Lynne Dohle
Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
This year’s Super Bowl halftime show was controversial before it even began.
The show, headlined by Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican musician, was heavily criticized for an array of reasons — mostly by right-wingers. Many complained about the predominantly Spanish lyrics and the fact that Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican, and incorrectly claimed he is not an American citizen.
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, making Puerto Ricans American citizens. It shouldn’t matter whether or not he is an American citizen, though, as plenty of previous halftime show performers have not been, such as The Who and Paul McCartney.
After outcry following the announcement of Bad Bunny as the performer, Green Day was announced as the opener. More criticism followed the announcement of this perfect lineup, with complaints about how both the Super Bowl and music in general were being made political through the choice of performers.
Music is inherently political. Art is political. The Super Bowl halftime show is political.
The Super Bowl halftime show is one of the largest stages a performer can get, as about 128 million people on average watched it this year. That is an immensely large number of people. There is no world where that platform would not be used to spread messages. Last year, Kendrick Lamar was praised for using the halftime show to promote his beef with Drake. This year, Bad Bunny is getting flamed for promoting love.
Bad Bunny platformed people and ethnicities that are currently under attack by the federal government. Instead of advocating for greater divides and manifesting hate, he elevated love. The jumbotron at Levi’s Stadium was utilized to proudly proclaim, “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love,” at the end of his performance. There was no divisiveness during this halftime show — only love, joy and inclusivity.
“Ignoring the politics of art ignores the basis of art as a whole.”
Green Day is undoubtedly a political band. They would not have changed the original lyrics in their song “American Idiot” to, “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda,” if they were not. You cannot simply “enjoy their music” without acknowledging the politics behind the lyrics. Politics are baked into every note of every Green Day song.
Art is political. There is no way around it. There is a message behind every stroke of paint, every stitch sewn into fabric and every word written. Artists are a combination of experiences and beliefs, both of which are influenced by politics in some way. When an artist creates art, those experiences and beliefs are expressed through the medium.
Ignoring the politics of art ignores the basis of art as a whole. Ignoring the politics of Green Day means not listening to the lyrics at all. Disregarding the love promoted by Bad Bunny only results in a rise of hate.
If you ignore the politics of art, you ignore politics as a whole. You will eventually find yourself saying, “It’s only politics. What has that got to do with us?” And you will find that it has everything to do with us.
Reach Audrey Weishaar at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.