Heavy Metal does Not equal suicide
(Heavy Metal in Court)
Over the years parents have sued heavy metal bands and record companies because their children committed suicide as a consequence of listening to the music. However, the most important fact to keep in mind is that heavy metal was always acquitted. In other words courts have time and time again declared that heavy metal music does not cause one to commit suicide. Here are some court cases in which both bands were found innocent:
1) McCollum v Osbourne- The McCollum's teenage son committed suicide in 1984 after listening to songs like "Suicide
Solution" and "Paranoid" by Ozzy Osbourne. The parents cited specific lyrics, but CBS records claimed that "Suicide
Solution" was a message against alcohol abuse.
2) Vance v Judas Priest- Two teenage boys from Nevada committed suicide after listening to Stained Glass by Judas Priest. The
parents claimed that certain songs were "calls to suicide" but the defense claimed that the teenagers committed suicide
because of a dysfuncional family (Stack, Gundlach, and Reeves 18).
These heavy metal cases were important because they resulted in a legal backing that heavy metal does not cause one to resort to suicide.
1) McCollum v Osbourne- The McCollum's teenage son committed suicide in 1984 after listening to songs like "Suicide
Solution" and "Paranoid" by Ozzy Osbourne. The parents cited specific lyrics, but CBS records claimed that "Suicide
Solution" was a message against alcohol abuse.
2) Vance v Judas Priest- Two teenage boys from Nevada committed suicide after listening to Stained Glass by Judas Priest. The
parents claimed that certain songs were "calls to suicide" but the defense claimed that the teenagers committed suicide
because of a dysfuncional family (Stack, Gundlach, and Reeves 18).
These heavy metal cases were important because they resulted in a legal backing that heavy metal does not cause one to resort to suicide.
Marilyn Manson & Suicide?
In 1996, Raymond Kuntz's son committed suicide and Marilyn Manson's music was blamed. Kuntz wanted to make music corperations responsible for the negative effects of the offensive lyrics and glorification of death and suicide. Kuntz's son was actually writing a paper on Marilyn Manson. In this paper Kuntz's son said, "Through the tolerance of 'evil' groups such as Marilyn Manson, many children's minds are being degraded. Marilyn Manson shows that it is possible for a Christian society to produce somebody who is against everything that it stands for. Believing that what he is doing is good and promoting it through music, he gains followers by epitomizing children's black thoughts of rebellion" (Kuntz, Brownback, and Lieberman). This quote makes it obvious that Kuntz's son recognized that the themes were inappropriate. There must have been other factors because most people experience positive affects while listening to music. Below are some of Marilyn Manson's songs. The real reason that heavy metal has been in court is because of the stereotype that has plagued the genre. No one believes that a country song can cause someone to commit suicide. Therefore it does not make sense to make a similar claim about Marilyn Manson's music.
The problem with all heavy metal cases is that the cases rely too much on pathos rather than logos. For example Kuntz closes by saying " I missed an opportunity there. I failed my son as a father... I failed to recognize that my son was holding a hand grenade [heavy metal music] and it was live and that it was going off in his mind" (Kuntz, Brownback, and Lieberman). Of course it is terrible to lose a loved one, but blaming heavy metal music is not the solution to recover from an unfortunate event like suicide.
The PMRC and Subliminal Messages
"' The messages may also be covert or subliminal...
These are heard by the subconscious but not the conscious mind.
There is disagreement among experts regarding the effectiveness
of subliminals. We need more research on that'" (Adams).
Subliminal messages are complete nonsense. For example if you showed a picture of oysters for 20 milliseconds at a movie theatre, would the people go to the concession booth and ask to buy oysters? The answer is no because 20 milliseconds is not enough time to see the picture (Tomstafford). During the 1985 PMRC hearings there were PMRC members that claimed that if you played heavy metal there were hidden messages. The goal of the PMRC was to convince people that heavy metal music was not entertainment like other music genres, but a danger to society. In other words the PMRC had to formulate an argument where heavy metal was not music (Adams). However, heavy metal is music and music does not cause one to commit suicide. The PMRC did not use many facts because there was little proof of evidence to support the subliminal message theory. The PMRC also critiqued song lyrics very literally, and this is incorrect because music is an art and art is rarely if ever literal (Adams). As a result, the PMRC never proved that heavy metal music causes one to resort to suicice, but instead helped magnify the concern of many parents. As evidence shows throughout this site, these concerns are unfounded.
These are heard by the subconscious but not the conscious mind.
There is disagreement among experts regarding the effectiveness
of subliminals. We need more research on that'" (Adams).
Subliminal messages are complete nonsense. For example if you showed a picture of oysters for 20 milliseconds at a movie theatre, would the people go to the concession booth and ask to buy oysters? The answer is no because 20 milliseconds is not enough time to see the picture (Tomstafford). During the 1985 PMRC hearings there were PMRC members that claimed that if you played heavy metal there were hidden messages. The goal of the PMRC was to convince people that heavy metal music was not entertainment like other music genres, but a danger to society. In other words the PMRC had to formulate an argument where heavy metal was not music (Adams). However, heavy metal is music and music does not cause one to commit suicide. The PMRC did not use many facts because there was little proof of evidence to support the subliminal message theory. The PMRC also critiqued song lyrics very literally, and this is incorrect because music is an art and art is rarely if ever literal (Adams). As a result, the PMRC never proved that heavy metal music causes one to resort to suicice, but instead helped magnify the concern of many parents. As evidence shows throughout this site, these concerns are unfounded.