The MTV Video Music Awards (2003)

 

by Walt Mueller

 

It's 11:20pm Thursday night. Tonight I did what I do on MTV's annual Video Music Awards day - I watched and processed the show. My head is spinning from what I just watched over the last three hours. This year, I had to head right to the computer to record my thoughts. The VMA's - like all popular entertainment - function in our culture as both a map and a mirror. As a map, the VMA's direct and shape the developing worldview of vulnerable children and teens who look to the music industry for guidance and direction. In that sense, viewing the three-plus hour broadcast put me in the same "classroom" as our kids. For those of us who want to know what the kids we know and love are learning from these teachers, the VMA's give us a front row seat in the classroom. It's imperative that we know what our kids are learning. That way, we can affirm or correct where necessary. As a mirror, the VMA's allow us to gaze at ourselves to see what we look like and what we've become. The show is an accurate reflection - although many of us won't admit or believe it - of how we've changed, what we think, how we live, and who we are as a culture. Granted, the reflection I saw tonight was not something I liked. Nor was it an accurate reflection of me as an individual. But collectively. . . . I can't argue with the fact that what I saw is a reflection of what our youth culture has become and what our mainstream culture is becoming.

 

All that said, what does this year's VMA map and mirror have to tell us about our culture and our kids? What follows are some random and initial musings regarding what we can learn about youth culture and how to minister in it, from this year's VMA's.

 

The popular music industry is gasping for air. With the exception of the first five minutes of the show, there was very little that was eventful or new. Popular music is looking for that "next big thing" - something to spike record sales. I think the evidence of that was the fact that Justin Timberlake won three awards (don't get me started on that one!). Yes, Coldplay won three awards too. But overall, the industry is on autopilot. I'm not sure when the next big thing is coming along. But when they find it (or invent it) and it hits, its going to make a big splash. Unfortunately, the chances are that the big splash will be made by some young performer who allows themselves to be remade in the image of what the industry thinks will sell (ala Justin, Britney, and Christina). As a result, the big splash will probably be the result of good and effective marketing and not good and creative music.

 

Now. . . . about those first five minutes. . . .  homosexuality and lesbianism are no longer stigmatized or seen as sinful. In fact, they are celebrated in the mainstream. First, you've got Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera singing Madonna's "Like A Virgin" while dressed in white wedding "dresses" - actually, they looked they had been purchased at Victoria's Secret. Don't forget that just three years ago these two were topping the charts as the reigning "good girl" queens of formulated, generic pop music - and millions of parents were buying their albums and concert tickets for their seven, eight, and nine-year-old girls. Today, those young fans are three years older and not even into their teenage years. The Britney and Christina they're listening to are totally reinvented as bad girls. What are those young fans learning from these "maps?" Last night, Madonna joined them on stage. Dressed in groom's black, she played the part of the man in the on-stage lesbian wedding fantasy. She broke into her song "Hollywood" and began to bump and grind with her two "virgin" brides. Somewhere near the end of the opening number, Madonna ended her song with the lyrics "I'm bored with the concept of right and wrong." Those lyrics were sung in the context of engaging in an open-mouthed kiss with both Spears and Aguilera. I believe that as their lips touched, a symbolic bad girl of music "torch" was passed from one generation to another. And did you notice that the next generation was on stage? Yes, that was Madonna's six-year-old daughter right there in the middle of the act. The torch is being passed again. That opening number set the stage for the anti-climatic appearance of the flamboyant homosexual cast of the hit Bravo series "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" as presenters. Remember, "map" and "mirror." What we saw is who we are.

 

The urban Hip-Hop style and ethos rule. It is stamped all over today's youth culture. The genre is #1 among children and teens. It's flavored the commercials (have you watched the commercials on Nickelodeon lately?). Our kids sing and dance to the gangsta lifestyle. In our postmodern climate, there's nothing wrong with that. Granted, not all hip-hop music and style promotes the thug life. But the thug life sells records, attitude, and lifestyle. I think VMA host Chris Rock was pretty insightful when he joked about 50 Cent's success and the fact that nobody talks about the music. Instead, they talk about the fact that he was shot nine times. The rise of the distinctive urban lifestyle and music into the mainstream of suburban and rural white America begs another question. . . . . now that the truly urban owners of the genre and lifestyle have seen it move into the mainstream, what will they invent and adopt as their own. As all successful youth marketers and cool hunters know, you look for the edgy stuff, steal it from the inventor, and market it to the world. But once it becomes a fad, those who originally created and owned it start looking for something else they can call their own. Those who work in urban ministry need to keep their ear to the ground for what's coming next. But that too will eventually be stolen, packaged, marketed, and sold to the mainstream.

 

Freak dancing isn't freaky anymore. It's been described as "having sex with your clothes on." That's certainly what it looks like and also how it functions. We saw it on-stage at the VMA's and it's an integral part of most videos. My guess is that if you cranked up those songs on a Saturday night at a middle school retreat and let the kids loose, you'd see the same thing. And if you'd challenge them as to its appropriateness, their bewildered looks would say it all. . . they wouldn't have a clue what you're talking about. The "normalcy" of the behavior will leave you looking like the one who's abnormal and without a clue.

