From: (No Email available)

Date: 2004-02-07 11:44:44

Comment:

I'm fascinated by the double standard surrounding "family entertainment" in the United States. The Superbowl halftime show was riddled with overtly sexual performances, and the lyrics of the song (as many have pointed out) were unquestionably sexual. Yet this all counts as legitimate family entertainment, and no US viewers would have complained... until JJ's breast was exposed.

From this, I must conclude that anything is valid family entertainment (no matter how lewd or violent it might be) until nudity is involved. That seems to me to be rather underestimating the intelligence of youth. I think even a 10-year-old can figure out that someone can still be sexual/provocative without being naked.

As an outsider (I'm from Canada), I look at US culture and think it is ridiculously familycentric. The idea that children must somehow be "protected" from adult ideas and images is a relatively new one, and the US has taken it to obsessive extremes. Maybe education, instead of censorship, is the best way to raise well-balanced children.

I've enjoyed seeing all the various issues that have come up in this discussion (religion, censorship, 9/11, racism). I think it's important to acknowledge that all these issues are connected.