So the MTV Music Awards were actually pretty entertaining The Wayans brothers poked fun at a host of people -- particularly funny was the Macy Gray parody -- and the kid who started Napster came out and did a bit dressed in a Metallica T-shirt (which he said he intended to share with all his friends.)


But the biggest story of the night was Eminem. The hip-hop artist received several awards and had a spot performing on the show. Inside Radio City Music Hall, Eminem seemed to be all the rage. Just outside the hall, there was rage of a different kind.


As Eminem was lauded by many in the music industry (though there are certainly those who disapprove of his antics), there were crowds outside the hall protesting Eminem's use of homophobic and misogynistic slurs and comments in his music.


The protest was organized by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Upset with MTV's "support" of the hip hop phenomenon, the group had apparently asked MTV not to let Eminem perform at the awards show. In lieu of granting their request, MTV ran a public-service advertisement directly following Eminem's performance aimed at discouraging violence against gays.


The situation begs important questions: Is MTV being socially irresponsible by airing Eminem's music or by giving him a performance spot on their awards show? Is the network promoting homophobia and misogyny? Or is it reflecting the desires and tastes of their fans? Is it merely reflecting society, for that matter?


It seems pretty clear that there exists some sort of give-and-take here. Certainly MTV helps create stars, but it is also a money-making machine that will do anything to please and satisfy the tastes of its fans.


But regardless of the extent of MTV's influence, does the fact that it has any influence at all make it morally wrong for MTV to promote people like Eminem?


It is more than understandable to see MTV as deserving of blame. After all, if the word "faggot" in Eminem's lyrics was substituted with "nigger" or "kike," would there be a more wary reaction from the network? While refusing to play Eminem's songs on TRL might border on censorship, MTV certainly did not have to choose to have him perform in one of the few spots available at the awards show. Allowing that to happen was sending out the wrong message -- one of support for Eminem -- and the spot could have been just as easily filled by Christina Aguielera or someone equally as painful yet inoffensive.


Still, there is a certain amount of hypocrisy inherent in that view. If there were a musician who sang "The government sucks" in a hit song, and MTV refused to play it, we would all rant about the First Amendment.


Certainly it is preferable for the media to have some level of "social responsibility." MTV tries to achieve this by allowing only Eminem lyrics that are devoid of homophobic and misogynistic messages to air on the network.


I would like to think that the kids listening to MTV are able to distinguish between Eminem's talent and his preaching. Hopefully, they recognize him as an offensive phony using shock lyrics to get attention. (His willingness to censor his own music just to get publicity on MTV despite his claims that he scorns and defies authority should say enough.) But it would be naive to think that his music has no negative effects. Surely some fans will not recognize the hurt and harm such lyrics can cause. Still, does that mean we can hold the media solely responsible? This delves into a long-debated issue: Do we really think that the entertainment industry should ban all art that includes violence, racism, sex, etc. to avoid the possibility that kids might be badly influenced?


Certainly not. In fact, sometimes it is even preferable to have displays such as Eminem in the public eye, so that we can use them as tools to teach our kids. We can point to the spectacle of hate, and then we can point to the controversy and opposing force of championing equality and acceptance that the spectacle provokes -- in this case, the GLAAD protest.


Allowing all of these viewpoints to be heard is the most fair and honest option.


We cannot shield kids from reality. But we can incorporate into their realities a sense of right and wrong. Perhaps Jim Carrey said it best in his reluctant introduction of Eminem's MTV awards show performance: "His lyrics are totally socially irresponsible. But I think if we just spend more time with our kids, we'll be OK."

Archived article by Danielle Stein