 

When it comes to sex, there are no rules. If you were an alien sent to watch this year's VMA's from a sociological/anthropological perspective, what would you scribble on your notepad? What kept running through my mind is that the sex act and all things sexual are the reason for living, boundary-less, and sacramental. Our kids are growing up in a world where the hedonistic and unbridled pursuit of pleasure is integral to life. Fornication, adultery, and homosexuality aren't even seen as naughty enough to be pursued in a sneaky way. When sex becomes redemptive, it's no shock that those hungry for heaven will feast but never be filled.

 

Normal looking girls don't have a chance. If you taped the show, watch it again with that last statement in mind. The body image pressure continues and we'll see more and more of our girls at younger and younger ages begin to self-destruct over appearance. Sadly, our guys are getting the message too. Did you hear the banter last night between Nelly and Murphy Lee as they lustily discussed females and their posteriors? And what about the clothing? A commonly held standard of modesty no longer exists to dictate taboos. Instead, modesty itself is taboo. The result? . . .  It's no longer just the stereotypical construction worker on lunch break who sends out the wolf whistles as the ladies walk by. Today, our 8 year-olds have been taught to stare, harass and not care. So don't be surprised next time you hear a third grade boy "complimenting" a first grade girl on the playground for her "nasty ass."

 

What's next for the Olsen twins? They were there tonight and they're also on the cover of the latest edition of Rolling Stone. Keep your eye on them. It appears they've been positioned as the next female media darlings and teen heartthrobs. At this point, they seem to have maintained some aspects of childhood innocence - at least that's what we've been led to believe. But remember, that's where Britney and Christina were just three years ago. How they grow up will set a pattern for our kids. Watch how they are marketed and reinvented. They will serve as an interesting case study.

 

Postmodern self-rule rules. In today's world, there is no objective, transcendent authority outside of self. The "I" determines all things ethical. "I" does what "I" wants to do. For a great example, take another look at 50 Cent's performance of his hit song "P.I.M.P." It oozed postmodern individualism. But he wasn't alone. It all serves to remind us that when those of us in ministry who stand face-to-face with kids and begin sentences with "God says" or "The Bible says". . . . well, you've already seen the "so what" stares in response.

 

Women are ornaments for men. The VMA's featured what we so often see in the music videos - singers, dancers and women who just stand around doing nothing but being scantily-clad sexual objects for men. I've often used this crude analogy that isn't very pretty. . . that so much of the music today depicts women as nothing more or less than urinals that hang on a men's room wall. As such, they are objects used by male to relieve themselves in. But the VMA's also gave us a glimpse into something else I've been noticing over the course of the last couple of years. . . . that is, the ladies are starting to react. But rather than asking the men to stop, their simply doing the same thing. Britney, Christina, and Madonna offer just one example. Their lusty performance said to the men, "You want us to be your sexual toys? Okay, we'll steam it up for you. It just won't be with you. It'll be with each other. All you get to do is watch." Watch for the lesbian fantasy to continue to take center stage as the women seek to turn the tables and establish sexual power over the men.

 

Pain is mainstream. Who would have ever thought that Johnny Cash would be a video star in 2003? And, even more unbelievable is that he did it with a remake of Trent Reznor's "Hurt" from the 1994 Nine Inch Nails album "The Downward Spiral." That's one song worth discussing with your kids. The opening line - "I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel." Those words capture the essence of the epidemic of teenage self-abuse.

 

How about Jessica Simpson's suit?!?!?!? I stand by what I wrote about her a couple of years ago - she's the poster girl for dis-integrated faith. She isn't alone. Perhaps she's an icon for what we mistakenly call "evangelism" in our youth ministries. When are we going to start teaching our kids that coming to faith in Christ is not just about going to heaven??? No, it's about living the Kingdom of God here on earth and integrating that faith consistently into every area of our lives.

 

Beyonce never once thanked God. Unless I missed it, the winner of three moonmen stepped out of character and never once thanked the Lord. In a way, I'm happy as her music and lifestyle haven't been especially spiritually fruitful lately. But don't expect her gospel roots and expressions of faith to fade away anytime soon. They'll still figure into the mix - a mix that's becoming more and more evident in the lives of those kids - and adults - we know and love who call themselves "Christian."

 

Finally, here are my two personal highlights from the show. First, the Fred Durst/Jack Black parody of Michael Jackson at last year's VMA's was brilliant! And second - on a more serious note - I was thrilled to hear Missy Elliot's words after receiving the award for "Best Hip Hop Video" early on in the show. She thanked God and then said why. . . . "for giving me the talents and the creative mind." Hey, Missy Elliot might not be bringing glory to God through her music. But her theology was dead-on right in her comments.

 

As I head to bed tonight, my heart does ache. It's the map and the mirror that I watched tonight that make me hurt. If you watched, you're probably hurting too. Let's use the map and the mirror as catalysts to respond as Jesus would. There's not a kid in this world or a performer on that VMA show that is beyond redemption. Our prayers and our ministry efforts need to be built on that conviction.

 

 

 

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 ©2003, The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding