As the times we live in change, what we as American citizens are exposed to through TV has evolved—for better or worse? That is the question. . In 1964, Network programming was still very proper. There was no sex, nudity or profanity. Even the word “pregnant” was a no-no. Lucy and Ricky had separate beds on “I Love Lucy,” as did Rob and Laura on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
Times surely have changed, as the 2004 Super Bowl showed us. As every American has come to know, the famous Super Bowl comes with the just as famous half-time show. In 2004, during the XXXVIII Super Bowl, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed a duet together.
“MTV, which produced the Janet Jackson halftime show for Super Bowl 38, promised a "shocking surprise". Fans got it at the end of her duet with Justin Timberlake (sample lyric: "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song") when he grabbed the front of her costume and yanked the cover off her right breast, which flopped into the clear view of the worldwide audience. Timberlake called the incident a "wardrobe malfunction" that was "not intentional".-Houston Chronicle.
Not intentional or not, anyone who was watching the Super Bowl got flashed Miss Jackson’s left breast. Due to close up photos, many people argue the stunt was planned to drum up album sales. Because, if the “wardrobe malfunction” was not planned, then why would Jackson be wearing a sort of nipple decoration. Though in this day and age, there are many things people do which could likewise be questioned
Jackson argued they planned a costume reveal, which would expose her red bra. The decision was made after final rehearsals she explains. Maybe she should have practiced and avoided this controversy because the explanation is not convincing people, and it created uproar among viewers. An article from CNN tells us,
Jan LaRue, chief counsel for the conservative Concerned Women for America group, called it a "pornographic show"… "We don't buy for a minute that this was not planned. Everybody knew what was going on here."
According to an article by Cade Metz in Law, 21st July 2008, “In the wake of the incident - dubbed Nipplegate - the big-name American TV networks quickly added delays to their live broadcasts. And just weeks later, after U2 front man Bono used a word beginning with F during an NBC broadcast of the Golden Globe awards, the FCC did in fact change its fleeting material policy.” So hopefully nothing like this ever happens again, and our homes, our children, can be protected.
Good overview of the change from the 60s and summary of the JJ episode ("nipplegate" -- ha). But ... so what? What do you think, and what do you think should be done? You say, "So hopefully nothing like this ever happens again, and our homes, our children, can be protected." Does this mean you think this is bad? Why? What to do?
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you say "we are protected" by the FCC, then you should know that the FCC's fines on the JJ incident were overturned (http://techliberation.com/2008/07/21/3rd-circuit-ruling-against-fcc-in-janet-jackson-case/), and they decided NOT to fine for the Bono "f-word" incident.
So then what??