Family-Friendly Day May No Longer be So Family Friendly:

Erin Shema, Student Writer

You wake up on Super Bowl Sunday eager to watch the game. Who will win? What will the score be? This time of family bonding is something that American families look forward to all year. It is the most-watched television program in America. You may think that this is the perfect opportunity for a neighborhood get-together, but with the increasing number of controversies occurring at the Super Bowl halftime show, it may not be appropriate for young viewers. 

 

Janet Jackson: Super Bowl XXXVIII

Back in 2004 at her Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson’s breast was briefly exposed, causing widespread upheaval over the “wardrobe malfunction”. The incident led to an immediate debate on the perceived indecency. Some Americans took this performance as a sign of decreasing morality in American culture. Rachel McOwen, a school nurse here at Pennridge felt the same way. “I think that teens and young girls are very impressionable. They look up to these celebrities and I would like to see such performers promoting positive messages rather than then pushing certain boundaries.”  The Federal Communications Commission received 540,000 complaints about the incident, 65,000 of which came from the Parents Television Council. In the end, CBS paid $3.5 million to settle indecency complaints about the broadcast.

 

M.I.A.: Super Bowl XLVI

At her Super Bowl performance in 2012, rapper M.I.A flipped off the camera on live television. Such profanity was a breach of contract and was considered to be a “flagrant disregard for the values that form the cornerstone of the NFL brand and the Super Bowl” by the league. The NFL then sued M.I.A for $16.6 million regarding her actions. The FCC received hundreds of complaints addressing M.I.A.’s proclivity for sign language. 

 

Adam Levine: Super Bowl LIII

Just last year, Adam Levine’s performance showed the huge double standard amongst performers when he stripped down to reveal his bare chest and stomach. Janet Jackson’s nipple being shown caused widespread hysteria while Adam Levine sang entirely shirtless with little to no repercussions. Women around the nation were displeased with the fact that Adam’s intentional undressing went unpunished while Janet Jackson faced extreme backlash. Although nothing legal came of it, Levine faced a great deal of social media mockery by the people who were bothered by the performance. Super LIII is just another example of a performance that went too far. 

 

Shakira and J-Lo: Super Bowl LIV

During the most recent Super Bowl, both Shakira and J-Lo performed choreographed dances that were inappropriate. After watching the two women perform intricate dance moves on a pole, most people agreed that some parental warning would have been nice. Mr. Busch, having two young children, also agreed with this, saying, “I would’ve liked to know beforehand so that I could talk to my kids and let them know what they were about to see.” Unfortunately, this was not the case and a performance that was meant to have an empowering message for women came across the wrong way for many viewers. The FCC has said nothing publicly about the number of complaints regarding the show, but many parents took to Twitter and other social media to blast Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s performance, saying that it was overly-sexualized and too much for children.

 

“The halftime show at the Super Bowl remains a highly coveted spot for many artists,” says entertainment attorney Lori Landew. It is an opportunity to share their musical talent with millions of viewers. However, over the years, super bowl performances have grown more and more provocative and scandalous, leaving the viewers with mixed opinions on the shows.