United Liberty
Rammstein Catches Censorship In Germany
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 12:37pm | posted by Michael Orion Powell
The groundbreaking industrial rock band Rammstein has caught a storm of censorship in Germany for their new Liebe Ich Fur Alle Da (Love Is There For Everyone):
The news reached the band while it was preparing for its European tour, which starts in Portugal and takes it through the continent’s major concert venues. Rammstein’s new album “Liebe ist für alle da” (“Love is There for Everyone”), which was topping the German charts, was “indexed,” or censored, by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons. As of last Wednesday, it was only allowed to be sold to adults with identification. It was an interesting coincidence that the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall were beginning in Berlin at the same time, because the Rammstein case is also a tale of art in reunified Germany.
With a song titled “Pussy,” which features a music video where the band members literally have sex with several porn stars, it’s no wonder that Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da has raised the ire of Germany’s politicians.
While I would argue that Rammstein is a rock band of a calibre that the United States has few to match, this story provides a great example of why we should be grateful to live in the United States. The First Amendment of the Constitution has kept our Tipper Gores and Hillary Clintons from enacting their own American Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons.
I love Rammstein. From the 1st time I heard them. I love what they are doing musically, and I really think they are progressive thinking in the way that they create music. But I would have to agree that pornography should be kept from kids until they can make up their own minds what they want to view. I think what Rammstein is doing is fine for adults that have made up their own minds. I have found that images and experiences burn themselves into the psyche - which should be something that one decides whether or not to participate in. I still think Rammstein rocks…
Generally speaking, I agree, but the responsibility of censoring what goes into children’s index of entertainment should fall to parents and individual retailers, not the government.
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