audioaudio90 Messages: 623 Registered: October 2010
Illuminati (1st Degree)
I thought we'd gotten past the knee-jerk response of blaming music for behavior, but I heard someone say the other day that listening to rap makes kids criminals.
Do you think there is any truth to blaming music or other media for bad behavior? To me, it seems a way of avoiding responsibility for a person's decisions.
Wayne Parham Messages: 18793 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
I think it's a chicken and egg thing. Think about the difference between someone that has a pretty calm life, free from drama and who prefers to listen to soft music and watching television and movies that aren't real violent. Then think of another person that has a lot of strife in their life, and prefers to listen to death metal or hardcore rap, plays violent video games and watches a lot of bloody television and movies. That kind of lifestyle runs away with itself, like an adrenaline addiction.
I think Wayne's viewpoint is at least more nuanced than the "It's rap's fault" argument. I think music can possibly influence, but there are other factors at play and ultimately it's still up to the person and the choices they make.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a small correlation between violent music and bad behavior. However, I think the vast majority of people who enjoy violent entertainment live perfectly normal lives. My friends and I like listening to rappers like Eminem once in a while, and we play gory video games. I don't know anyone who has ever done anything violent though.
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