(As printed in the Fall 2006 Issue of The Belly Dancer Magazine)

IS IT CENSORSHIP?

By Halima

     Recently my teenage grandson asked me if I would purchase a cd for him.  He was unable to buy it because you had to be 18 years old to purchase it.  The reason he asked me is because we were having our grandma/grandson day out and was close to the store where he could purchase it.

     First let me tell you a bit about my grandsons, they are both teenagers and both interested in music although in different areas.  Tylen is taking guitar lessons and Brandon loves rap music and writes rap songs.  Brandon is the one that wants the rap cd.

     The first thing I did was ask if his parents would care if he had the cd.  He said it was okay with them and I believed him.  The reason that I believe him is because both boys know I will call my son to find out if it is true or not and if they lie to me they really get in big trouble with me and at home.  I then asked Brandon to tell me a little more about the cd and why you had to be 18 years old to purchase it and he told me it was because there was a song on there about suicide.  I asked both boys what they thought about that since I knew Tylen would also be listening to this music as well if I purchased it.  Both boys said they thought it was dumb to believe that people commit suicide from listening to music, playing games or watching television.  They believe that if you are going to commit suicide you already have that tendency and it isn't music that makes you do it. They do understand that younger children could be influenced by things like this if it hasn't been explained to them.  Brandon said he was more interested in the rest of the music but it was that one song that prevented him from doing it.  So I bought the CD for him.

     Now frankly, I really don't care whether anyone agrees with what I did or with what the boys said about suicide.  The decision I made doesn't' affect anyone but us and that isn't the point here.  Everyone has a right to their own opinion and everyone has the right to exercise that opinion.  I felt that Brandon was mature enough to have the cd because of his thoughts and because he is interested in writing music.  But, what I do hope is that you understand what happened above.  So let me break it down for you.

     1.  An artist wanted to create a piece of music that was on the edge including material that could be offense to some.

     2.  Because of the nature of the music guidelines/rules were put on it so that younger people would not have access to it because of the nature of the contents.

     3.  The store it is being sold at enforces those rules and advises the adults about the contents.

From my point of view I questioned my grandson about the contents of the tape.  I then asked him his thoughts about the content on the tape and I gave him my thoughts about the content.  I took in consideration his age, maturity and his pursuit of a music career and then made the decision as to whether it was allowable.

     Is this considered censorship?  Of course not.  The artist was allowed to express his creativity so he was not censored, but guidelines were provided to try to prevent it from falling into the hands of younger immature customers.  The venue where you purchased the music enforced the guidelines.  I made the decision as to whether or not my grandson could have the tape.

     This brings me to what I want to talk about.  In the 30 years I have been involved in Middle Eastern dancing I have seen a lot change in the dance.  Alternative or fusion dance has been one of them and we have all appreciated the hard work of the artists involved and their right to express their creativity and we have accepted it into our folds.  Most of us have been very careful about our presentations and how they will appear to the public in order to change or create a better image for our dance that we love.

     However, lately I see something creeping into our dance that disturbs me.  For so many years we have said that our dance can be sensual but not sexual.  But suddenly I start to see or hear more and more about sexuality creeping into the performances under the guise of fusion or artist creativity.  For those of you that might wonder what the difference between sensual and sexual is, the best explanation I like is the difference between a pg-13 rating and an R or X rated.  

     When an outcry of objection is made to what is happening then we are told that we are censoring creative artistry.  I say "NO we are not!"

     As an artist, you created the performance you wanted.  But since we have no one in authority in our dance to give us a rating on the performance we pretty much have to set up the guidelines for it ourselves.  Which means the artist needs to think about the performance and what age group it is suitable for and make a valued decision as to which venue it would be acceptable in.  This is not censorship, this is simply good judgment and in my opinion good marketing.  This should be discussed with the sponsor of the event you are considering for this performance.

     The sponsor however, has the right to set guidelines/rules for what they want seen at their events.  If you make the sponsor aware of your routine and its contents, then the sponsor can tell you if they feel it is appropriate for the audience that will be viewing it.  If they feel it is not appropriate, then don't scream censorship of artistic creativity because it just isn't so.  They are not stifling your creativity, but they are trying to protect younger people that could be influenced by it.

     Artists and sponsors need to talk and work together more for the benefit of all.  Artist need to make sponsors and the public alike aware of the contents of their artistic work.  This way the public is aware and can make a valued decision as to whether they want to purchase the material or view it.  Sponsors can determine whether it is appropriate for their venue and if they choose to include it, then they can make the public aware of the contents and leave the choice to the person that pays to attend.

     Working together with better communications is what everyone needs to do and in my opinion the best choice for everyone.