Timing is Everything

Image from Yahoo.com I’m sure you heard about or saw M.I.A.’s gesture at this year’s Super Bowl. Surprising? I am not so sure. I would say that it was definitely obscene, especially for an event viewed by all ages and all types of people who were not necessarily tuning in to see if anything scandalous would happen at halftime. The world got a dose of that already with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Using a halftime performance at the Super Bowl to make such a gesture is a bold choice. Talk about kairos. Would anyone care if this happened at a regular NFL game? Would anyone care if this happened on the street? My bet is that people would care, but not as much. I don’t think there would be articles online about it, radio conversations, or as much mention in small talk. This choice was all about the situational timing. Expertly chosen if she wanted millions to see it. But, I have to ask, what was the point? Was it M.I.A.’s way of establishing ethos as a hard, tough person? Is this even a representation of her character or personality? Does her choice persuade us into thinking differently about her? Was she even thinking about the timing or have such gestures become close enough to slang for our generation and age group that we do not associate them with offense anymore? I have no idea if there was a goal or what it could have been had the situation been forethought. This type of choice distracts people from the rest of what is going on: the game, other performers, the excitement of the surroundings, etc., but was this a rhetorically thought-out moment or an impulsive act? I have heard both opinions voiced. Some people say she was expected to do that while other sources say she was used to rehearsing with potentially offensive language and gestures. Yahoo.com says a source cited her as saying she was sorry for the incident. However, at the end of the day, timing is everything.