The Ballermann hit about a brothel manager becomes a hot topic of summer debate after it has been banned from being played at folk festivals and on radio stations. Sexism in German Schlager, not a brand new topic, becomes a hit with the public and a stumbling block in this repatriated Mallorca version. Moral club and censorship or protection of morals and decency? Our community doesn’t leave it cold either.
FOCUS Online user Grit Berger sees the reality in communities and society and doubts the educational effect of the bans: “As long as communities approve brothels and collect taxes, a ban on such songs seems somewhat bigoted. The apparent success of this (stupid) song is a picture of society. If one really wanted to change society, then it would be about the causes and not by banning the embarrassing symptoms. Age restrictions are legitimate, and of course you can also put songs on the index. But the fact that mayors etc. are now issuing bans at will is new (…).”
The aspect of young people and their protection is cited by user Markus Silber and, like many readers, also sheds light on the advertising effect of the bans on the play: “Obviously, you also have to expect that children will sometimes be on site in a beer tent. Of course, ‘vulgar lyrics’ are officially forbidden for reasons of youth protection. The fact that the kids today still have a completely different style is another matter. I don’t think it’s censorship. In the end, it doesn’t bother anyone, on the contrary, it’s a huge promotion.”
User Christine Katharina justifies her approval of the ban with the quality of the piece: “Badly done. I listened to it – for heaven’s sake – it’s scary – more than easy to access and not only the text, but also the music. The beer lovers need something like that to bawl. But there are better things. It’s sexist at its most primitive level. There’s a better way to pack lewd, raunchy stuff.”
The outraged ban faction confronts user Kai Kannschatt with what he perceives as our social reality: “Welcome to reality, dear horrified compatriots! Yes, there are brothels in Germany, yes, there is definitely a boss and maybe her name is Layla and she looks good!? What kind of self-pitying society are we going to become if we ban songs that don’t seem to have a shred of seriousness about them? I think the signal that we send out with such a ban is far more devastating than such a party-booze song could ever be! And the festival organizers aren’t shocked (I assume), they’re just afraid of a shitstorm.”
A FOCUS Online user from Würzburg, Achim Bühl, is also interested in tradition in his understanding of the ban: “Fun? As a native of Würzburg, I have to say, 1. that the city is the organizer of the Kiliani, 2. it is a traditional folk festival at which a much older and conservative audience can also be expected in the beer tent. For this reason alone, it may make sense to avoid peaks in every direction in order to cater to a wide range of visitors. If the focus is too much on Ballermann, you lose the visitors who can’t stand it.” (Editor’s note: Typos in the comments have been corrected for readability, but the meaning is always preserved.)
What is your opinion? Join the discussion on FOCUS Online.