by The last few minutes of the Super Bowl were among some of the most exciting in the history of the event.
But when I got up this morning, the news stations only briefly covered Brady, Manning, and those oh-so-crucial 57 seconds. They only touched on the commercials (which were underwhelming this year, anyway). What they DID spend time talking about was the fact that British rapper M.I.A., Madonna‘s guest during the halftime show, seemed to sing “I don’t give a s@*t and flipped off the camera during the performance.
(I say “seemed to” because the powers that be continue to argue this morning over whether she actually said the expletive). Take a look for yourself here and be the judge.
Madonna‘s highly-praised performance, also guest-starring Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, and Cee Lo Green, played out like an abbreviated “greatest hits,” with the singer spotlighting past hits Vogue, Music, Open Your Heart, Express Yourself, and her new single, Give Me All Your Luvin, before closing with a dramatic Like a Prayer.
And then there was the finger.
In the long run, I have a feeling the world will continue to function and spin on its axis, with or without M.I.A.‘s finger. Personally, I think it was a crass and classless decision on her part, considering the Super Bowl is an event watched by millions as a family, including small children. I also have to say, however, I have a feeling we would be hard pressed to find any child over the age of two who did not know what that gesture means, and I highly doubt that seeing M.I.A. flip off the world will cause many of those children to degenerate into a life of crime and debauchery.
If Madonna did NOT know about the finger ahead of time, then something tells me there were some words (loud words) exchanged backstage immediately after the performance. If, on the other hand, this was a calculated and preplanned stunt, then how genius was it to ensure that everyone would be talking about your performance the next morning without having to jeopardize your own “refined” reinvention?
In my opinion, Madonna can hardly get too bent out of shape (unlike some of her moves during the halftime show) if her guests court controversy. While the Material Girl herself has (more or less) matured from a trash-talking sexual provocateur into a mother, movie director, and author of children’s books, she also has relied heavily on guest rappers in recent years to provide a more urban flavor to her music. When you invite Kanye West, Timbaland, Pharrell, and M.I.A. into your image-conscious world, you have to kind of expect a certain type of behavior.
Or is that the whole idea?
Had it not been pointed out in the news media I would not have noticed that there was anything wrong, I was watching the whole thing. People will do what they want to do in a live performance, you see these one finger gestures frequently, I guess i am getting use to it by now.
The point of M.I.A.’s (can an abbreviation be possessive?) gesture was to generate controversy and publicity – and it obviously worked. Janet Jackson’s “slip” (I think it was intentional) is still regularly referred to with appropriately edited pictures republished. I don’t know if M.I.A. is a hugely popular artist or not (just not my type of music) but what she did accomplish is to get plenty of talk and name recognition for herself. As long as the stunts work they will continue. The option is a pre-recorded half time show, or more talking heads guessing what the coaches are saying to their players at halftime.
The factis she censored herself by saying sh, but yes she flipped the camerao off but I do not see the big deal
What I think about it is that before this girl showed her middle finger – no one knew who she is, right now everyone knows her name, everything’s simple.