My Hips Don't Lie (So Please Pay Attention)

I know we only touched based on the Super Bowl halftime show as an introduction to our unit on Representation and Identity, but it is something that resonated with me when Dr. A analyzed it, even briefly. When I watched the performance on Youtube the morning after the game, I really enjoyed it. I had already seen snippets on Twitter with viral tweets especially the scene where Shakira does the, what seems out of place, tongue movement. I didn’t think much of it at all. Despite being a Mexican-American who very much is affected by the presidential policies of now and yesterday, I did not pick up on the subtleties of the performance. So much so, that for my COMM 3300 course which centers on choosing one (1) rhetorical act to criticize for the rest of the semester, I have chosen this moment. I am very interested in how a political act disguised in shiny, short, see-through outfits with voluminous hair and hips that don’t lie is able to infiltrate the homes of people. I have heard it before and I heard it again in this class that when people watch things for entertainment purposes, their guards are low. There is not much resistance on their part to absorb whatever they are seeing as opposed to watching the 5 o’clock news. It is a chance to attempt to leave an impact on viewers without them necessarily feeling like they’re being preached to.

For the assignment itself I will actually be in charge of doing a contextual analysis in which I have to lay the stage of two main things: the political climate that has led to the necessity to send the political messages and why the NFL’s halftime shows in recent years have turned into a platform to say them. (Though one could get too in depth on controversial things the NFL has done and then ask why they allow such acts, my professor is restricting me to only look at these exigencies rather than go down the rabbit-hole with it.) There are some shows that don’t say much (Maroon 5 last year for example) and others like this that create immediate reactions in the media (Beyoncé a few years ago.) Be it that the public was judging the way JLO and Shakira were dressed or the way they moved (as if they need to act in another way to be respected) or in how they bring forward the messages of kids in cages and the negligence of Puerto Rico to the safety of the homes of the viewers, JLO, Shakira and Roc Nation, who produced it, created a rhetorical act that was more than just a 14 minute performance behind bright lights.

This act is reflective of our society at the moment much like the telenovelas we have been discussing. The novelas are an opportunity for writers or creatives to mimic this strategy but with the art of knowing when too much is enough. For example in today’s class, we saw two instances where the novela reflected one case and then accurately depicted another case that happened in society. The audience reacted well to one, but not to the other meaning entertainment is consumed primarily as a distraction, and people do not want it to hit too close to home. If they’re seeing the same thing on the TV as they would see if they looked out the window, then the taste is a bit more sour. It’s extremely interesting how our perceptions of life are warped so much that those that watched the novela who stood with Chavez did not recognize his persona onscreen. I think it might be like when you have already been exposed to an optical illusion and the first time you didn’t see what the artist wants you to see, but the next time you are ready and are actively searching for it. This would be applied to the opposers of Chavez I believe. They were affected negatively by his administration thus it is easier for them to see in Olegario Pérez’s their president’s wrong-doings. The fine line between reality and what we assume is reality is difficult to navigate when we experience life through different lenses.

(I have been exposed to this image since maybe 3rd grade, and I always forget where the old lady is. I do not know if it is because I forget or because the young lady is who I see first (and remember) and neglect to look at the bigger picture once I have found what I am looking for. Chavez’s supporters might never see the old lady in the image.)