Deviant Behavior & Sociology Control

So one of the things we discussed this week was the PMRC’s “Filthy Fifteen,” which were 15 songs that they essentially wanted banned because they were causing kids in 1985 to worship the devil, do drugs and have sex . There was a whole series of Congressional hearings about this, leading to the creation of Parental Advisory Labels on albums and age restrictions on buying music. I want you to pick 3 and listen to them. Then address the following questions:

First, name the songs.
What did you think about the songs? What questionable content did you notice? Do you think it would really make kids do deviant things?
How do the songs compare to the music you listen to today? Or when you were a teenager?
How does this relate to what Durkheim thought about deviance? How does it relate to what Moynihan said about deviance? (These 2 are major questions, so be sure to fully answer them).
For your reply there are no special instructions. I guess just don’t make fun of someone’s musical tastes?

Here’s a list of the songs:

The Filthy Fifteen
# Artist Song Title Lyrical Content
1 Prince “Darling Nikki” Sex
2 Sheena Easton “Sugar Walls” Sex
3 Judas Priest “Eat Me Alive” Sex
4 Vanity “Strap on Robbie Baby” Sex
5 Mötley Crüe “Bastard” Violence
6 AC/DC “Let Me Put My Love into You” Sex
7 Twisted Sister “We’re Not Gonna Take It” Violence
8 Madonna “Dress You Up” Sex
9 W.A.S.P. “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” Sex/Language
10 Def Leppard “High ‘n’ Dry (Saturday Night) Drugs/Alcohol
11 Mercyful Fate “Into the Coven” Occult
12 Black Sabbath “Trashed” Drugs/Alcohol
13 Mary Jane Girls “In My House” Sex
14 Venom “Possessed” Occult
15 Cyndi Lauper “She Bop” Sex

ANSWER

Deviant Behavior and Sociology Control

Teenagehood is a fragile age that most human beings endure. It is characterized by wildness, the absorption of new perceptions, and an age filled with gradually evolving with the outside world. The age is mostly determined by what teenagers are exposed to and the chances of adapting to the consumed content at this age high. The ‘filthy fifteen’ contained a list of songs that Congress banned due to their degrading nature. The contents of the song in the list created occult, with its contents spreading violence, sex, drugs, and alcohol. The creation of Parental Advisory Labels on albums and age restrictions tried to combat the menace spread in the songs and protected teenagers from getting access to these illicit songs. This essay analyses the contents of three songs in the “filthy fifteen” list including, ‘Black Sabbath-Trashed,’ Robbie Baby-Strap On,’ and ‘Motley Crue-Bastard’ and their influence on teenagers.

The song Trashed by Black Sabbath is a harmful song to any audience. The contents and lyrics of the song illustrate how the person gets into a car and over speeds after drinking tequila. The person says that he drank a bottle of tequila and felt good while driving at one hundred and five miles per hour. Such contents support reckless driving under the influence. The fact that the persona felt good about seeing death in the eye may encourage teenagers and young adults to engage in the same behavior and looklook for the thrill described in the song. In addition, ‘Strap On’ by Robbie Baby supports sexual fantasies and the act itself. It may encourage the audience, especially teenagers, to engage in reckless sex, which may have other serious repercussions. In the song, the singer says that she wants the man to ‘stroke’ her and ‘ride’ her. In the beginning, she asks if ‘you want some candy, little boy?’. The lyric may be incorrectly interpreted, especially by rapists, who may lure little children with candy for sexual activities.

The third song, ‘Bastard’ by Motley Crue, supports violence as part of the content of the song. In the lyrics ‘Bastard, make it quick, blow off his head, got your neck in the house…’ portray extremely violent acts and persuade those listening to kill. Many serial killers in history have confessed to drug use and listening to such songs, which gave them the urge to want to kill and not feel guilty after their murder. It may also persuade young people to engage in violence without having second thoughts. The songs are not different from what is being played today, as songs like “WAP” by Cardi B have extreme obscenity, which may have a negative effect on young listeners.

Durkheim and Moynihan Thoughts on Deviance

According to Emile Durkheim, deviance is an inevitable part of how society is shaped and the transformation it undergoes through innovation. Durkheim termed deviance as a basis for change and innovation (Asquith, 2017). Hence, the creation of such songs is inevitable. For instance, the contents of ‘Strap On’ were a change in force in the music industry. On the other hand, Moynihan observed deviance as the redefinition of normal around deviant behavior intentionally and collectively shaped the society in various ways. Moynihan asserts that it is an inevitable force when deviancy dominates the existing times and culture, as transformation is bound to happen (Ben‐Yehuda, 2019). Such changes are illustrated in the ‘filth fifteen’ songs, which gradually but collectively shaped society in unintended ways, luring many teenagers and young adults to conform to the contents of the songs.

References

Asquith, N. L. (2017). Crime and Deviance. The Wiley‐Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 1-16.

Ben‐Yehuda, N. (2019). Deviance: A sociology of unconventionalities. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Sociology, 124-140.