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Should the FCC Have Thrown a Flag?

2/7/2020

10 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

The latest Super Bowl was another big game mired in controversy.  This time the debate wasn’t whether a fourth-quarter play was a penalty, but whether the halftime show was pornography.  Should the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have thrown a flag for ‘illegal use of the hips’ or ‘unnecessary raunchiness’?  As armchair apologists argue, mindful marketers aim to analyze the action from each angle, hoping to make ‘the right call.’
 
Rocking hips, pulsing pelvises, and legs wrapped around a stripper pole sound like a scene from a gentleman’s club, but they were just part of the Super Bowl LIV halftime show featuring superstar entertainers Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
 
Whether one enjoyed the performances or not, most agree that the show was a production spectacle, complete with elaborate scenery, extravagant costumes, moving stages, dozens of talented dancers, and amazing fireworks.  The production level was fitting for the biggest television viewing event of the year,  which this time drew an astounding 102.1 million U.S. viewers, making it the “11th most-watched TV show ever.”
 
With so many people watching the same thing, it’s not surprising that the show spawned differences of opinion.  Some, like former Florida governor and U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush loved it; he tweeted, “Best Super Bowl halftime show ever.”
 
Many ordinary citizens have also sung its praises, including 2.3 million people who liked the YouTube video.  Some of those fans have said:
  • “One of the most amazing shows ever.”—Lucy B.
  • “Loved both”--manel manel
  • “whos watched this more than 10 times? i know i aint the only guy”—Maxwel Rajcic
  • “I love JLo but i can't get over that Shakira performance. Damn.”—Annitah Lesley
  • “One of the best Super Bowl halftime show ever”—grace khuvung
 
However, a smaller but still substantial number (134K YouTube viewers) didn’t think the show was ‘so hot’; actually, they thought it was too hot.  Some tweeted:
  • “I saw way more of J-Lo than I ever wanted to. There was a moment there that actually made me blink my eyes. Everybody in the room was blinking their eyes.”— @TheAnnoyedMan
  • “When your crotch shot reveals your panty liner than you’ve definitely crossed a line”—@meredithdicken1
  • “I’d settle for a halftime that is somewhere between Karen Carpenter and a pelvic exam.”—@Bookwormdearlor
  • “My 13 year girl old said ‘man, that was TRASHY.’”—@FilthyMcN
  • “My 9 year old asked, ‘Is this what sexy is?’”—@kdonohuenj
  • “It was inappropriate for the venue. They can't sell it as a family entertainment and then present something that millions of people had to quickly turn off AFTER their little people got an eyeful of soft porn.”—@Plainsspeak
 
Maybe detractors are being over-sensitive or narrow-minded, not giving enough consideration to factors such as:
  • The empowerment of women:  The halftime show showcased two women’s exceptional voices and dance skills, physical strength and stamina, as well as their abilities to command one of the world’s largest stages.  Furthermore, both women are over 40 years of age.
  • The celebration of Latin culture:  The show served up large portions of energy and excitement, along with vibrant sounds and colors, for which Latin culture is known.
 
Those are valid arguments that we may not fully appreciate, depending on our own demographics.  On the other hand, one may wonder if those lauding the performance have considered issues like these:
  • Demographics:  Unlike most TV shows, an extremely wide swath of the population watches the Super Bowl—everyone from two-year-olds to 92-year-olds.  The lower end of that range should not be exposed to sexually explicit content, and many would argue that no one should see it without warning at 8:00 pm, on broadcast television.
  • Legality:  The halftime show may have violated the FCC’s mandate that “Indecent and profane content are prohibited on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.”  It’s hard to imagine that the agency would have allowed the same sexual content, which included very revealing apparel and highly suggestive camera shots, as part of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial; yet, the FCC permitted 14 minutes of the ‘exposure’ as a Pepsi-sponsored mini-program.
  • Addiction:  If the halftime show represented ‘soft porn,’ as some have said, there’s a risk that the show encouraged pornography addiction for some viewers.  Lest one think that’s a wild claim, check out Google search results:  In the period from January 29, 2020 through February 4, 2020, at the exact time of the Super Bowl halftime show, there were extreme peaks in searches for terms such as: Hustlers (name of the film about strip clubs, staring Lopez), pole dance, stripper, and jlo hustlers dance.
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  • Cultural relativism:  Virtually every culture, past and present, has had good things to offer, but not everything in a given culture is good (e.g., segregation, subjugation of women).  Latin dancing is known for its sensuality, which people may debate is good or bad, but for the situation at hand, the discussion should consider the prevailing culture and composition of Super Bowl viewers, as well as when, where, and with whom most watched the halftime show.
  • Empowerment or Objectification:  As implied above, my maleness limits my ability to appreciate the ways in which Shakira and J Lo’s performances may have made other viewers feel empowered.  However, as one who has studied oversexualization in advertising, I saw many signs of objectification of women, i.e., reducing their personhood to specific body parts (e.g., legs, bottoms) and ‘serving them up’ as objects for others’ sexual gratification.  For instance, in the YouTube video of the performance, there’s a camera shot at about 2:22 focused just on Shakira’s belly and hips, i.e., no head or feet, and another at 7:06 centered squarely on Lopez’s bottom, as she bent over, back to the camera.
 
