MTV

Music Television or MTV was started in 1981 and immediately grabbed the attention of youth everywhere, mirroring their interests and influencing their lives. When MTV first started, it was mainly viewed by those in the age group of 12 to 34, but its impact was seen by all ages. Over its 30 years on the air, MTV has taken a long winding road, adapting with each new condition. Of those thirty years, MTV has changed most dramatically due to changes in popular culture and in demands by worried parents. Each of these influences has cause MTV to become more than just “illustrated radio,” but rather a child grown to adulthood.

Article 1. The Beginning of MTV 2. Moving to Break the Racial Barrier 3. Corrupting America’s Youth? 4. Promoting Awareness through Music and News 5. The Transformation between Reality and Reality Shows Analysis An Impact on Society The Influence of Morals on Popular Culture An Increase in Awareness Works Cited

**1. The Beginning of MTV**
MTV was started by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Company (WASEC). Media executive, Robert E. Pittman and WASEC worked together to develop a network focused on broadcasting music videos. After three years and $30 million, MTV was launched at 12:01AM on August 1, 1981. The first words said on the broadcast were relevant to the time’s popular culture, rooted in music and rebellion. Those words, said by John Lack, an MTV creator, were, “Ladies and Gentlemen, rock and roll.” After these memorable words, MTV played its first music video, “Video Killed the Radio Star,” by the Buggles. MTV started out small, only broadcasting roughly 250 videos to about one thousand viewers. And though it started small, there is no doubt that it has changed over the years.

** 2. Moving to Break the Racial Barrier **
During MTV’s early years, there was criticism that they refused opportunity for African-American artists’ music videos. Various black artists were denied a spot on the MTV playlist. The reasoning provided by MTV producers was that the music of African Americans didn’t match the popular music of the 80s, which was predominately rock. African American artists and others began to advocate for the equal opportunity of music video broadcast on MTV. Walter Yetnikoff was the president of CBS Records during 1983, when the barrier between MTV and equality was strong. Yetnikoff condemned MTV for its lack of equal video play. This act eventually led to the broadcast of “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson and videos of other African-American artists. Though this was a positive breakthrough, the Music Television network did not stay out of news for long.

**3. Corrupting America’s Youth?**
In the 1980s and 1990s, parents began to worry about the influence that MTV had on American youth. While pop culture often changes due to various factors, media can be one of the most controversial factors. Parents were alarmed by the increase in drug and alcohol abuse among their teenage children during the 1990s. In that time, music videos on MTV began to display and advertise the high life with smoking and drinking. Another worry of parents was that music aired on MTV featured profanity and violence among other “satanic” themes. Videos like “Straight Outta Compton,” by NWA and “Prison Sex” by Tool displayed those themes. The extensive utilization of profanity and sexual motifs in these videos and other similar caused parents to take action. Parents began joining groups such as the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) to fight against those themes they thought were anti-religious. Another increasingly troublesome problem with MTV was the excessive sexual content it displayed on its Spring Break each year. Another group called the Parents Television Council (PTC) did a report to expose immoral themes such as the display of nudity on MTV’s programming. It was said that this type of broadcasting had a negative influence on youth, considering that they are very impressionable to changes in popular culture. Because of this, parents and other adults criticized that MTV was corrupting our youth.



**4. Promoting Awareness through Music and News**
As a result of an apprehensive adult population, MTV made changes to its broadcasting techniques and policies on drugs, alcohol, violence, profanity, and sexuality. To make up for these immoral themes, MTV began new programs to promote a better image for itself. A Fight for your Rights campaign in the late 1990s was started to encourage awareness on violence. MTV also started having newsbreaks during their regular programming that focused on current events in politics and in the world. Also, programs supported by MTV began to promote active citizenship. Voting programs such as Choose or Lose of 1992 and Vote or Die of 2004 promoted political intellect and voter registration of young people.

