Music and violence

[Alicja]

Hello,

Our topic for next week is music and violence (can music incite people to violence? can it really affect our mood to that extent? etc.). I’d like you to read an article/ watch a video concerning this topic and post a short comment concerning what you’ve read or seen (what was it about? was it interesting? did it meet your expectations? would you recommend it? etc.) along with 3-4 words/ expressions from the text.


The words/ expressions should be defined using a monolingual dictionary, e.g.



www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/



www.macmillandictionary.com/




See you on Monday!

[Alicja]

I didn't post the short videos I had told you about because I wasn't able to find them back online.

[Santiago Fernández]

Heavy metal and violence: More than a myth?

(http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/09/metal.violence/index.html?iref=24hours)

This article talks about the discussion on if it's real that the music of heavy metal artists incites teenagers to commit murder and suicide and how the international media take advantage of this situation to create headlines and to lie.

It's interesting because I don't think that the music can incite people to violence. I do think that the music can really affect our mood but not to that extent. A person who commits violence acts is because this person already is a violent person and it is not right to blame the music.
I recommend the article because it contains an interview to an anthropologist, documentary filmmaker and self-confessed "Metalhead" Sam Dunn, the opinion of Iron Maiden's lead singer Bruce Dickinson, Alice Cooper and some others heavy metal fans. But it's just a point of view, is possible to read many articles expressing the same idea but many others the opposite. It's a very controversial discussion.

Here there is some ideas from Sam Dunn:
“heavy metal is often used as a scapegoat to distract from the thoroughly more complicated societal problems surrounding such incidents.”
"I think people look at heavy metal and label it for all sorts of things because we need easy answers to complex questions"
"I think that it's easy to target a heavy metal band for inciting violence or making kids turn to a cult than it is to actually look at real problems in the real world."

Vocabulary:
•Scapegoat:
• to blame somebody/something for a failure or for something bad that another person has done.
• someone who is blamed for something that is not their fault, especially because someone else wants to avoid being blamed.
• scapegoat for: She is being made a scapegoat for the commission’s own mistakes.

•Tongue-in-cheek:
• intended to be humorous and not meant seriously.
• not seriously; as a joke.
• i.e.: a tongue-in-cheek answer.
• i.e.: The offer was made almost tongue-in-cheek.
• Synonyms and related words: funny, humorous, playful.

• Awareness:
• knowledge or understanding of a subject, issue, or situation.
• awareness (of something); awareness (that…): knowing something; knowing that something exists and is important; being interested in something.
• i.e.: an awareness of the importance of eating a healthy diet.
• i.e.: It is important that students develop an awareness of how the Internet can be used.
• i.e.: raise/increase awareness (of): The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of passive smoking.
• Synonyms and related words: knowledge, understanding, information.
• environmental awareness (= knowing that looking after the environment is important).

• Meek:
• quiet, gentle, and easily persuaded by other people to do what they want.
• quiet, gentle, and always ready to do what other people want without expressing your own opinion.
• i.e.: They hung their heads in meek submission.
• Synonyms and related words: kind, gentle, sensitive, empathetic, nice.

[Santiago Fernández]

Mar 7, 2015 12:30:05 GMT Santiago Fernández said:

Heavy metal and violence: More than a myth?

(edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/09/metal.violence/index.html?iref=24hours)

This article talks about the discussion on if it's real that the music of heavy metal artists incites teenagers to commit murder and suicide and how the international media take advantage of this situation to create headlines and to lie.

It's interesting because I don't think that the music can incite people to violence. I do think that the music can really affect our mood but not to that extent. A person who commits violence acts is because this person already is a violent person and it is not right to blame the music.
I recommend the article because it contains an interview to an anthropologist, documentary filmmaker and self-confessed "Metalhead" Sam Dunn, the opinion of Iron Maiden's lead singer Bruce Dickinson, Alice Cooper and some others heavy metal fans. But it's just a point of view, is possible to read many articles expressing the same idea but many others the opposite. It's a very controversial discussion.

Here there is some ideas from Sam Dunn:
“heavy metal is often used as a scapegoat to distract from the thoroughly more complicated societal problems surrounding such incidents.”
"I think people look at heavy metal and label it for all sorts of things because we need easy answers to complex questions"
"I think that it's easy to target a heavy metal band for inciting violence or making kids turn to a cult than it is to actually look at real problems in the real world."

Vocabulary:
•Scapegoat:
    • to blame somebody/something for a failure or for something bad that another person has done.
    • someone who is blamed for something that is not their fault, especially because someone else wants to avoid being blamed.
        • scapegoat for: She is being made a scapegoat for the commission’s own mistakes.

•Tongue-in-cheek:
    • intended to be humorous and not meant seriously.
    • not seriously; as a joke.
        • i.e.: a tongue-in-cheek answer.
        • i.e.: The offer was made almost tongue-in-cheek.
            • Synonyms and related words: funny, humorous, playful.

