The Janet Jackson Super Bowl Controversy

 Watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QseQo54dDk0&t=105s

Watch The 2 Seconds Here :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqS3NPsu26o

Janet Jackson was one of the most popular pop musicians from the late 1980s to early 2000s. At that time, she sold more than 100 million records worldwide. But Jackson’s superstar status was destroyed by a fraction of live television — during her “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl, a.k.a.  “Nipplegate.”  

“Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson”, a documentary streaming on Hulu, examines that infamous Super Bowl halftime performance and how it damaged Jackson’s career for years. Presented by the New York Times and FX, the film is part of the same series that detailed Britney Spears’ life under her conservatorship. 

“Malfunction” director Jodi Gomes says that pre-Nipplegate, Jackson was an icon who redefined what a pop star — especially an African American one — looked like.

“She had laid the foundation for women taking ownership of and control of their image. She put out a groundbreaking album called  "Control" that was about that very fact,”. She paved the way for a lot of the artists that we see today. Her music videos were iconic. Her records were top of the charts. She was winning awards everywhere you went. And I just think she was undeniably a star. There was concern over putting on a presentation that was family-friendly, not scandalous, unlike much of MTV’s programming”, says New York Times reporter Rachel Abrams, senior producer on Malfunction. MTV was in charge of the halftime show and it teamed up with the NFL.

When the fraction-of-a-second wardrobe malfunction took place, Abrams says that many viewers didn’t even notice. That includes MTV and Viacom executives in Houston at the game. Viewers at home caught it partly because they used TiVo. 

“The executives and MTV were celebrating that the show had seemingly gone off well, until everybody started getting phone calls saying, ‘Did you see that? Did you see that?’ And then the phone starts ringing off the hook, with calls from reporters seeking comment,” Abrams says. 

At the time, CBS executives were furious over the incident and suspicious over whether MTV planned it — partly because a prior press release promised “shocking moments.” 

Timberlake pulled away Jackson’s blouse and revealed her nipple, and because it had a piece of jewelry on it, it appeared to be intentional. But that wasn’t the case. 

Gomes says, “What we do know is that we were supposed to see a red bra  underneath Janet's costume, that was supposed to be revealed. How it went too far? I don't know that we'll ever know the truth of that.” 

In the aftermath of the scandal, Jackson lost lucrative opportunities, such as her record label deal, movie deals, and corporate sponsorships.   Jackson’s music removed from several platforms, her invitation to the Grammy awards revoked, and plans for her to star in a Hollywood film abandoned. Meanwhile, Timberlake not only performed at the Grammys but also won an award that year. Because the U.S. holds such a big position within the distribution of global pop culture, it had an effect outside the U.S. as well. Slowly, things changed. In 2019, Jackson was finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She recently concluded a global tour.  In contrast, Timberlake’s career continued to flourish, and he was invited back to the Super Bowl in 2018 to perform.

“What we wanted to really measure was the ascension and descent of both of these careers and how corporate America dealt with both of these people,” Gomes explains. “There were two people on stage that night, and one person clearly, her career was diminished while another one ascended and it's undeniable that that happened. And it's something that we wanted to speak truth to power in the film.” 

Gomes attributes the lack of consequences to the “boys will be boys” attitude: “It's a matter of who he is, and what our society says about young white males and what they can get away with. It's not necessarily a Black or white thing. I think it was a male-female thing.  You have to look at the ageism, sexism and racism — they all happen to collide on February 1, 2004, for this particular film.”

The following are remarks that Janet Jackson made after the incident:

"The furor is hypocritical, with everything you see on TV. There are more important thing to focus on than a woman's body part, which is a beautiful thing. There's war, famine, homelessness, AIDS. They needed something to focus on instead of the Iraq war, and I was the perfect tool for that.  People are going to think what they want. It was an accident. It was not a stunt. It's truly embarrassing for me to know that 140 million people saw my breast, and then to see it blown up on the Internet the size of a computer screen. But there are much worse things in the world, and for this to be such a focus, I don't understand."

2.ROLE PLAY A:  Which one of the following are the most fireable offences?

Role  A –  Insubordination

Role  B –  Using company property for personal business

Role  C –  Excessive absenteeism

Role  D – Drug or alcohol intoxication at work Role E-   Falsifying company records Role F-  Damaging company property Role G -  Theft Role H-  Poor Performance Role I -  Safety violations Role J-  Something not from the list. 2.ROLE PLAY B:  Super Bowl 2024 was the most watched television broadcast of 2024, reaching 123 Million live viewers. Choose one event from this list and tell us why you think it made it on this list of most viewed live events and what do you know about it? Role  A –  The Wedding of Prince William & Catherine Middleton: 150 Million  Role B - Eurovision 2024 Final: 163 Million Role  C –   The State Funeral of John F. Kennedy: 180 Million Role  D –   The Wall- Live in Berlin: 500 Million Role  E – The Moon Landing: 650 Million Role F- The 2010 World Cup Final Between Spain and the Netherlands: 700 Million Role G: The Rescue of the Chilean Miners: 1 Billion  Role H-  Live Aid: 1.9 Billion Role I - The Funeral of Michael Jackson and The Funeral of Princess Diana: 2.5 Billion Role J-   The 1992 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Barcelona: 3.5 Billion  Role K - The state funereal of Queen Elizabeth II : 4 Billion