**5. The Transformation from Reality to Reality Shows**
While MTV seemed to be approving a positive role in society and moving towards a network based more on realism in the 2000s, it has since fallen back into old habits. This is because MTV’s directors and producers conduct extensive research programs on what is “cool” to teenagers of the time. They have maintained their young spirit and ability to remain popular by conducting studies like these. The next most popular trend: reality shows. Although the production of reality shows started in the late 1990s, it has since picked up in a popularity perspective. Nowadays, MTV is less about music and airs more reality shows such as the Real World and Jersey Shore. These shows do not promote the professionalism of a voter registration campaign, but rather encourage youth to grow up thinking that violence and alcohol abuse is a normal practice of all adults. This is not true, and that is why some criticize that MTV has forgotten about the music and now is too preoccupied with the lack of realness in reality shows.

= **Analysis** = MTV, or Music Television has been extremely influential over its 30 years on the air. Through the years, MTV has played a part in changing the society by breaking the racial barrier, transforming popular culture with the influence of morals, and increasing awareness of politics among young people.

An Impact on Society
Before airing any program, MTV’s directors do extensive research on what is popular to teens at a certain time with the desire to remain “cool.” But unfortunately, a network that reflects its audience isn’t a very diverse one if its audience isn’t. Twenty years before the launching of MTV, when the Civil Rights Movement was most active, African-Americans fought for equality. And although they were successful in removing segregation laws and creating equal opportunity amendments, they were not completely successful in their endeavors. Although Rosa Parks made it possible for blacks to choose their seat on the bus two decades prior, racism still had not completely vanished. Because of this, MTV did not broadcast music videos of black artists. The perseverance of Rosa Parks is parallel to that of artists like Whitney Houston who fought for her right, as a black artist to have her music equally broadcasted. Since then, MTV has aired music from black artists and have listed discrimination as one of the problem areas in their ‘MTV: think’ programming. By doing this, MTV has acknowledged that discrimination still occurs, not only against African-Americans but against all races.

The Influence of Morals on Popular Culture
In the 1990s, MTV began to see a new wave in popular culture; one filled with sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, and profanity. MTV, wishing to remain cool, met those requests with vulgar music videos with explicit lyrics. This lack of morals influenced popular culture immensely, but it did not influence pop culture as much as the wave of parents who would come only a few years later. The same type of dedication shown by parents in the 80s and 90s can be seen through various uprisings in history as well; such as the rise of Rock ’n’ Roll in the 1950s. Parents were against Rock ‘n’ Roll because it was different from what they had grown up with. Adults of the 50s were raised when segregation was widely accepted; Rock ‘n’ Roll artists spoke out against racism and sang about standing up for your beliefs, rather than the beliefs of your parents. This radical and rebellious pop culture scared not only parents, but parts of the government as well. Because of this fear, musicians were arrested with no warrant and concerts were banned. Also, television producers changed their screen shots to only show the top halves of artists, "Elvis the Pelvis" Presley specifically, to prevent America from seeing his swinging hips and gyrating pelvis. Popular culture was influenced by activism of parents, and although the methods of activism were different, parents of both eras showed the same concern and dedication to preserve their values in society.

An Increase in Awareness
Though MTV has helped break the barrier of racism and “cleaned up” popular culture, the biggest impact MTV has made is clear; it is MTV’s actions to increase awareness. With such a strong influence on America, MTV has incorporated values of active citizenship and global awareness in their regular programming. MTV New Breaks became an every hour segment between the ever present reality shows and musical performances. While most youth don’t concentrate or even recognize the bigger picture in life, MTV has almost made it impossible for them to avoid those bigger things such as global issues and politics.

