Video Censorship

As our music video contains explicit scenes we have decided to research into what it takes to 'ban' a music video from a music video channel because of its explicitness. After searching on the internet we found that the what may be considered offensive will differ in countries due to censorship laws and local customs and ethics.

The record label the artist is signed to will also provide and distribute videos that have been edited or it will provide both censored and uncensored videos. Obviously, in some cases, music videos have been banned in their entirety as they have been deemed far too offensive to be broadcast.
Examples of banned music videos:

- The first video to be banned by MTV was Queen's 1982 hit "Body Language." Due to thinly veiled homoerotic undertones plus lots of skin and lots of sweat

- The video for "Girls on Film" by Duran Duran, which featured topless women mud wrestling and other depictions of sexual fetishes, was banned by the BBC.

- Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" video (where the singer performs the song in an extremely revealing body suit surrounded by a ship full of cheering sailors) was restricted to late-night broadcasts on MTV.

- The Sex Pistols' video for "God Save the Queen" was banned by the BBC for calling the United Kingdom a fascist regime.

- Mötley Crüe's video for "Girls, Girls, Girls" was banned by MTV for having completely nude women dancing around the members of the band in a strip club.

-In 1991, the dance segment of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was cut because it showed Michael Jackson "inappropriately" touching himself in it. Michael Jackson's most controversial video, "They Don't Care About Us" was banned from MTV, VH1, and BBC because of the alleged anti-Semitic message in the song and the visuals in the background of the "Prison Version" of the video

- Madonna is the artist most associated with music video censorship. The controversy surrounding her marketing of sexuality began with the video for "Lucky Star", and amplified over time due to clips such as "Like a Virgin". Outcry occurred over the subject matter discussed in "Papa Don't Preach". "Like a Prayer" courted heavy criticism due to its religious, sexual, and racially-oriented imagery. In 1990, Madonna's music video for the song "Justify My Love" was banned by MTV due to its depiction of sadomasochism, homosexuality, cross-dressing, and group sex which generated a media firestorm.

- In 1992, The Shamen's video for the song "Ebeneezer Goode" was banned by the BBC due to its perceived subliminal endorsement of the recreational drug Ecstasy

- Prodigy's 1997 video for "Smack My Bitch Up" was banned in some countries due to depictions of drug use and nudity. The Prodigy's video for "Firestarter" was banned by the BBC because of its references to arson

- In 2000, the music video for "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams caused controversy due to the graphic nature of the video which featured Robbie Williams appearing naked and peeling off his skin to reveal flesh. The video was censored in the UK and was only once broadcast uncensored at 2:00 AM.

- Björk's 2001 song, "Pagan Poetry", was banned from MTV for depictions of sexual intercourse, fellatio, and body piercings. Her next single, "Cocoon", was also banned by MTV as it featured a nude Björk.

- Madonna's video for "Erotica" was aired only three times (each time after midnight) due to its sexual depictions of sadomasochism. More recently, Madonna's "What It Feels Like for a Girl" was banned in 2001 due to its graphic depiction of violence. She also pulled her "American Life" video because of its controversial military imagery that seemed inappropriate once the War in Iraq began; subsequently, a new video was made for the song.

- In 2008, Justice's video for their song "Stress" was boycotted by several major music television channels due to allegations of racism and violence; the video depicts several youths committing various crimes throughout the streets of Paris, with the youths mainly being of North African descent.