• Awareness:
    • knowledge or understanding of a subject, issue, or situation.
    • awareness (of something); awareness (that…): knowing something; knowing that something exists and is important; being interested in something.
        • i.e.: an awareness of the importance of eating a healthy diet.
        • i.e.: It is important that students develop an awareness of how the Internet can be used.
        • i.e.: raise/increase awareness (of): The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of passive smoking.
            • Synonyms and related words: knowledge, understanding, information.
            • environmental awareness (= knowing that looking after the environment is important).

• Meek:
    • quiet, gentle, and easily persuaded by other people to do what they want.
    • quiet, gentle, and always ready to do what other people want without expressing your own opinion.
        • i.e.: They hung their heads in meek submission.
            • Synonyms and related words: kind, gentle, sensitive, empathetic, nice.

[Fabien Virot]

Violent Music Lyrics Increase Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings, According to New Study:
www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2003/05/violent-songs.aspx

This article talks about a study made by the American Psychological Association (APA), this study shows that violent lyrics have an influence to the feeling. They made five experiments involving 500 students and the conclusion is that people who listening violent songs are more aggressive and feel hostility.
I think this article is good because it is based on a scientific study so I recommend it for all.

Vocabulary:
-arousal: noun
the act of making somebody have a particular feeling or attitude
emotional arousal
the arousal of public interest

-biased : adjective
biased (toward(s)/against/in favour of somebody/something) having a tendency to show favour towards or against one group of people or one opinion for personal reasons; making unfair judgements
biased information/sources/press reports
a biased jury/witness

-catharsis : noun
the process of releasing strong feelings, for example through plays or other artistic activities, as a way of providing relief from anger, suffering, etc.

[Guillaume]

I choose the article "Violent Lyrics in Heavy Metal Music Can Increase Aggression in Males". This article has been published in the North American Journal of Psychology.
This article explains that the fact that violent lyrics in metal music increase aggression in males is because their level of testosteron raises because of those violents lyrics. To prove it, scientists have recuited students and have divided them in two groups, one was listening metal with violent lyrics and the other one was listening metal without violent lyrics. Then they made testosterones measurements on the students and they concluded that there are clear evidence that exposure to such lyrics is linked to aggressive behavior.
I found this article very interesting because it shows real physiological reasons to this problem.

Vocabulary:
- bogus: pretending to be real or genuine
- aforementioned: mentioned before, in an earlier sentence
- sample: a small amount of a substance taken from a larger amount and tested in order to obtain information about the substance

[Hugo LUCAS]

Violent Music Lyrics Increase Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings

(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030505084039.htm)

This article comes from Science daily, it talks about a study which makes by Iowa State University and Texas Department of Human Services. This experience involving over 500 college students. It consist of listen to some songs, singing by the same artist, with violent lyrics and nonviolent lyrics and to note if there is a increase aggressive thoughts and feelings. The result of this experience is not a surprise, when you listen agressive music or violent lyrics favor increase your aggressively.

Vocabulary:

biased (toward(s)/against/in favour of somebody/something) : having a tendency to show favour towards or against one group of people or one opinion for personal reasons; making unfair judgements.

exposure (to something) : the state of being in a place or situation where there is no protection from something harmful or unpleasant.

arousal : the act of making somebody have a particular feeling or attitude.

[Charlotte]

"Violent song lyrics may lead to violent behavior" (http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/violent.aspx)

This article comes from Apa. This article talks about a study. This study provides the first clean demonstration of violent lyric effects. This experiment was made on 500 people. They have listen aggressive music and nonviolent musics. The result is that there is a link between music and your reaction after listening. Violent songs increased aggression levels.

The result is not surprising. When we listen to negative words, we are negative too. We are influenced by what we listen to.

[Caroline Dubois]

Colorado Police Link Rise in Violence to Music
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/us/03hiphop.html?_r=0)

This article talks about the growth of a hip-hop club. But, not all the community is very happy of this opening. The police think that gangsta rap is contributing to the violence. This kind of music could involve the security of people, “promotes criminal behavior and demeans women”. With 19 homicides a year, they think that there is a correlation between music and violence. This conflict seems to be the result of ignorance of minority cultures.
I think this article is good and interesting because the starting point of this debate is a news item and included some interviews like Dr. José J. Barrera. I can’t imagine that this kind of music could be reach to such a violence level.

Vocabulary:
To burst:
•to break open or apart, especially because of pressure from inside; to make something break in this way
•+ adv./prep. to go or move somewhere suddenly with great force; to come from somewhere suddenly
•be bursting (with something) to be very full of something; to be very full and almost breaking open

drawl: a way of speaking slowly with vowel sounds that are longer than usual

broad-brush: dealing with a subject or problem in a general way rather than considering details

[Matthieu]

Where is the Love?: An Examination of Music’s Relationship to Domestic Violence
www.mhlearningsolutions.com/commonplace/index.php?q=node/5513

This article comes from the Ohio State University. It explains that music can influence the behaviour because when you hear frequently lyrics about violence, it becomes something natural. The article talks more specifically about the relation between misogynist lyrics and domestical violence. I found it interesting because it's not a scientific approach but a social reflection. Song lyrics can make acceptable and common, things that should not be accepted in a society.

