That Jackson kid sure is causing a lot of trouble.
I’m not talking about Michael, either — just because I haven’t written much in the way of social commentary in the last several months doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what I stand for. I still feel that the personal lives of celebrities are none of my business, that the justice system should be allowed to work before we presume guilt and that “Michael Jackson is a pervy kid toucher” jokes aren’t all that funny. This old column may have collected some dust due to my neglect, but I still remember how to steer it in the right direction.
The Jackson to which I’m referring is, of course, sister Janet. Her bizarre “wardrobe malfunction” stunt at the Super Bowl has somehow played out like a modern day fall from Eden — we are now, suddenly, shocked at the awareness of our own nudity. Shocked, we are, and ashamed. We’ve been bad human beings. At least, that’s how our media and our lawmakers are playing it.
Apparently, before this incident, people remained blissfully unaware that women had breasts, and those breasts had areolas. They had no idea that those areolas could be adorned with scary little Coggswell Cogs. And Justin Timberlake was just the poor schmoe who may or may not have been shacking up with Britney Spears. We lost our innocence on February 1, 2004. In fact, if the resulting frenzy is to believed, then February 1 will live on in infamy, like December 7 and September 11 before it. The Imperial Japanese. Al Qaeda. Janet Jackson’s tit.
We’ve all heard the arguments that have emerged in our post-Mammogate culture: our children are at risk. The airwaves have been compromised. How did we allow ourselves to reach this level of filth, and my god, won’t someone please look out for the children?!
Thankfully, the FCC has risen to the occasion, as many other organizations like it (Tipper Gore’s PMRC comes immediately to mind) have before it. Now there are Congressional hearings (and really, when haven’t Congressional hearings improved our lives in some fashion?), a rather heated national dialogue and panicked self-censorship on the part of broadcasters, particularly those in the radio business.
Two days after the Super Bowl, DC “shock jocks” Don and Mike, whose show has enjoyed number one ratings in this area for coming up on 20 years, were suspended without pay and “closer to being fired than [they] ever have been.” The Don and Mike Show, which, like any show of its nature, is run on a tape delay, inadvertently allowed the word “bullshit” to slip out on the air. See, Don and Mike work for Infinity Broadcasting, which is owned by CBS, which was the network that ran the aforementioned Super Bowl snafu. Heads had to roll, and theirs just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now, the pair has been effectively neutered. They were allowed to return to the air only on the grounds that they clean up their show. Now they live in a world where a radio show like theirs is strictly forbidden (verboten!). No longer can they engage in discussions that are overtly sexual or excretory. They can’t even play fart sound effects anymore. In essence, they are shock jocks without the shock. Their choice was either this, or face the radio limbo that greeted their inappropriate predecessors (and frequent rivals), Opie and Anthony.
This is the example I have seen locally — I know there have been others.
But let’s look at the flip side of the coin a moment. While freedom of speech should certainly be absolute (aside from the old “fire in a crowded theater”/libel/slander exception), I’m not certain this recent activity reflects any sort of censorship in the truest sense of the word.
Yes, I believe this sudden bout of puritanical concern is a bad direction for an evolving culture. (And on a side note, it’s especially odd to me that such a violent and controversial movie as The Passion of the Christ is attracting so many “decent family” audiences.) Yes, I believe that we all need to be vigilant and as politically active as our system allows us to be so it doesn’t get worse. But honestly: does this mean the end of our society? Is “cleaning up” public airwaves really “totalitarian,” as some alarmists have stated?
No.
It’s just more socially conservative than most of us (me included) would like. Unfortunately, broadcast networks (TV and radio) are susceptible to the whims of the FCC. But we still have the internet, DVDs, pay channels and books. Our interpersonal speech is not being censored here. We can still hold an open discourse about this on Internet message boards or in a public square or whatever other forums are available to us.
And I don’t buy the “where will they stop?” argument either. Do you honestly believe our government could push any further than the airwaves over which they have legal jurisdiction? We have no evidence of that right now. And I don’t think this is about control — I think the people doing the “cleaning” honestly believe they’re protecting America, particularly the children of America. Personally, I thought we invented the V-chip as a convenient solution to this sort of thing: I watch what I want, you lock your children out of it if it’s inappropriate.
I don’t like where things are going at all, but it’s not doomsday here. A few people (something like .01% of the total viewing audience of the Super Bowl) have stirred things up based on their moral beliefs, and the voice of the opposition should be heard. In the end, we must remind ourselves that we do live in a predominantly capitalistic society, and the best way to vote is with your wallet. If CBS (and all the others) want to cave to this neo-puritanical bullshit, the best way to show our disapproval is to stop watching their shows. Stick to HBO and Showtime and DVD rentals. Hit them where it hurts — in their pockets.
This is not the end of free society. It’s a bunch of scared businessmen feeling threatened by political pressure. We need to let them know that we, their actual bread and butter, can apply equal pressure. Be smart about this, for crying out loud. This is a potentially fixable problem, and getting hysterical about it doesn’t help anyone.