2004-02-03

Shocking! Inappropriate! Boring!

So who out there watched the Super Bowl halftime show, brought to you by Playtex? Alas, I missed out on the fun, but have been catching up on it via my friends on the Noise Board, in addition to various news outlets.

Boobs on television! Shocking! Inappropriate! CBS didn�t know about it....oh, wait � well, maybe they did.

I think Justin Timberlake is a bit of a smarmy little tool, myself, but I�m in the boy�s debt for this: the term �wardrobe malfunction.� I�m going to use this frequently, to describe everything from a run in my stockings to the coffee stains down my front. Wardrobe Malfunction! Brilliant!

Oops � how did that get out of there?

It�s also interesting to note the glaring inconsistency as regards these wardrobe malfunctions, er, choices. I know it was supposed to look like it was spontaneous and all, but, as my friend Corin pointed out, she�s tricked out in several thousand dollars� worth of fitted leather and breakaway snaps, and Timberlake looks like he�s about to offer to mow your lawn for 10 bucks.

The issue, for me, ain�t about seeing Janet Jackson�s yaya on national television. The issue is that somebody � whether it�s Janet or Justin or some Viacom toadie � thought this was a good idea. And believe me, I don�t say this because I�m especially shocked by it; if anything, it�s the most tired of attention-grabbing schemes, and it�s been done with far more style and humor: Jayne Mansfield �lost� her bikini top at a poolside press conference for a Jane Russell picture almost 50 years ago. Stunt or wardrobe malfunction, this is nothing especially new or clever � it�s just stupid � and shame on all the parties involved for that reason alone.

lisamcc at 4:22 p.m.

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