If you've been paying attention over the last few days (and I admit this issue had to be brought to my attention), you would've stumbled upon the Rihanna 'Man Down' video controversy. Interestingly enough, responses to art and the call for responsibility from artists has been a common conversation topic for me. Reactions to Rihanna's video has only fueled the fire, so to speak. Here we have a song essentially about a girl who murders the man who assaulted her. The video begins with Rihanna committing the oh so controversial act (murder that is), which is very fitting considering the way the song itself unfolds. Later, viewers are confronted with the "reality" that this man, who we see fall to his death in the beginning, essentially raped (rape is implied) the female character played by Rihanna. Of course, the response was immediate and full of calls for Rihanna's responsibility as an artist to the kids who consume her music. What? Rihanna's response, as published by MTV News:
"I'm a 23 year old rock star with NO KIDS! What's up with everybody wantin me to be a parent? I'm just a girl, I can only be your/our voice!" she wrote on Thursday. "Cuz we all know how difficult/embarrassing it is to communicate touchy subject matters to anyone especially our parents! And this is why! ... Cuz we turn the other cheek! U can't hide your kids from society, or they'll never learn how to adapt! This is the REAL WORLD! ... The music industry isn't exactly Parents R Us! We have the freedom to make art, LET US! It's your job to make sure they don't turn out like US."
"The music industry isn't exactly Parents R Us!" She said it and as far as I'm concerned no one should expect the music industry to take on such a role. The reality is as Americans we have total access to this art form. It's everywhere we are: stores, elevators, homes, schools, school buses, etc. As a result, kids and adults alike are all positioned to be influenced by these artists and their bodies of work. This in no way means that creativity should be limited by who may consume the art. If you're looking for music made for kids with nice, pretty responsible messages dedicated to the development of children into responsible and independent adults and positive contributors to society, there are places to go for that. For my generation, it was Barney the big purple dinosaur, Big Bird, Nick Jr., etc. The reality is, Rihanna's music, while it may have been created to send a message to women about their sexual, physical, mental, and emotional safety, wasn't created to lead young kids into responsible adulthood. That is the parent's responsibility. As an artist, Rihanna's impact will never be greater than that child's parent and if the parent feels the image isn't appropriate for their child, then it is the parent's responsibility to limit or restrict access to said image, not Rihanna's.
The conversation of artist responsibility didn't start with Rihanna's video. In fact, just a few days prior, we were told that despite Beyonce's message that girls "Run The World", girls don't actually run the world.
Now, there are a few things I agree with in this video and the speaker acknowledges the fact that "Run The World (Girls)" is just a song and explains that she's using this song as a way to ignite a discussion of feminist issues. I have no problem with anyone using this medium (YouTube) to express their ideas and beliefs. If you're going to discuss the issues, fine, but can you do so without imposing responsibility on the artist? Probably. Much like Rihanna's video, Beyonce is presenting a message to young women, specifically pertaining to the power they do hold despite the lack of acknowledgement by society. In other words, while this song may not be "accurate", it does have a place and has the potential to impact the perceptions of young women as it pertains to what they have the power to do with their skills and talents. Here again, an artist is being held responsible for their consumers. Once again, that is not the artist's job. The artist's job is to create, express, and entertain in whatever way they wish. Their art is not based on us, but on them. (Just for the record, I do know that this statement could incite arguments about the industry and such, but that's not what this blog is about). As an individual who considers herself "creative", the tendency for society to impose this responsibility on artists, I feel, is completely disrespectful to the concept of art itself. Regardless of the medium, art is the product of a creative process that in many ways is steeped in emotion and the ability to manipulate images and ideas. Americans have the great opportunity of being able to experience many different kinds of art and at the moment, we aren't appreciating it.
"Art is art. Everything else is everything else." ~ Ad Reinhardt
Further reading:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1665057/rihanna-defends-man-down-video.jhtml
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1665121/rihanna-man-down-controversy.jhtml
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