Porn Bowl

An excellent match, in play until the final seconds and pitting superb teams known for playing together rather than showboating, was upstaged by the inexcusable smut that passed for commercials and a half time show in the Super Bowl yesterday. I watched the game with friends at an annual party. We were adults, teenagers, children and toddlers gathered to celebrate the season finale of what National Football League (NFL) marketers like to refer to as the American pastime. It was shameful, therefore, to see that CBS and the NFL had segmented 'family entertainment' out of their target audience. The combination of commercials dependent on toilet humor, songs with indecipherable lyrics and dancing laden with explicit sexuality left no room for young viewers or serious adults.

I dislike half time shows as a rule, featuring as they so often do the bottom feeders of popular culture. This half time show proved my point- a carnival of freaks relying on lip synching, and sexual innuendo for lack of real talent. That the performers couldn't sing was the just the beginning; their voice-overs were muddied by the stadium sound system- what to do if not fall back on dancing, groin grasping and public indecency. It is silly to expect adult behavior from mindless arrogant pop celebrities. It is not unreasonable to expect sound judgment and responsibility from the corporations that hired them. Viacom, CBS, MTV and the NFL are responsible for broadcasting pornography to a national audience during THE prime viewing hours. They should be rebuked by citizens and the FCC, and they should pay a price in a language they understand... big money.