3. VOCABULARY 

       Paragraph 1

1.	Dressing down	a.	Also Known As
2.	A.K.A.	b.	A small or tiny part, amount, or proportion of something.
3.	Conservatorship	c.	An act of speaking angrily to someone because they have done something wrong
4.	fraction	d.	A legal order for the finances or property of a person, organization, or company to be controlled by another person or organization
5.	wardrobe	e.	the consequences or after-effects of a significant unpleasant event.
6.	aftermath	f.	A person's entire collection of clothes OR  the costume department or costumes of a theatre or film company.

  

   Paragraph 2

1.	Teamed up	a.	Escape blame, punishment, or undesirable consequences for an act that is wrong.
2.	TiVo	b.	Provide something such as an idea, a principle, or a fact from which another thing develops
3.	Off the hook	c.	digital video recorder  allowing users to record, pause live TV, and fast forward.
4.	Revoke	d.	When a telephone is constantly ringing due to a large number of incoming calls.
5.	Get away with	e.	Officially cancel
6.	Laid the foundation/Paved the way	f.	To join another person, or form a group with other people, in order to do something together

  

 Paragraph 3

1.	Furor	a.	Introduce and admit someone formally to a post or organization.
2.	Famine	b.	An act of moving downwards, dropping, or falling.
3.	Ascension	c.	An outbreak of public anger or excitement.
4.	Descent	d.	A severe hunger crisis
5.       6.	Induct Ageism	e. e.	The action of rising to an important position or a higher level. Prejudice or discrimination because of how old someone is

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. Malfunction
2. Wardrobe
3. Put out
4. Iconic
5. Undeniably
6. Hypocritical
7. Infamous
8. Seemingly
9. Prior
10. Groundbreaking
11. Intentional
12. Lucrative
13. Diminish
14. Blown up 

1. Notorious
2. Profitable
3. On purpose
4. Decrease
5. Released
6. Clothes or group of clothes 
7. Failure
8. Definitely
9. Renowned
10. Two-face
11. Apparently
12. Enlarged
13. Innovative/pioneering
14. before

5.Fill in the blanks: 1. Janet Jackson was one of the most popular pop musicians from the late 1980s to early 2000s . Another way to say the  2000's is the                           . 2.Those years where she was in her prime are her                           . 3.However, after the Super bowl, she had a huge                                            . 4.If she becomes successful again , then she made a                       . 5. While the two musicians were both involved in the incident, Jackson's career was destroyed, while Timberlake's career soared. Some people see this as a                                 . 6. If you went to see a musician perform at a concert, and they did an amazing job, then you could say that they                                . 7. If the musician performed badly, then they                  .  8. The type of music that Janet Jackson plays is RNB and Pop . This is her                    . 9. If you believe that the media are behaving in an exaggerated way, then they are                             . 10. If you want to go to the Super bowl and the tickets are very expensive, they would cost you                                                                . 11. Your friend was able to get you a ticket for the event for a very good price. Your friend was able to get you a ticket for a                     . 12. If you don't go to concerts very often, only on very special occasions, then you go to concerts                                                       . 6. VOCABULARY REVIEW FROM LAST CLASS :  4.Vocabulary     Paragraph 1       1. Headaches a.  A thing or person that causes worry or difficulty; a problem.       2. Came under fire  b.  To be engaged in a long and bitter fight or disagreement       3. Feuding c.  Famous for something negative       4.  Notorious d. Manage a situation or problem       5. Handling e. Consciously and intentionally; on purpose.       6.  Exploited f. Heavily criticized         7. Deliberately g.  Taken advantage of

1. 7.QUESTIONS:
2. Do you think Jackson should have been punished for her actions ?
3. What would have been the proper reaction to the incident?
4. Some people accused the media and the public of a double standard with the way Janet was treated and the way Justin was treated. Where do these double standards come from and what are some other examples of double standards that you can think of?
5. As we saw in the text, in the aftermath of the scandal, Jackson lost lucrative opportunities, such as her record label deal, movie deals, and corporate sponsorships.   Jackson’s music was also removed from several platforms, her invitation to the Grammy awards revoked, and plans for her to star in a Hollywood film abandoned. Which one is the worst of these punishments and why ?
6. If you were in Janet's shoes, how would you have reacted to the public and the media?
7. Janet said that the media is using the excuse of the Super Bowl incident to purposefully distract the public from the real problems, such us War, Famine and Illnesses. What are some other ways the media keeps the public distracted and why ?