The phrase "wardrobe malfunction" became a popular joke after the Super Bowl Halftime show. The phrase was a way for Janet Jackson to describe her career interruption.
The words that were used in the apology for the Super Bowl incident where he exposed one of Jackson's breasts are still being used in a way that denies Jackson the right to define herself on her own.
It's telling that the New York Times' documentary about Jackson's treatment after the incident uses his words in the title. Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson may have good intentions. It highlights a mistake that we continue to make by letting everyone but Janet Jackson have the final word on how we talk about a life-changing moment.
Malfunction does mostly hit the right notes. It is focused on looking at how Black women are treated in America, and not looking at the mystery surrounding what happened.
Jackson was blamed, shamed, and unofficially blacklisted out of her career by powerful white male broadcasting and music executives, like CBS' Les Moonves, who was ousted after multiple allegations of sexual assault. It maligns him for how he was able to get away with smirking and joking his way through mealy-mouthed apologies only to then perform and win at the gramophone awards show that banned Jackson.
We continue to make a mistake by letting everyone but Janet Jackson have the final word on something that happened to her.
Malfunction leaves Jackson's perspective on the incident completely unclear, patching one together through very brief, piecemeal interview clips.
Jackson's modern-day perspective is not present in the documentary, but it makes up for it with other talking heads. Commentators give background on Jackson's early career to show how her sexuality was carefully controlled by the white and male figures around her. A few Black journalists and a Black-owned media company executive offer important context about her significance, with some giving their own illuminating perspectives on how Jackson's career and the controversy that derailed it personally impacted them, too. The history of how Black women's bodies were policed in the Antebellum South is often overlooked.
The majority of the documentary's hour-long runtime is given to white people who were involved in the incident. The audience will hopefully pick up on the lines between their version of events and what they are told by them.
Paul Tagliabue was shamed by his daughter for allowing Jackson's nipple to be exposed on TV, and he was also upset about the misogynistic lyrics of the Black rapper. The white woman at MTV who oversaw wardrobe for the show blames Jackson for not explaining herself after an incident that left her in tears, and she cries about the painful feelings of betrayal by Jackson's team.
The documentary ends with further statements from Moonves and Timberlake, allowing them to have the final say on the woman they're accused of mistreating.
The documentary doesn't take the side of these people. It doesn't press them very hard on the injustice Jackson has faced. Malfunction points to issues of sexism, shakes its head at them, and denies a Black woman full autonomy over her own story.
Malfunction fails to address the most fundamental questions for those trying to set the record straight on women who were mistreated publicly: How does Janet Jackson feel about this? What about Britney Spears? What kind of statement did either of them make about who gets to tell the story for them? Is it okay for a news organization to profit off of re-hashings, even though it also commits the very harms it's now apologizing for?
The New York Times ran a column in which it criticized Jackson's breast for being too old. I can't tell if Janet Jackson is okay with Malfunction's release, but her absence speaks volumes.
Further statements from Moonves and Timberlake allow them to have the final say.
In the weeks after the fervor around Framing Britney Spears, the star posted on the social media site to make it clear how much personal pain and harm the documentary's approach to telling the story caused her, writing that "I've always been so judged... insulted... and embarrassed by the
There was a bit more gray area to consider when it came to Spears' absence, considering that she was still in a conservatorship and wouldn't be allowed to participate in the documentary. It makes me wonder who benefits from the re-examinations that allow audiences to walk away feeling better about themselves. Does directing righteous indignation at the likes of Moonves, or any other easy villain, put us on the right side of history? As we consume a re-exposure of Janet Jackson's most publicly violating moment, we should all sit with these unanswerable questions.
The true cost of the Super Bowl controversy is often discussed in the documentary Malfunction, which is a vital watch for anyone not familiar with it. The questions it raises are never going to be answered here, but we need to think through them before consuming more of real people's lives for entertainment.
