Extract of Storyboard
This project attempts to examine the dangers of censorship and the continuous struggle to maintain freedom of speech. Heavy metal, and music as a whole, is one of the most honest forms of expressing our freedom of speech. But with this comes a struggle to maintain that right due to the continuous threat of censorship.
In 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) began to target music with taboo themes such as violence, sexuality, substance abuse, and more, especially songs from their Filthy Fifteen list. They had the goal of implementing a rating system on songs, music videos, and live performances, or else ban music with explicit lyrics altogether.
Promotional poster
This poster depicts a young heavy metal fan who has been silenced. The cut-outs are a mix of quotes from the PMRC as well as musicians from television interviews and the 1985 Senate hearing which results in the original message being lost.
This serves to remind the viewer of the ongoing conflict between young people who want to push boundaries and older generations who want to maintain the status quo, which I believe will always be a relevant issue.
Parents Music Resource Center v. Heavy Metal short film