Music Violence
The violence in music debate rages on across the mass media of America. Television, magazines, newspapers, and of course the radio blast the commercial marketing of popular music with one wavelength, while simultaneously reprimanding the creators and listeners of this music for their negativity. It is a violent world that we live in, and this violence is reflected in the art that we create. Some people argue that the world today is significantly more violent now than it was in decades and centuries past. It is also said that the violence in our art may in fact be the root cause of the violence in our society. Both popular and alternative music is filled with lyrics about violent events, and the music itself, according to some people, causes violent reactions in the brains of certain people. However, history has shown that it has always been a violent world, and that while the face of violence and the means by which that violence becomes part of the lives of different people changes and evolves with each generation, the core essence of violence does remain. This violence, which would be considered by some people to be the fatal flaw of the human race itself, is difficult to face, for it is a reflection of our own weaknesses. It is much easier to find a scapegoat, someone or something that can take the blame on the behalf of the greater Human Race, than to come to terms with this unavoidable aspect of the self. It is commonly said that today's popular music is ever so violent, and this is treated like a new event. Popular music may in fact be violent, but is it possible to say if a violent society is inspiring commentary through music, or if violent music is inspiring a society to fall? Music historians will argue that while both are somewhat true, the violent nature of music is not new, and has served an important role in the development of our culture . Perhaps violence in music is the healthy outlet for our collective Jungian Shadow, or perhaps violence in music is a means by which to study this flaw so that it can be overcome. The violence and some music is accused of inciting may also be a constructive reaction to assist in the evolution of mankind somehow, or it may be simply a natural reaction to the anti-self that is revealed through musical Shadow-play. It might simply be easier to blame violence on art and music than to blame it on people. The history of the connection between music and violence is a long and fascinating one, but even a glimpse at a few well-known examples of music violence can reveal a significant amount of truth about ourselves as humans.
There was a recorded link between music and violence even in ancient times of humanity. In Greek mythology, for example, music is often used as a weapon. One such embodiment of music violence would be the Sirens, monstrous creatures that appeared in the form of beautiful singers. Sirens would use their music to lure sailors to their deaths, for they would lean in close to listen to the hypnotic voices and then be pulled under the water to drown. "Approaching sailors were drawn to them by their enchanting singing, causing them to sail on the cliffs and drown." (Hardy) Perhaps this was one of the earliest times it was believed that music would lead to violence. There are other examples in Greek mythology as well. Orpheus was one of the greatest musicians in Greek mythology. Orpheus wrote music, sang, and played the harp, and he was known throughout the lands as the most brilliant musician there was. Orpheus used his music to pay his way through the Underworld to find the should of his dead mate, Eurydice. However, when Orpheus began to play the music of Apollo instead of the music of Dionysus, and he refused to play for the Maenads (companions of Dionysus) when they requested him to, it provoked a violent riot the kinds of which have not been rivaled by modern rock concert riots. The Maenads tore Orpheus to shreds and threw his dismembered and mutilated body into the river, all because they didn't like his music. There are other examples of music violence in Greek Mythology, as well as examples throughout other ancient myths.
Much of history has been a constant battle between civilization and barbarianism, and music has been used to define that fine line. Music continued to provoke violence in wartime throughout many cultures, and even to lead soldiers directly into battle. An example...
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