With the focus changes made by MTV, artists have also changed their musical focus. Special performances, such as LIVE 8 concerts, have made it a top priority to raise funds and awareness of worldwide crises. The performances of influential artists at LIVE 8 concerts are used to ask world leaders to help developing countries. Not only is this a call to world leaders but also a call to citizens also. Attendees at concerts leave with a greater understanding of the problem and with a desire to help in any way possible. Artists promoted this necessity for awareness in their music as well. Artists over the last few decades have responded to MTVs request for a more positive influence through music by changing their lyrical focuses. In the 1960s, songs like "Unknown Soldier" by the Doors and "Goodnight Saigon" by Billy Joel, were extremely popular due to the rejection of the Vietnam War. In the 1970s, songs about drugs were played, such as "Horse With No Name" by America. In the 1980s, songs about global awareness, such as "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson, were produced. A changing pattern in popular culture is reflected by music and continues to do so. Modern artists, like Green Day have produced songs with a focus on greater citizenship roles of youth, including political awareness.

Music has promoted a new view of politics and MTV’s various politically aimed programs have made an impact on political awareness as well. Voter registration programs such as Vote or Die have sparked the citizen in many young people causing voter registration to increase dramatically. But MTV was not the first to inspire young people to become politically aware, encouragement for high numbers of voters has always been a theme of American history. The most influential voter registration program was seen in the 1960s through the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders of the movement fought hard to ensure their right to vote by promoting a more literate group of young people in the African-American community. MTV followed similar steps, but had fewer obstacles because they already had popularity and acceptance by teens. As MTV has become almost a necessity in the road from adolescence to adulthood, the last thing that MTV could do to leave a lasting impact on their viewers was to teach them how to be an active citizen. They have done this through many means, and will continue to find more ways to leave an impact on the American people, no matter what age.

Primary Sources:
Carr, David. "MTV's Naked Calculation Gone Bad." //New York Times// 23 Jan. 2011, New York ed.: B1. Goodman, Barak, and Rachel Dretzin. "The Merchants of Cool." //Frontline//. PBS. 27 Feb. 2001. "MTV: 20 Years of Entertainment Innovation - CNN." //Featured Articles from CNN//. CNN, 06 Aug. 2001. 20 May 2011. . "MTV.com - Choose or Lose - Voting 101." //New Music Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top// //Stories | MTV//. MTV, 20 July 2004. 20 May 2011. .

Secondary Sources:
At, Justin. "MTV: The Past & The Present | It Thing!" //Fun and Information Merged Together |// //ItThing.com//. It Thing, 22 Feb. 2011. 20 May 2011. . Hagelin, Rebecca. "MTVs Poisoning Our Kids | The Heritage Foundation." //Conservative Policy Research// //and Analysis | The Heritage Foundation//. Heritage Foundation, 18 Mar. 2005. 20 May 2011. . Hornberger, Jacob G. "Racism, Control, and Rock and Roll." //Welcome to The Future of Freedom// //Foundation//. Oct. 1990. 02 June 2011. . Manning, Jason. "Music in the 1980s." //The Eighties Club//. 2000-2006. 20 May 2011. . McGrath, Tom. //MTV: the Making of a Revolution//. Philadelphia: Running, 1996. McLean, Don, and Charles Grosvenor. "In the 70s - Meaning of Lyrics From Songs of the Seventies." //Welcome to the 70s, The Seventies Nostalgia Site//. 02 June 2011. . S, James. "The Sad History of MTV « Thin Line Between Stupid and Clever." //Thin Line between Stupid and// //Clever//. Thin Line between Stupid and Clever, 24 June 2010. 20 May 2011. . Year, End Of. "Breaking Music, Celebrity, Entertainment, Movie and World News | MTV." //New Music// //Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories | MTV//. 02 June 2011. .

Pictures:
//Live 8. Digital image. // //MTV Logo//. Digital image. //The Campus Socialite//. 2 June 2011. . //MTV Logo: Reality Shows//. Digital image. //Design Applause//. 2 June 2011. . //MTV News Logo//. Digital image. //Myspace Images//. 2 June 2011. . //MTV Spring Break '06//. Digital image. //MTV//. 2006. 2 June 2011. . //Vote or Die//. Digital image. 2 June 2011. [].