Decolletage And Double Standards

I only watched the NBA All-Star Game long enough to catch Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle looking decidedly uncomfortable as he was being introduced during the pre-game, but I apparently missed Beyonce Knowles uncovering plenty of skin for the TNT cameras.

Matt at The Goat Belt has some questions:

Am I missing something? How come no one is outraged about Beyonces copious boob-spillage at the NBA all-star game? I'll grant you that the nipple is still in there, but isn't there almost as much actual boob-tissue exposed as there was at Janets whole debacle. Whats the difference here? Was this performance more tasteful somehow?

I can understand Matt's confusion, but the issue here is pretty simple. The Super Bowl is the most watched entertainment event of the year, and it's always on broadcast television. The NBA All-Star Game migrated to cable last year, meaning not as many eye-balls were peeled during Ms. Knowles provocative performance.

But the real bottom line is that while the FCC is perfectly within its rights to throw a fit over "broadcast indecency" (insert your definition here), it really can't say the same about cable, which after all customers pay for.

Had such a performance traveled over the "public airwaves," you can bet the FCC and assorted other politicians would have pitched a requisite fit.

Besides, it's far more fun for politicians to grill the folks at Viacom, CBS, MTV and the NFL in a way that plays to their political constituencies.

Thanks to Costa Tsiokos for the link.

Eric 12:38 PM

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UPDATE: Eric at Off Wing Opinion adds his two cents, and brings up an important point that I brainfroze on: That because the NBA All-Star Game was on cable instead of broadcast television, it falls outside the jurisdiction of the FCC. Therefore, Mich... [Read More]

Tracked on February 19, 2004 12:35 AM