soak something up : to absorb something into your senses, your body or your mind
bruise : a blue, brown or purple mark that appears on the skin after somebody has fallen, been hit, etc.
prevalent : that exists or is very common at a particular time or in a particular place

[Dario Rosell]

The Effects Of Violent Music Content On Teens

Link: www.rense.com/general59/teens.htm

This article gives an overview of the relationship between music and violence, a debate that has been increasing in the last 30 years. It talks about all the different studies that have been done and their results, in which a greater influence of explicit violent videos in comparison with the lyrics is concluded. Also gives examples of controversial lyrics and provides possible solutions for parents in case they have children who listen this kind of music.
I think the article is not good because of several aspects, gives no reference regarding the mentioned studies and also gives some opinions based on particular examples. I don't recommend it.
Personally, I was impressed to read these lyrics, and I wonder how someone may like it, but I don't think that music is the root cause of a violent behavior.

Vocabulary:

Overtones (“overtones of violence”): an attitude or an emotion that is suggested and is not expressed in a direct way.
Affairs (“international affairs”): [public/political activities] events that are of public interest or political importance.
Infatuated: having a very strong feeling of love or attraction for somebody/something so that you cannot think clearly and in a sensible way.

[Floriane Houillon]

www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-delerme/chiraq-drillinois-guns-mu_b_5944386.html "Chiraq, Drillinois: Guns, Murder, Music, and Understanding" by Tony Delerme

Does rap music lead to violence ? Many detractors have been debated about the fact that lyrics could influence listeners, especially in a city like Chicago, where violence is almost taking control of the city. However in this article, Tony Delerme points the subjects of the lyrics : it often tackles the issue of men or woman, facing every day problems. According to him, drugs and violence where here far before rap music. This quote resumes well the article "Hip Hop in and of itself is a byproduct of poverty-stricken inner city neighborhoods. Gangs, drugs and violence were already prevalent in these neighborhoods long before hip hop existed."
The article was quite good and defending this particular kind of music. Lots of people listen to rap music because the lyrics suits them and they can easily identify.

drill music: a hip hop subgenre originating from young, South Side Chicago rappers and producers
plight : A dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation:
fruition: The realization or fulfilment of a plan or project:
scapegoat: A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.

[Rim Qassimi]

Violent Rap Lyrics Do Not Affect Listener Behavior or Attitudes

Link : ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&contentModules=&dviSelectedPage=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&disableHighlighting=&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&zid=&p=OVIC&action=2&catId=&activityType=&documentId=GALE|EJ3010870221&source=Bookmark&u=lom_accessmich&jsid=fc52457ee5b9162d64bf20c8bda5e731

In this article, the author explains that violent rap music doesn't necessary affect one's behavior. In fact, rap videos with violent content are more likely to have such and effect on people than rap music itself. She also explains that "Only rap music with misogynistic themes appears to create misogynistic attitudes".
I didn't find the article very interesting because the author talks about a lot of studies to prove her point. So, i think that it's easy to get lost in all the ideas depicted in it. Also, i don't agree with all of it. So i wouldn't recommend it.

Vocabulary :
inclined : tending to do something; likely to do something
assumption : a belief or feeling that something is true or that something will happen, although there is no proof

[Pauline Legallet]

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030505084039.htm

This article deals with a study published by the american Psychological Association. It explains that violent songs increase violent feeling and behaviour. The experiment involved over 500 college students and examinated the effects of seven violent songs and 8 nonviolent songs. The sudents were given various psychological task to mesure aggressive thought and feeling.

This article is interesting but the author says that more studies are needed to indentify the short-term and long term effect of violent song lyrics. Therefore I think that it'is hard to conclude on the subjet thanks to this article...

Vocabulary:
to arouse: to give rise to a feeling
to vent : to express (one's thoughts or feelings, for example), especially forcefully

[Célia Hérou]

www.cnsnews.com/news/article/musician-john-legend-decries-xenophobia-anti-immigrant-positions-politicians


John Legend is a famous musician and told CNSNews.com that he doesn’t care about polls showing that the majority of Americans don’t want a mosque built at ground zero. Indeed, he said “You can’t let the majority have tyranny to the point where minorities are oppressed.” John Legend also tells that he was disappointed with what he called the "Xenophobia, anti-immigrant positions" that he has seen espoused by American politicians recently.

This article was good because it’s always interesting to know the position of an artist about a political cause which affects everyone. Moreover, I think this article is something violent because this point of vue hurt some people who are very believer on their religion and they don't understand why they can't have a mosque at this place. John Legend use a very hard vocabulary too speaking about "Xenophobia" and so one.. It's violent and it can shock people but it can also trigger a reaction from them.

Vocabulary:
Xenophobia: a strong feeling of dislike or fear of people from other countries
Poll: the process of questioning people who are representative of a larger group in order to get information about the general opinion
Tyranny: unfair or cruel use of power or authority
Backburner: to leave an idea or a plan for a time, to be done or considered later