Madonna Concert Special
First off, I'd like to wish a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. I'm at work today, but so far my first two interviews have not made it in.On to the post--I'm sure most of you heard the controversy about the Madonna concert that aired on NBC this past Wednesday. NBC planned to air the concert without edits, but after an uproar began about her being on a cross, NBC decided to edit out that scene. A few smaller edits included taking out a few cuss words and a several-second-long bleeping of a slam on President Bush that is part of the lyrics of her song I Love New York.
I understand Madonna is a very controversial person, and I understand a lot of people out there don't like her one bit. But it was interesting to me that this concert aired around the world, and most other countries aired the special without edits, especially the cross edit.
Here we are in a country that prides itself (really defines itself) on our great freedoms, and yet we are one of the few countries on the world to edit this special. It just hit me as odd. Yes, NBC chose to edit the special themselves (rather than being forced to by the government), but I can guarantee that their decision was based in part on the possibility that the FCC would issue fines, especially after the Janet Jackson debacle.
I hear conservative talk radio show hosts rail all the time about how much they hate "political correctness" because we are too worried about offending everyone we come across. So, how do they turn around and get mad that this Madonna concert will offend them? Sorry, but you just can't have it both ways.
And, as for the cross scene. I can see how people are offended, but for anyone that hasn't seen the special, the cross is not used in a mocking way--it's used as a message about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Madonna herself said it was meant to be a message of confession, which is the name of her tour. Yes, it's odd coming from a non-Christian, but anyone would be hard pressed to say she was using the segment to mock Christians. Yet, that's the message many out there are trying to present to the public.
In my opinion, if you don't like it, don't watch. I'm not sure what other advice I can give. Maybe I'm just not as easily offended as other people.
posted by Brady @ 7:41 AM
1 Comments:
The concert ranked 4th for its timeslots on Wednesday, getting beat by Jericho and an airing of Cheaper by the Dozen. Its first hour ranked higher than the second, which says to me that people got tired of watching one song in between commercial breaks. And it also says that NBC blew it by not airing the crucifixion scene. The show sold out every venue and is the highest grossing tour by a female performer ever. So there is an audience there, somewhere. NBC should have worked the controversy, aired the scene, and skipped out the commercials. I bet they lost more money by avoiding FCC fines than they would if they had had to pay them.
Post a Comment
<< Home