Overview

Violence, sex, and buttocks: a brief history of controversial pop music videos. With its explosion in popularity in the 1980s, the music video became an expression of a desire for emancipation, and producers were quick to recognize its commercial potential. MTV became the vehicle for this music video culture—and relayed its scandals. From Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to Madonna's "Justify My Love" and N.W.A's "Fuck The Police," right up to the recent escapades of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Rammstein... : peppered with more or less subtle references to sex or violence, music videos have borne witness to the gradual shifting of the boundaries of good taste. Through a kaleidoscope of the most controversial videos, we look back at the strokes of genius and brilliance of three decades of music.