So as I was thinking of a topic pertaining to media studies, I began considering whether American television is indeed ethical. Or is it unethical? I don't know if you would consider this reality television, but I began thinking about Award Shows and Major Sports Events broadcast on TV. Although it is somewhat staged and produced, it's pretty much real life events. Singing for a group or show of people. Playing football for your crowd of fans. It's pretty much reality. Well, we only see a little bit of reality. We never actually see what physically goes on behind the scenes. I began thinking of a few examples of what has been seen on American television in relation to ethics.
The first example of what I would consider
Unethical television is the Britney, Xtina, and Madonna kiss at the opening of the 2003 Video Music Awards. I know everyone either saw it or heard about it somewhere. It was all over the news and entertainment updates. So at about the middle of their show-stopping routine, Madonna (who's about mid 40s at this point & getting pretty tired) spins around both Britney and Christina, then kisses them each for about 2 seconds per gal. It wasn't just like a cutesy peck for the kids, there was tongue. It was basically MTV selling sex. But the best part about it all is that it was aired on television. Somewhere along the line, a producer or executive for MTV figured it was okay to feature three women kissing each other at the opening of a live show on television. It was shown all over TV as if the public was fascinated with what went down. If it were two famous gay men at the opening, it never would have went down. No producer or executive in their right mind would even dare consider it. Everyone would turn off their TVs. Right? Because two gay men are not as socially acceptable as two gay (or three) gay/bi women.
The second example I thought of is also
Unethical television. When Janet Jackson's breast was exposed at the 2004 Superbowl. Well, technically Justin Timberlake ripped a piece of her black suit off and revealed her breast. But that was never really discussed in the media. Janet's a woman. It's her own fault. If you don't realize, I'm being sarcastic about all this. It's just as much Janet's fault as it is Justin's fault as it is MTV's (produced the half time show that year) fault as it is the FCC's fault. Once her breast was made public with piercing and all, it stayed on the screen for about 5 seconds. Where was the FCC on that one? They probably weren't even at their monitors or control room. Probably not even paying attention. Or I bet the men in charge were fascinated and lost train of thought. The fact of the matter is her breast never should have come out on television! Yet, it did. Even if it wasn't planned, the second you see Justin Timberlake's hand touch Janet's breast... You cut, fade to black. I still don't understand what actually happened. But I do know Janet got way more media speculation than Justin. Again, what does our society consider socially acceptable and ethical?
The first example of what I would consider Unethical television is the Britney, Xtina, and Madonna kiss at the opening of the 2003 Video Music Awards. I know everyone either saw it or heard about it somewhere. It was all over the news and entertainment updates. So at about the middle of their show-stopping routine, Madonna (who's about mid 40s at this point & getting pretty tired) spins around both Britney and Christina, then kisses them each for about 2 seconds per gal. It wasn't just like a cutesy peck for the kids, there was tongue. It was basically MTV selling sex. But the best part about it all is that it was aired on television. Somewhere along the line, a producer or executive for MTV figured it was okay to feature three women kissing each other at the opening of a live show on television. It was shown all over TV as if the public was fascinated with what went down. If it were two famous gay men at the opening, it never would have went down. No producer or executive in their right mind would even dare consider it. Everyone would turn off their TVs. Right? Because two gay men are not as socially acceptable as two gay (or three) gay/bi women. 
The second example I thought of is also Unethical television. When Janet Jackson's breast was exposed at the 2004 Superbowl. Well, technically Justin Timberlake ripped a piece of her black suit off and revealed her breast. But that was never really discussed in the media. Janet's a woman. It's her own fault. If you don't realize, I'm being sarcastic about all this. It's just as much Janet's fault as it is Justin's fault as it is MTV's (produced the half time show that year) fault as it is the FCC's fault. Once her breast was made public with piercing and all, it stayed on the screen for about 5 seconds. Where was the FCC on that one? They probably weren't even at their monitors or control room. Probably not even paying attention. Or I bet the men in charge were fascinated and lost train of thought. The fact of the matter is her breast never should have come out on television! Yet, it did. Even if it wasn't planned, the second you see Justin Timberlake's hand touch Janet's breast... You cut, fade to black. I still don't understand what actually happened. But I do know Janet got way more media speculation than Justin. Again, what does our society consider socially acceptable and ethical?
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