This is the kind of socially important role art can play, and the Academy is here to support artists in their pursuit of this empowering goal. The artist is our number one concern and that's why the Academy has engaged in important issues threatening artists' livelihood and therefore their voice. All this can serve as a powerful model as we embark on another year of disparate legislative agendas, litigation, governmental downsizing of arts funding and the usual name-calling that goes on where culture clashes with politics. Of late, the controversy over extreme lyrics has been a heat-seeking missile and it is important to remember that the Academy is not here to defend or vilify, commercialize or censor art. We are here to recognize those recordings that are notable, noticeable and oft times, controversial.
People are mad, and people are talking.
And that's a good thing because it's through dialogue and debate that social discovery can occur. We can't edit out the art that makes us uncomfortable. Remember, that's what our parents tried to do to Elvis, the Stones and the Beatles. The white teenagers from the suburbs buy a majority of the music in question. Accept the fact that musicians, movie stars and athletes are not perfect, they make mistakes and can't always be counted on to be role models.