By Staff
Our View
When will it end? We are constantly hearing about our favorite stars participating in some type of act, whether premeditated or spontaneous that lowers our civilization's morals. The most recent escapade or example would be this year's halftime show of Super bowl XXXVIII. The viewers not only were able to see what that some say to be the best game ever, but also see more of Janet Jackson than most wanted.
During a routine that featured herself and Justine Timberlake, a portion of her top was taken away exposing herself to the crowd. Prior to the incident Gil Duldulao, Janet Jackson's choreographer, was quoted on MTV.com as saying "I don't think the Super Bowl has ever seen a performance like this, the dancing is great. She's more stylized, she's more feminine, she's more a woman as she dances this time around. There are some shocking moments in there too." An editor's note says that MTV thought Duldulao was referring to the then unannounced arrival of Justin Timberlake. Shocked is somewhat of an understatement.
This is not the first and probably not the last incident of over the top behavior by celebrities. Do these people really think that this behavior is normal, or that there is no penalty for their actions? There are many other examples of controversy surrounding celebrities like the duo Milli Vanilli who lip-synced their way to the 1989 Grammy award for Best New Artist, Winona Ryder's shopping spree minus money, and Michael Jackson dangling his son over a balcony. Likely these celebrities are only out there trying to shock the masses, keeping their name on the lips of the public, or maybe just think that any news is still good news.
Janet Jackson issued an apology saying she was at fault, but did not mean for the stunt to go as far as it did. We have to wonder if an apology enough. The words, "I am sorry" will not erase the image of her exposed body from the minds of children that were at the game. Whether they want to or not, these people are role models to our children. Their actions and mannerisms are splashed everyday across both the big and small screen for viewing.
In today's society it is up to us as parents and concerned citizens to fill the void left by these so called role models to provide a solid basis for our children to look up to. Not only are we guilty of accepting this bad behavior by condoning these celebrity actions, but also by ignoring them. If we as the people of society do not take a stand now, it will only be a matter of time before our morals disappear all together.