Janet Jackson and the CBS’s Karma

02/21/04

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake issue has become the hottest topic talk in town both on the main street and the Wall Street.

The drama started with the show during the halftime break of the Super Bowl that Justin ripped Janet’s costume that exposed her breast before the biggest sport TV events of the year that drew at least 26 million audiences around the US.

The craze was spread like the fire that burned Southern California last year. The next morning, the major media like CNN and FOXs replayed
the pictures every five minutes
(of course, they blurred it out).

The Chairman of the FCC: Michael Powell denounced the show as outrageous and unacceptable.
The CBS and MTV offered apologies to the American people of their inappropriate performance.

The craze has provoked a chain reaction.

The banker from Knoxville,
Tennessee is filing the class actions against Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake,
CBS and MTV.

The FCC has imposed fine on the CBS.

The Grammy Awards and Academy Awards are delayed so that the programs will be able to edit any inappropriate content that might happen during the show.

JC Chasez, Justin’s bandmate from the Nsync, was cancelled for the Pro Super Bowl show in Hawaii because of his friend’s fallout and the words in his song that contained “horny” and “naughty”; despite he offered to change those words.

The most ridiculous thing was the NBC censored a scene from the “ER” that showed a patient’s breast. The show is supposed to be viewed as an artistic performance instead of cheap porn movie.

I bet in the future all of us will see all actresses wearing the turtle neck in the movies.

The Janet phenomenon is like a witch hunt. Of course, politics are involved in this issue

Timing is the key, this incident happened while the FCC is cracking down the obscenity on the television. In 2003, there were many TV incidents that disturbed many conservatives.

The pictures of Madonna was locking lips with Britney Spears in the MTV Music Awards and the rock star like Bono used the F-words in the 2003 Golden Globes are still in people’s heads.

Question is, if this nanosecond breast exposure drama is that outrageous, what about the daytime soap opera that there are many times those breasts are hanging around without any complaints. Also, what about other celebrities like J-Lo or Britney Spear, who showing off their dresses every year on the red carpet, have anyone ever made it such a big deal when clothes barely cover their nipples?

The conservative FCC chairman: Michael Powell is waging war with any obscenity on the media. This incident is an issue that he can use it to justify his efforts of curbing what he thinks is inappropriate. Plus, this incident might give him some scores among his conservative republican bases.

Even the first lady: Laura Bush has criticized this incident through CNN interview.

I’m not advocating having more indecency on the TV. However, I think it is being unfair to punish Janet Jackson like we are hunting a witch. It is also insane to use this incident to sweep out other people and TV programs.

It is important to distinguish between art and obscenity.

Maybe it is CBS’s karma that they are so afraid of offending their conservative audiences by banning the advertising from the Moveon.org that wanted to air the anti-Bush ads and the controversial TV series like Reagan.

Be careful what do you wish for. It all goes around and comes around.

 

Tae (Kriengsak Athikomvittaya)