I didn’t even watch the Super Bowl. Though an Alabama Crimson Tide fan by birthright, pro-football is of no interest to me. And since this isn’t the sports section, I’ll address a SuperBowl issue more pertinent to the mandate of my leisure column—Janet Jackson’s breast.
Currently, the Federal Communications Commission is investigating Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction,” which she claims was unintentional and unplanned. MTV, the producer of the half-time show, also claims that the strip finale was unrehearsed and shocking. This is hard to believe, considering the MTV website’s teaser last week claimed “Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl show promises shocking moments.” Furthermore, I don’t know many people who decorate their breasts with star-shaped decals and nipple rings if they’re not planning on showing them.
This brings me to the broader applications of Janet’s boobie and other sexually explicit entertainers, such as the infamous Britney Spears. In “Toxic,” her new music video, Britney is scantily clad in diamonds and an irrelevant skin-toned body suit. This seemingly pointless nudity is not only an attempt to divert attention way from her manufactured talent, it is tacky and desensitizes people of all ages to actions and body parts that should be kept covered.
“It seems to me classical notions of courting are dead today because of pop-stars like Britney Spears and other plastic icons … Where, I ask you, are the Audrey Hepburns, the Ingrid Bergmans and the Vivian Lees in this day? A whole new generation is being reared on an artificial sense of intimacy. There’s no mystery to sex anymore,” said fellow Georgetown student Alex Pickering. Agreed.
However I do believe that there is a difference between mindless, crowd shocking nudity and nudity for the sake of art. “Thirteen,” a recent film about the anguish of female adolescence, tastefully displays Holly Hunter getting in and out of the shower amidst a nervous breakdown. The acting is so powerful that the audience forgets her nakedness and feels her pain. Hunter wasn’t nude to build a fan base or make headlines, but rather to portray the reality of a dysfunctional household.
My proposal is this: girls no matter their beauty, begin a conscious effort to create an aura of mystery around themselves. Instead of the tight garb of Carmen Electra, think the classic attire of Audrey in “Roman Holiday,” or even better, the boyish charm of Diane Keaton in “Annie Hall.” Wear clothing that doesn’t have to be strategically placed, and imaginations will be stirred.
