| GREG-STRANGE.COM |
"If you haven't found something strange during the
day, it hasn't been much of a day." -- John A. Wheeler
day, it hasn't been much of a day." -- John A. Wheeler
PROVIDING SUBSTANTIVE COMMENTARY ON THE
PEOPLE, POLITICS, EVENTS AND ABSURDITIES OF
OUR TIME. SERVED UP WITH ACERBIC WIT, YOU
SHOULD FIND IT QUITE SATISFYING.
PEOPLE, POLITICS, EVENTS AND ABSURDITIES OF
OUR TIME. SERVED UP WITH ACERBIC WIT, YOU
SHOULD FIND IT QUITE SATISFYING.
The Show Mustn't Go On:
The Crudest Spectacle In Recent Mammary
"The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my
halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals. . . .
I apologize to anyone offended--including the audience, MTV,
CBS and the NFL." --- Janet Jackson showing contrition after
her and Justin Timberlake's boob-headed Super Bowl stunt.
"I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song." ---
Lyrics from the Timberlake song "Rock Your Body" that was
being performed (coincidentally?) when the incident occurred.
Well, we've all had time to stop gasping and breathing heavy
by now, so maybe we can evaluate this incident rationally and
without emotion. Hot damn, Janet! Where does a body find
one of those exotic, metal, sunburst-looking nipple medallions?
Er . . . that is . . . what I meant to say was, Ms. Jackson, just
exactly what were you and that spirited young partner of yours,
Mr. Timberlake, thinking when you made the consequential
decision to go au naturel on us? Or was it, as Mr. Timberlake
suggested, just an unfortunate and unforeseeable "wardrobe
malfunction?"
Boy, this is just what the Jackson family needs right now,
isn't it? Another glaring spotlight on a naughty family member.
Actually, I mean it. America's dysfunctional entertainment
family does need this because it takes a ton of money to
maintain the lifestyle they became accustomed to during
Michael's reign as king of pop, and Janet's Super Bowl
tete-a-tete just might be the ticket.
Since Michael's earning power has just about played out,
and since Tito, LaToya and Jermaine would have trouble
finding two dimes to rub together between them, that leaves
Janet, the next most successful Jackson--and this girl knows
how to turn on the heat.
Despite the criticism, the apologies and the general
gnashing of teeth, this bodes well for the Jackson family's
intermediate future. Why? Because Janet's titillating
performance has generated an extraordinary amount of
"buzz," as they say in the business, and that could very well
translate into large gobs of money.
You can't buy this kind of publicity. Two hours before the
Super Bowl she was so far off the public's radar screen that
there was no guarantee she could have gotten a decent table at
Spago. A couple of hours later and she was the talk of the
planet. In terms of potential album and concert revenues, that
can't be a bad thing.
But this isn't just about Janet Jackson. There is this larger
and sticky issue of what the Super Bowl halftime performances
have degenerated into in recent years and questions are being
asked: What was the NFL thinking when it farmed out the
halftime show to MTV? And what were the suits at CBS
thinking when they gave it a worldwide television audience?
Did they think they were going to get anything other than thugs,
bitches and "ho's?" You know better, so why wouldn't a bunch
of savvy television moguls? If they're that clueless, they need to
be contestants in a new reality show: "Television Executive
Survivor."
For instance, did they really think that someone like rapper
Nelly wasn't going to get up on stage and engage in a 5-minute
crotch-grabbing spectacle? Did they really believe that
trash-rocker Kid Rock wasn't going to give his best imitation of
an intoxicated trailer park evictee? Did they honestly think
that Janet and Justin wouldn't engage in some sort of
lascivious carnality in front of God, the cameras and
everybody?
In other words, did any of them honestly believe that the
halftime show would be anything other than a vulgar
celebration of decadence, hedonism and moral decay? We can
believe they didn't know anything about the breast exposure,
but regarding the rest of it, they're "busted."
They have all expressed some sort of dismay, naturally,
under the inundation of complaints they've received, although,
regarding the next Super Bowl, the NFL initially only said that
it is "unlikely" to use MTV again for its halftime show.
Unlikely? You mean it's still theoretically possible? You mean
they can't be unequivocal on this issue? You mean this vulgar
spectacle that helps reinforce our image throughout the
Muslim world as the "great Satan" could happen again,
possibly?
Not withstanding that nonsensically noncommittal
statement by the NFL, things have been moving fast in
televisionland. The networks' immediate quick-fix solution
will be to implement 5- to 10-second delays for live programs
that involve awards shows featuring undisciplined, trashy stars
who have been unable to either internalize or respect the basic
mores of society. It won't stop all the trash talk and suggestive
behavior, but at least they'll be able to block out the worst of
the worst.
In the meantime, a major public relations effort is under
way at the Black Entertainment Network in which Janet speaks
directly to cable viewers in a series of brief vignettes about
various dignified African-American personages including
Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Marion Anderson. And
dignified those people are and were, as well as many, many
others.
