced as young children and throughout their lives. So where does the majority of crimes take place… in places of poverty, it’s on a continuum in those neighborhoods. Come from a broken home as a child, get older and put your life on c.d. where others can relate.
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2 comments:
I do not believe music is to blame for delinquent activity. The messages conveyed in many songs can be demeaning, degrading, offensive, etc. to many people, but that can be said about a wide range of genres beyond Hip-hop, Rap, and Rock. Some people may find certain Country-songs offensive or derogatory.
It is not the responsibility of the musicians to supervise who does and doesn't listen to their music nor how their listeners live their lives. Just because adolescents who listened to heavy metal and rap have a higher rate of below-average grades and school behavior problems does not mean that the music they listened to caused them to have lower grades or behavioral problems
As you mentioned, the maturity of listeners plays a more significant factor in how they life their life. Though music may change perceptions, it would be hard to prove that music plays a significant role dictating life decisions.
Yes, I do believe that it is hard to actually say for sure that music is to blame, but everthing we know is based on theories and nothing is for sure. I think people thought that the music was an easy way to conclude a probelm, they have to blame it on something. I think everything and every person as their reasons as to why they do criminal acts, not every one has the same reasoning for their actions.
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