A2 Media Blog: Moral Hysteria + Controversial Issues

Moral hysteria is when large groups of the public become fearful or the choices of groups of people (usually young people).

Many current music videos around today wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near television screens in the 60's. For example, the sex pistols TV interview which sparked massive controversy after being aired.

This ties into my current work of music videos because certainly from the 80's to now, a major cause of moral hysteria has been music videos mainly from rap acts like Kanye West to heavy metal acts like Korn. Although not particularly known to the indie-pop genre which I am covering, the issues tackled in Mad Hatter are that of drug use and psychosis and other mental disorders. Which have in recent times become a sensitive topic when discussing the likes of depression.

50s

Elvis thrusting his hips

Presley has already appeared six times on national television, but it is his appearance on The Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956, that triggers the first controversy of his career. Presley sings his latest single, "Hound Dog," with all the pelvis-shaking intensity his fans scream for. Television critics across the country slam the performance for its "appalling lack of musicality," for its "vulgarity" and "animalism." The Catholic Church takes up the criticism in its weekly organ in a piece headlined "Beware Elvis Presley." Concerns about juvenile delinquency and the changing moral values of the young find a new target in the popular singer.