Letter of Introduction on Music Censorship

When I was first informed about the controversial topic project, I was instantly reminded of a favorite subject of mine, politics. This made me rather interested in the project, and I found myself putting a great deal of effort into it. At first, I decided on the controversial topic of polygamy, and I even began researching it. I was interested in polygamy because I have always been appalled by the tasteless act of plural marriage. The fact that I was so against it made it rather hard to be neutral and write two papers on the subject: one promoting it and one against it. Also, I couldn’t find enough information to support my arguments. After a hectic period of researching, talking to friends, and being in an utter state of confusion, I finally settled on music censorship. It really interested me because frankly, I love music. To me, music is more than beautiful, and I spend most of my days listening to music either on my I-Pod, or in the car, or watching music videos on television. Freedom of speech is still not existent in my developing nation, and I am aware of freedom of speech in the First Amendment of the US constitution, so my controversial question was: Should Music Be Censored in the USA? As the days progressed, and I got more into research, I found myself very drawn to my topic, and very interested in anything concerning it. It no longer was a hassle for me; I was quite enjoying searching as well as writing my papers. Before all the research, I knew very close to nothing about my topic, and now I feel so much more informed to the point where I can sit and debate the opposing view points of my topic. After numerous days of brainstorming and staring at a blank computer screen, I was finally able to write two balanced opposing papers on the controversial issue of music censorship. This project was rather tiring, but I really do feel that it was worth it. I am extremely proud of this portfolio, which basically contains all the work I did for this project, and I will cherish this experience for many years to come.

Samar Al Ansari
Grade 10.3