It’s been almost two decades since the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl and yet Janet Jackson‘s career never fully recovered from the incident. The latest New York Times‘ documentary, “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson,” examined the cultural factors surrounding the outrage and
The documentary provided a background on Jackson’s career as well as her struggles and the obstacles that she faced trying to balance her sexuality with America’s focus on morality. It also provided a behind the scenes look into the production surrounding the infamous halftime show using interviews with N.F.L. and MTV executives.
The documentary used archived footage to show Jackson and Timberlake’s reactions to the event immediately after and in the days following the scandal. It specifically addresses the fact that both Timberlake and Jackson were supposed to attend the Grammy’s the following week, but Timberlake was allowed to come while Jackson was basically uninvited. The documentary also shows how Timberlake’s career skyrocketed why Jackson’s seemed to plummet.
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It also interviewed cultural experts to discuss some of the theories as to why this happened and shows how a changing society seems to have accepted Jackson back into its good graces- even if it did come far too late.
“Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson” is streaming on Hulu.