So this (photo above) is the take-away from the Super Bowl
half-time show? This is what’s being
discussed by all the talking heads this morning?
Puh-Leez.
I was watching it on a 66-inch HiDef screen and didn’t even
notice it. So, this young rapper who
calls herself “MIA” gave the finger, and so many people are “offended” by it
that NBC issued an APOLOGY?
I’ve never understood why so many people get so wound up
about this gesture. It’s vulgar, but is
it obscene? Apparently the NBC censors
think so; apparently a lot of censors think the same way. Even the cable channels blur out this image,
like A&E does on reruns of The Sopranos.
Ever since the Justin Timberlake-Janet Jackson wardrobe
malfunction, the NFL has been spooked about what it puts on at halftime of the
Super Bowl. We’re 8 years past that, and
now this young Sri Lankan entertainer has set us back another 8 years.
Many news websites this morning are talking about the
finger, giving it prominence over what was, I thought, a really good 15-minute
presentation from a 53-year-old woman and a coterie of younger performers like
Cee Lo. Madonna obviously worked her
butt off to master all the complicated dancing moves that are part of such a
presentation today and gave what I thought was a memorable performance.
So some young rapper gave the finger during the
performance. So what? Who are these people who are so offended by
this?
The real obscenity of the Super Bowl this year is that the
Packers weren’t playing.
Maybe...just maybe...there is a message unknown to us evidenced by the other hand...quite possibly the extended finger is the microphone?
ReplyDeleteI would like to comment on this post, but my head exploded when I saw that picture. If only there were a federal organization that could have prevented this.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about making the Super Bowl is, the NFL for some reason insisted that the Packers actually "play" in the playoffs, instead of just allowing them to line-jump and get right to the big game. But, just as the NFL changed the rules of overtime after the ignominy of not letting Brett Favre onto the field in overtime, I expect that The Anointed One's getting 96% of the MVP vote heralds a rule change by the NFL which will henceforth allow the Packers to skip right to the end of the season. The playoffs will still be held as usual, but Aaron Rodgers & Co will be able to sit home in comfort with whatever team was scheduled to play them having to take a TKO.
The alternate reality which you suggest in the last two sentences is the way things should be.
DeleteThe saddest thing about this overreaction is that I fear it will be a long time before we see another woman of color performing in the Superbowl halftime show.
ReplyDeleteA better question: what would Vince Lombardi have thought about all the glitzoid BS? Finger or no, what in HELL happened to professional football?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I think it's safe to assume the man the Super Bowl trophy is named for would not approve of the way the game and halftime have evolved. (Devolved?)
Delete