Magilla Entertainment Producing Music Censorship Docuseries

Magilla Entertainment has teamed with heavy metal singer-songwriter and Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider to develop The Filthy Fifteen: Censorship & the War on Dirty Lyrics (w.t.).

The docuseries will delve into the mid-1980s censorship battle between the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) and a wide range of musicians that resulted in the PMRC Senate hearings. Featuring never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews with artists, politicians and others, it will reflect on the hearings’ lasting impact.

In 1985, in the midst of moral outrage, religious righteousness and “satanic panic,” the PMRC was created to increase parental awareness of music containing explicit content. The group of parents identified 15 songs they found to be the most objectionable, including Snider and Twisted Sister’s song “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Tracks from Mötley Crüe, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Prince, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were also on the “Filthy Fifteen” list.

The docuseries will be executive produced by Matthew Ostrom, Laura Palumbo-Johnson and Jason Fox for Magilla Entertainment, as well as Snider and Ron Starrantino.

“To be in the crosshairs of this bipartisan attack on free speech caught me completely off guard,” said Snider. “All of my rock and roll dreams were finally coming true, and the PMRC was trying to shut me up. Some of my peers thought we should just ignore them, but I couldn’t. To quote a brilliant man, ‘This is our life, this is our song!’ Someone had to fight back… and I fought hard!”

Ostrom, co-founder of Magilla, added, “The PMRC hearings serve as a perfect entry point for conveying the social and political sentiment of an era and unraveling a heated public debate that seems to be just as timely, if not more so, than it was in 1985. In taking a closer look at what landed each song on the ‘Filthy Fifteen,’ we’re able to peel back the layers on the song’s actual origins and lyrical intent. More than 35 years later, with fresh perspective and an evolved political climate, a new conversation could yield answers to lingering questions and even establish some common ground between former rivals.”