The Ed Sullivan Show - Essay Example

Bob Dylan’s song ‘Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues’ was viewed as a potentially controversial and unacceptable song to the John Birch Society therefore it was pulled out by CBS Television. Dylan’s motivations to appear on the show could be seen as political and playing this song was considered to mock the extreme right-wing that was viewed as an anti-Communist organization and its policies were compared to those of Hitler. Mike Jagger’s insistence that he said “Mmmmm” instead of “time” in his song that was subject to censorship in Ed Sullivan’s show suggests that performers surely felt subdued to the pressures of censorship but at the same time they wanted to maintain a status quo amongst their followers who appreciated and accepted their songs.

Despite CBS’s attempt to censor some of the lyrics of The Door’s the band went on including them in their song assisted them in affirming the provoking nature of their music and their band. This helped the band build the reputation of being a notorious band who later achieved greater success.Inglis states that context and consequences in terms of individual acts of censorship are related to each other. The relation between context and consequences with regards to censorship is based upon the evaluation of context in which the censorship occurs that is out of blasphemy, sexual contents, etc.

Moreover, this relation is also established within the prospect of censorship on the basis of consequences that would be noted as a result of the imposition of censorship. By calling controversial groups to perform in the show, Sullivan considered controversies as a motivation to make his show successful. Rolling stones and other popular groups greatly marked their mixed impressions on public and therefore audiences wanted to know every update of such groups. This was an ultimate motivation or Ed Sullivan show for allowing controversial groups to perform.

The article remains rather inconclusive to decide whether Inglis is supportive of the musicians or the censors. However, he is of the opinion that there is a continuity of tension between both where pressures are asserted on the musicians in light of the interests of certain groups. At the same time, the role of musicians must also give consideration to the feelings and values shared amongst the audience. Evaluation 1. Clarity of purpose [Is there a clear statement (or statements) of purpose in this article?

Do you understand what the author is trying to do?] 52. Comprehensibility [Is it clear what claims Inglis is using his examples of censorship (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Doors) to support? Is the article understandable, or too complex?] 53. Effective examples (Are Inglis’s arguments about censorship effective? Is his evidence logical?) 44. Organization (Is the article organized well? Does Inglis make connections between ideas?) 55. Convincing conclusion (Does Inglis reach a convincing conclusion about censorship in the end?

Do you feel he “proves” the claims he makes about censorship?) 3“Although (stereo) typically associated with the actions of the state—prior restraint by the government—it is important to recognize that censorship takes many forms and springs from many sources” (Inglis 558).