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In an article that includes several helpful illustrations, Ronnie Richie develops a seemingly useful distinction between sexual objectification and empowerment, the bottom-line being that a person is sexually empowered, not objectified, when she/he holds power versus the person looking at them.  That analysis likely works on one level, such as for superstar celebrities like Shakira and J Lo, but the reality is that oversexualized images in mass media often impact others within the same people group (e.g., women, children) with tragic consequences.
 
According to UNICEF, “The objectification and sexualization of girls in the media is linked to violence against women and girls worldwide.”  On a personal level, former Yale University student Veronica Lira Ortiz shared her unfortunate experience as a child in a Latin culture infused with machismo: “I was twelve years old, and a man on the street [in Mexico] was already verbally harassing me. He looked at me as if I were a juicy steak instead of an innocent child.  Shakira and J Lo may have held power in their Super Bowl situation, but many indirectly affected by their performances do not.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but when the beholders number over 100 million, including millions of children and adults anticipating family-friendly entertainment, and when many others are indirectly affected by what’s shown, the creators and broadcasters of ‘said beauty’ should demonstrate better discretion.  So, the replay of the action suggests that the FCC should have flagged Fox, Pepsi, and others associated with the Super Bowl LIV halftime show for a broadcast communication violation, as well as for “Single-Minded Marketing.”


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10 Comments
Kat W.
2/10/2020 08:51:33 am

Thank you for writing this article - I was sure there would be something about the Super Bowl on here (whether the ads or the show)!
I recently read two articles about the halftime show, each from opposing "sides." The author on the "it's inappropriate" side made excellent points about protecting the innocence of her children. Moreover, she cited that the Super Bowl is a huge event for human trafficking, and the further objectification of women encourages this behavior. The author on the "beautiful celebration" side wrote that she held thoughtful discussions about the performance with her children, talking about topics such as Latino culture and the power that Shakira and Lopez displayed. Neither side acknowledged the other or considered that the show could be a combination of things. I thought you did a thoughtful job of considering the different facets of interest in this discussion.
I completely agree with you on naming the performance as single-minded marketing, especially considering the scope of the audience. I did grow up in a small town in a Christian setting, so of course my background shades my analysis. However, I like to think that we have standards for what we view and experiences we share with others. I did not feel empowered while watching the show - I felt uncomfortable as I watched with my parents. Yes, it was a very impressive show of talent, skill, and dedication to the performing arts by both Shakira and Lopez, not to mention the physical strength it takes to execute the elaborate dancing. It begs the question, would our society even care to watch a performance by two equally talented and impressive women who are fully clothed and not being sexualized? I fear the answer is "no." Our children should learn that talent and hard work are always worthwhile and deserve to be recognized, no matter how you choose to show your body.

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David Hagenbuch link
2/15/2020 02:54:18 pm

Thank you for your thoughtful response and insightful question, Kat. That's the kind of issue we need to keep pressing.

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Joseph link
3/22/2020 02:47:42 pm

Ok, I am 100% sure there are problems with Latin culture that unfortunately lead to harassment, as evidenced by your quote: "I was twelve years old, and a man on the street [in Mexico] was already verbally harassing me. He looked at me as if I were a juicy steak instead of an innocent child.". However, you are implying that Latin cultures lead to sexual harassment but western "American" culture doesn't. Let me paraphrase myself to make this more clear: "Here is an example of Mexican culture where an older man leers at a 12 year old girl, as opposed to America, where stuff like that never happens."

