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Re: what are you listening to ?
Armenian Weekly On-Line
April 5-11, 2003
MTV Bans System of a Down Video Because of Iraq War
By Jason Sohigian
WATERTOWN, MA--In an internal memo from its Broadcast Standards
Manager, MTV Europe has banned the showing of a new System of a Down
music video, describing it as an "anti-war video containing facts and
figures about, amongst other things, the projected casualties in the
war in Iraq." A number of European countries have expressed their
opposition to the US-led war in Iraq, and public opinion in those
countries has openly supported this view, leading to heightened
sensitivities about expressing anti-war sentiments.
The memo, "Recommendations for the scheduling and content of videos and
programs," also bans videos by a number of other mainstream artists,
citing the outbreak of the Iraq war. The memo was made available on the
Web site, internalmemos.com, which calls itself "The Internet's largest
collection of corporate memos and internal communication."
"Obviously, there will be heightened public sensitivity to
representations of war, soldiers, bombing, destruction of buildings,
and public unrest at home," began the memo. "The ITC Program Code [the
Independent Television Commission is the regulatory body for commercial
television in England] requires us not to broadcast material which
offends against good taste or is offensive to public feeling. We
therefore recommend that videos featuring the following are not shown
at the moment: war, soldiers, war planes, bombs, missiles, riots and
social unrest, executions, other obviously sensitive material."
The System of a Down video, "Boom!" was directed by Michael Moore, and
these artists have been well-known for infusing political themes in
their work. The group has also been instrumental in raising awareness
among their fans of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and its ongoing
denial by Turkey. In addition to a link to the Web site of the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA), System of a Down sponsored an
"Axis of Justice" campaign during its concerts, which included
information on human rights issues including the Genocide.
Moore's first major hit, his 1989 film "Roger and Me," was a
documentary chronicling the efforts of General Motors to turn its
hometown of Flint, Michigan, into a ghost town by closing plants and
laying off workers. Moore's recent book, Stupid White Men... and Other
Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! has surprised even him by
returning to number one on the New York Times Best-seller List in its
46th week. His latest film, "Bowling for Columbine," is a humorous and
horrifying film about America. Moore probes questions such as why
11,000 people die in America each year as a result of gun violence, and
what sets the US apart from other countries.
"The strangest thing about this impending war is that the people--the
real majority who make up the population of this country and the world-
-do not truly want to go to war," said Moore. "Watching the news, you
would never know that millions have been out there proposing a
different solution--one that does not involve the slaughter of
innocents. It is these people whom we will give voice to in 'Boom!'"
Moore also expressed his opposition to the war in his acceptance speech
for Best Documentary during the otherwise subdued Academy Awards last
month.
Much of "Boom!" was shot by independent media activists and local
guerilla filmmakers at the various marches that took place around the
world on the weekend of February 15--Presidents' Day weekend--in
Berlin, Cape Town, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, Washington, London, Chicago,
Oslo, Rio de Janeiro, Croatia, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Iraq.
"The possibility of the US going to war with Iraq is an extremely
personal issue for me because I have family who live there," said
System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian. "I visited Iraq when I was a
teenager, and I can tell you first-hand that the people who I met there
are really nice, ordinary people who don't want war with us or with
anyone. So, we'd like to have the 'Boom!' video help change the way
people think about the solution to our global problems. We want to make
the idea of dropping bombs, of waging war seem as antiquated and
ridiculous as it is today for an Afro-American to have to sit at the
back of the bus."
"We'd like the 'Boom!' video to represent the importance and the beauty
of humanity, the desire people have to live in a world without fear,
without war or the rumors of war," explained vocalist Serj Tankian.
A spokeswoman for MTV Networks told the New York Times that the memo
applied only to MTV in Europe. She also said that the videos listed
were not banned but simply singled out as examples of the kinds of
videos that it is "advising against showing." She added, however,
without elaboration, that MTV in the US was also "being responsive to
the heightened sensitivities of its audience."
Tankian explained that MTV in England was not showing his band's new
video, but that MTV in the US was. He also said the music-video network
MuchMusic in Canada is showing "Boom!" but MuchMusic USA is not.
Political engagement is not unusual for alternative musicians. System
of a Down has continued a tradition of activism started by groups like
Crass and Conflict in England, the Proletariat from Boston, the
Minutemen from San Pedro, Beefeater from Washington, and Rage Against
the Machine from Los Angeles.
After Sept. 11, one of the first musicians to take on an activist role
was Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, the highly influential 22-year old
underground band. Moore began compiling little-known articles on world
events and distributing them to friends.
Another of his longtime fantasies was to have a label that gave away
music free. Now, with Chris Habib, Sonic Youth's Webmaster, Moore has
started his own free music label, Protest Records. The label is giving
away MP3's on the Internet at www.protest-records.com.
Eight songs advocating peace or questioning the motives for war are
currently on the site, including songs by the Beastie Boys and Kathleen
Hanna, and Moore has been contacted by REM, Zach de la Rocha, and Ian
MacKaye, who all intend to submit songs.
The inspiration for the label came when he attended a benefit concert
and heard a song about the relationship between xxxx Cheney and the
oil-services company Halliburton.
"I thought, this is a great protest song, but there are only 100 people
in this room who are ever going to hear it," Moore said in an article
in the New York Times about the site.
Tankian also spoke out immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
against the US. In a controversial article titled, "Understanding Oil,"
he highlighted that "bombing and being bombed are the same things on
different sides of the fence," that Saddam Hussein was once an ally of
the US and the CIA, that "terror will multiply if concrete steps are
not taken to sponsor peace in the Middle East," and that "it is time to
put our needs for security and survival--achieved only through peace--
above and beyond profits."
The article, which was posted on the group's Web site on September 12,
2001, was removed within two hours because of the controversy it
attracted. Even talk-show host Howard Stern--who is reactionary in all
matters except sex--told Tankian to "go back to Armenia" after reading
it, according to an article in Alternative Press magazine. Like now,
the topic of oil is completely absent and discouraged from discussions
of the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.Leave a comment:
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