Super Bowl Halftime Controversy: Who's in the Right?

Reported by Michael Nellis

Isn’t the Super Bowl old news? Not for the over 1,000 people who lodged complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the halftime show. Not for activist Dave Daubenmire, who has pledged to sue the NFL for the hyperbolically large sum of “$867 trillion.” Clearly people think there is a growing, immoral trend in the performances and that the shows themselves should be prefaced by warnings. How do we handle their opinions?

Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, the headliners for Super Bowl 54, were criticized by ordinary citizens and journalists for supposedly sexually explicit behavior. Can we chalk up these complaints to a simple misunderstanding of Latin culture, being displayed in Miami of all places? 

Certainly some, yes, but we should always be wary of generalizing. Complaints about the halftime show are becoming as much of a tradition as the show itself, and they are largely concerned with the explicit material being there at all, not its particulars. In addition, a sizeable amount of vitriol was also directed at Maroon 5’s performance last year, so there may be less sexism involved here than is believed.

The central issue would appear to be immorality “infiltrating” society through the media, or at the very least the minority’s attempts to upkeep its morals. The trouble with immorality is that it’s relative. The performers themselves claimed only good intentions. “So many beautiful things came out of it and the message of standing up for yourself, being a woman – that’s what I want to pass on to little girls,” Lopez said. “I’m very proud of the performance that night.” Of course, intentions aren’t the same as results, and it’s debatable whether those kinds of shows are actually leading to female empowerment. However, with no moral level ground we can only look at the effect the show had, not the show itself.

There are two problematic aspects to the complaints, as well-intentioned as they may be. Firstly, how can people expect to have their morality reflected in the world wherever they look? While the majority should bend to the minority’s preferences as much as possible, that’s not often the case. Until then, can it really be so hard to change the channel? Lord knows we’ve had enough practice.

Secondly, while warnings preceding the shows are certainly feasible, are they warranted? One complaint claimed that “the Super Bowl is supposed to be a family-friendly broadcast.” Is this true, considering the level of violence inherent in professional football, or even the cheerleaders on the sidelines?

Do I agree with the complaints? The reasonable ones, certainly—I don’t watch that kind of entertainment more than I have to. However, merely trotting out my own opinion is not nearly as helpful as cultivating a good attitude between the majority and the minority. We’re already seen that ridiculing the opposite opinion and treating it as a joke has gotten us nowhere. Perhaps coexistence of opinion can only happen on a case by case basis, where each side expects the other to be empathetic and is not disappointed. Maybe then we’ll have progress.

Photo by NBC Sports