But the problem isn't with those persons whose time and
heydays, sadly, are long since over. Nor is the problem just this
single Super Bowl halftime extravaganza with Janet Jackson
and her exposed mammary gland. The problem is with the
entire stable of foul-mouthed, thug-acting cretins who have
taken over the popular culture, debased it beyond recognition
and wouldn't know "dignified" if it came up and bit them in
the--
Well, you know what I mean. And oh, yeah. Those millions
of us who cheer them on bear a fair portion of the responsibility
for allowing the culture to sink to its current odious level.
The Crudest Spectacle In Recent Mammary
"The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my
halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals. . . .
I apologize to anyone offended--including the audience, MTV,
CBS and the NFL." --- Janet Jackson showing contrition after
her and Justin Timberlake's boob-headed Super Bowl stunt.
"I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song." ---
Lyrics from the Timberlake song "Rock Your Body" that was
being performed (coincidentally?) when the incident occurred.
Well, we've all had time to stop gasping and breathing heavy
by now, so maybe we can evaluate this incident rationally and
without emotion. Hot damn, Janet! Where does a body find
one of those exotic, metal, sunburst-looking nipple medallions?
Er . . . that is . . . what I meant to say was, Ms. Jackson, just
exactly what were you and that spirited young partner of yours,
Mr. Timberlake, thinking when you made the consequential
decision to go au naturel on us? Or was it, as Mr. Timberlake
suggested, just an unfortunate and unforeseeable "wardrobe
malfunction?"
Boy, this is just what the Jackson family needs right now,
isn't it? Another glaring spotlight on a naughty family member.
Actually, I mean it. America's dysfunctional entertainment
family does need this because it takes a ton of money to
maintain the lifestyle they became accustomed to during
Michael's reign as king of pop, and Janet's Super Bowl
tete-a-tete just might be the ticket.
Since Michael's earning power has just about played out,
and since Tito, LaToya and Jermaine would have trouble
finding two dimes to rub together between them, that leaves
Janet, the next most successful Jackson--and this girl knows
how to turn on the heat.
Despite the criticism, the apologies and the general
gnashing of teeth, this bodes well for the Jackson family's
intermediate future. Why? Because Janet's titillating
performance has generated an extraordinary amount of
"buzz," as they say in the business, and that could very well
translate into large gobs of money.
You can't buy this kind of publicity. Two hours before the
Super Bowl she was so far off the public's radar screen that
there was no guarantee she could have gotten a decent table at
Spago. A couple of hours later and she was the talk of the
planet. In terms of potential album and concert revenues, that
can't be a bad thing.
But this isn't just about Janet Jackson. There is this larger
and sticky issue of what the Super Bowl halftime performances
have degenerated into in recent years and questions are being
asked: What was the NFL thinking when it farmed out the
halftime show to MTV? And what were the suits at CBS
thinking when they gave it a worldwide television audience?
Did they think they were going to get anything other than thugs,
bitches and "ho's?" You know better, so why wouldn't a bunch
of savvy television moguls? If they're that clueless, they need to
be contestants in a new reality show: "Television Executive
Survivor."
For instance, did they really think that someone like rapper
Nelly wasn't going to get up on stage and engage in a 5-minute
crotch-grabbing spectacle? Did they really believe that
trash-rocker Kid Rock wasn't going to give his best imitation of
an intoxicated trailer park evictee? Did they honestly think
that Janet and Justin wouldn't engage in some sort of
lascivious carnality in front of God, the cameras and
everybody?
In other words, did any of them honestly believe that the
halftime show would be anything other than a vulgar
celebration of decadence, hedonism and moral decay? We can
believe they didn't know anything about the breast exposure,
but regarding the rest of it, they're "busted."
They have all expressed some sort of dismay, naturally,
under the inundation of complaints they've received, although,
regarding the next Super Bowl, the NFL initially only said that
it is "unlikely" to use MTV again for its halftime show.
Unlikely? You mean it's still theoretically possible? You mean
they can't be unequivocal on this issue? You mean this vulgar
spectacle that helps reinforce our image throughout the
Muslim world as the "great Satan" could happen again,
possibly?
Not withstanding that nonsensically noncommittal
statement by the NFL, things have been moving fast in
televisionland. The networks' immediate quick-fix solution
will be to implement 5- to 10-second delays for live programs
that involve awards shows featuring undisciplined, trashy stars
who have been unable to either internalize or respect the basic
mores of society. It won't stop all the trash talk and suggestive
behavior, but at least they'll be able to block out the worst of
the worst.
In the meantime, a major public relations effort is under
way at the Black Entertainment Network in which Janet speaks
directly to cable viewers in a series of brief vignettes about
various dignified African-American personages including
Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Marion Anderson. And
dignified those people are and were, as well as many, many
others.
But the problem isn't with those persons whose time and
heydays, sadly, are long since over. Nor is the problem just this
single Super Bowl halftime extravaganza with Janet Jackson
and her exposed mammary gland. The problem is with the
entire stable of foul-mouthed, thug-acting cretins who have
taken over the popular culture, debased it beyond recognition
and wouldn't know "dignified" if it came up and bit them in
the--
Well, you know what I mean. And oh, yeah. Those millions
of us who cheer them on bear a fair portion of the responsibility
for allowing the culture to sink to its current odious level.