Personal

My personal opinion of this image is shock.  I still remember watching the Super Bowl my junior year of high school. I never really cared for the sports themselves but I still looked forward to the commercials and the half-time performance.  I’ll never forget the shocking gasps that were heard throughout the living room when the disturbing incident occurred.  And then seeing it over and over again has the boys reviewed it on the Tivo.

Historical

I’m not sure about the historical analysis of this image.  I would love some suggestions in the comments that you guys leave. Thanks!

 Technical

This photograph is a medium shot of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.  There is high intensity key lighting coming from above and slightly right direction.  There is also a low intensity fill light coming from the above left.  Finally, there is back light coming from behind the performers. There is a strong graphic vector coming from Justin’s eyes pointing directly at Janet’s chest.  This draws your eyes to her chest even we you are searching the photograph for other signs.  There are index vectors coming from Janet’s hands as she covers her body.  This signifies that she is trying to protect herself and shield herself from sight.  Janet’s head is looking down, this signifier could be a sign that she is embarrassed by reveling herself.  I also notice a difference in attire between Justin and Janet.  Justin is wearing a very casual, right-off-the-street look.  This could be a signifier that he is not supposed to be the center of all the attention. You get the feeling that he wasn’t even really prepared for the performance, let alone exposing Janet’s chest.  It makes me wonder if he was wearing something different, like a male-dominant outfit like a fitted leather suit, would he have been labeled a womanizer for exposing Janet when she seemed so unsuspecting?

Ethical, Cultural, and Critical

Obviously there are many ethical images going on in this image.  In our society it is taboo for a woman to show her chest in public….especially on national television.  It is the ethical responsibility of the viewer to be polite and look away from the image and yet its so hard to tear your eyes away. A cultural meaning in this images could be Janet’s leather attire.  In American culture this sort of outfit is considered very seductive and sexual.  She has been a sex symbol for a long time in the music industry and this outfit definitely fits her profile as this.  There are little things that go wrong in such a big production like the Superbowl so it is obvious that this event was planned….Then why the surprised look on both of their faces?  And Janet’s nipple clip (which is not shown in this image) shows that she was must have been prepared for this event to happen.  Why did she feel the need to decorate her breast? Maybe she felt that her natural nipple was not flashy enough for the entertainment-thursty fans?  Maybe she just wears them all the time and wanted to show the world her favorite accessory?  Maybe this is a sign of the impossible body images that are in our society and how, not only we have to decorate our bodies with clothing and jewelry, but we also have to accessorize our private parts to make them appealing and competitive to potential suitors.  Does the fact that Justin is staring so intently at her breast solidify this argument? 

This image definitely reminds me of my high-school days and in a way, I miss them. Since this event, the FCC really came down on television companies to censor their programs.  It will be a long time until we get to see further aspects of Janet Jackson or any other pop stars.