Not to dwell overmuch on flasher Janet Jackson, but wise Peggy Noonan said some good things today about the "controversy" that are worth noting.
I got home about 9 p.m. and put on the television. It looked like a good game. I logged on to Drudge, and saw the big picture of Justin Timberlake, whose expression could have been described as evil if his face had more intelligence, turned toward Janet Jackson, whose famous breast was exposed to show the famous nipple decorated by the famous Goth-looking metal sunburst.Posted by Alan at February 5, 2004 07:38 AMOh no, I thought. We're back to the pre-9/11 freak show.
You have all followed the great controversy, although I'm not sure controversy is the right word for an incident the facts of which no normal human would debate. Was it deliberate? No, the Goth pastie, the lyrics "I'll have you naked before the end of this song," and Janet Jackson's slowness to cover her breast and quickness to enact what she thinks is a look of shame, make it clear it was all an accident. Did MTV know it would happen? No, when they put out the announcement promising "shocking moments" from Ms. Jackson, they didn't mean anything by it. Did the--let's be generous--perhaps retarded Justin Timberlake realize he'd gone too far? Of course--that's why he issued the winking statement about "wardrobe malfunction." Was the NFL taken aback? Gosh, they must have been--who would think MTV would do something vulgar and highly sexualized? Will an FCC fine of $27,500 stop the networks? Oh sure, in their tracks.
Now they're saying the answer is a tape delay. Believe me, half the country would like to put the entire culture on a tape delay.
Why was the piggy paganism of the Super Bowl so obnoxious? Our culture has been sick for a while--highly sexualized, violent, inspirational to the unstable. Our media have for decades been robbing our children of the not-knowingness that is the hallmark of childhood. It's not new; it's just worse, or perhaps I mean more obvious. This was the Super Bowl, after all, a football game in early-evening prime time with children watching, and nice people who hadn't bought into the concept of seeing a sex show.
But at least indignation is broad and deep. So broad and deep there may be hope in it. Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, in stepping over the line, could wind up being remembered as the entertainers who reminded us there is a line, or should be.
This might be a frog-in-the-water moment. You remember: You put a frog in a nice cool pot of water, and he's happy and swims around. But if you put a flame underneath the pot and slowly raise it, chances are he'll boil to death. On the other hand, if you dump a frog in a boiling pot of water, he'll jump right out and be saved.
Our culture has been on a boil for years. Then it cooled a bit. The other night at the Super Bowl they put the flame higher and the water began to boil. The frog--that would be us--is still alive. And may, in his shock, jump out of the water.
But the question is: How? How to turn it around.