The Admirable Defiance of the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show
Amidst the revealing costumes and provocative dance moves, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira managed to put on a Super Bowl half time show that challenged sexism, ageism, and xenophobia.
A Very Brief History of the Super Bowl Halftime Show
For the first 24 years of the Super Bowl’s existence (1967–1990), the halftime show featured non-celebrities and was organized around a theme. Think marching bands, drill teams, and performance troupes. But at Super Bowl XXV in 1991, things changed. When then red-hot boy band New Kids on the Block headlined an “It’s a Small World”-themed halftime show, it marked the beginning of 29 consecutive years of halftime shows headlined by A-listers.
For the remainder of the 1990s, the halftime show was typically organized around a family-friendly theme and featured the well-known talent more tangentially. This is in stark contrast to the commercial bonanza that is the single-headliner halftime show that dominates now. For example, 1995’s was themed in honor of the new Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland and featured Patti LaBelle and Tony Bennett whereas 1999’s was a tribute to Motown featuring The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Boyz II Men, and Queen Latifah. Nevertheless, the decade did feature two showcases of legendary pop stars that were much more similar to the current…
