The supposed public up-in-armedness (rather than the far more evident “purient interest and delight in having something to talk about”) over the Janet Jackson reveal during the Super Bowl halftime show is ridiculous.
I watched the reveal. Did I see a breast? No, and I don’t think anyone watching TV did. They saw that there was a breast, but that is very different from being able to make anything out clearly.
Around here, there’s a bank ad running in which a bank teller teleports into a shower where a lady is showering. We see this from the outside, through the frosted glass doors of the shower. It is clear there is someone naked, but we cannot make them out. That’s the kind of nudity we got from Janet on TV, only less so.
This occured in the midst of an event that is largely grown men committing various forms of violence on one another. It occured during a song set that included one song with women talking about taking their clothes off, and another about the singer’s hos. This whole event was supported by ads featuring horse flatulence, ball-biting, and four-hour erections. promoting dangerous driving and beer.
FCC commissioner Michael Powell has shown very little concern for keeping the airwaves open and diverse, and far too much desire to clamp down on freedom of expression that does not fit his own breast-fearing viewpoint.
I didn't see the breast, did you?