This implication is dangerous and the belief that "other people don't share ethical values" is what leads to racism and xenophobia. Furthermore, placing blame for a "scandalous" show (by western standards) on the performers has more alarming implications: if a women gets sexually assaulted, it mattered what she was wearing or doing ("Maybe he wouldn't have done anything if you weren't dancing like that"). The more mindful thing to do would be to address the American culture that believes we have set the moral standard that other cultures should follow. Remember that this is the same American culture that promotes cheerleaders (itself with a sexist history) and enables athletes like Greg Hardy (convicted of assault) to keep making millions playing sports simply because he's a good Defensive End (What kind of example are we setting for other cultures to observe?). Perhaps it would be better to address the problems in our own culture before pointing the finger at our neighbors.

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Kaitlyn
3/22/2020 03:11:08 pm

Exactly! Thank you for this thoughtful comment, Joseph.

I'd also like to point-out that this article and many comnents on the show place blame for camera angles, etc. on the performers, rather than the directors and camera operators. We need to take a step back and remember that we are talking about the NFL. A scandelous halftime show is the least of the things we should be worrying about with this company. I think seeing women dance in a way that might be seen as sensual is much, much less harmful to children and their view of women than seeing cheerleaders (who literally are only there to be sexualized) have zero job security and get fired for gaining weight and players basically getting a slap on the wrist when convicted for domestic violence or sexual assault. If we want to talk about media encouraging violence towards women, we need to start with an organization that rewards men in places of power for doing so.

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Jocelynn Flores
3/24/2020 01:25:06 am

I agree completely. The way the performers portrayed themselves for the way they can move made it seem women can't do nothing but move their bodies to get what they want. And i believe that girl who talks about the man who hit on her when she was 12. Men see only how women portray themselves and I think the performers did a bad job of showing women empowerment.

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Clayton Owens
3/24/2020 01:01:45 am

I like the points given. But I think we have to consider there is fault in both parties. The FCC has their mandate that says, “Indecent and profane content are prohibited on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.” But this is not explicit enough. Who is to determine what is preface content? This can go back around, and say the people who allowed this to happen were defiantly signal minded, in the fact they only cared about the views, not the impact.

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Jocelynn Flores
3/24/2020 01:21:13 am

I personally thought the half time show was too much. I liked the performers but I don't think they needed to focus on the fact they can move their bodies in a certain way. I agree that this does put the Hispanic community at a higher risk of being looked at the wrong way. Also the reason why women are deemed low for who they are.

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Sara Parrish
5/4/2020 06:42:41 pm

As a female studying dance as a career I was asked what I thought of the half-time show. I was amazed by it it was hands down amazing. Dancers are encouraged to cross train and a very popular way is pole dancing or aerial acrobatics. This is because both push the athleticism of the individual. So I watched the show in awe of the strength it took to execute the movements while also sing and look good. Many people asked how I felt about my fiance watching it with me and I said I was not worried about it. A dancer himself the first thing he said when the show was over was "Wow I can't imagine the amount of training and rehearsing that had to happen!" It is sad to me that our world now has to make everything sexy and hot. To me the conflict from the show only proved how we live in a Man's world.The superbowl halftime show was about athleticism, Latin culture (which includes ballroom and belly dancing which is what was done), and women empowerment. Not to mention the visual done of children in cages to bring up an outcome of new immigration laws and restrictions. Sometimes people need to think as they see.

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webstagram link
5/5/2020 03:12:55 am

this blog was really great, never seen a great blog like this before. i think im gonna share this to my friends

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Logan Plosker
9/16/2020 08:08:36 pm

First of all I really enjoyed this article on the Super bowl half time show. As a sports management major we talk about things like this all the time!
I completely agree that this is simple - minded marketing. I feel as though Pepsi was not thinking about the overall audience. The super bowl is meant to be a family experience with family entertainment. This show had parents of children turning it off immediately.
I can understand that this was part of their latin culture, but I think it could have been portrayed a little bit better and more modestly. Also, as a women I did not think it was very empowering to watch. From my experience and view as a Christian, it is hard to agree that this should have been televised during the super bowl.

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