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Commentary: MTV -- 20 Years of What?
By Ali Asadullah 03/08/2001
On August 1, 1981, Music Television - better know by its acronym, MTV - debuted on cable television systems across America. At the time, the concept seemed ludicrous. Music on television? Conventional wisdom said that no one would want music on television as long as they had a perfectly good stereo in the living room that would provide far better sound quality.
Even more ludicrous was the proposition that consumers would be willing to pay for television in the first place. So, watching MTV was like paying for two types of media that were, via their respective outlets, otherwise free. But my how times have changed.
In only two decades, MTV has gone from being an upstart network, with barely a trickle of a revenue stream, to a multi-million dollar company that is arguably the crown jewel of Sumner Redstone's Viacom media empire. But, beyond the dollar signs, MTV has become so much more; in a very real sense it is the final arbiter of culture for the largest generation in American history.
Never before have so many young minds taken their cues for how to dress, how to talk, how act, where to eat, what movies to see, what issues to consider important, from such a monolithic information source. It's almost as if MTV was pressing to beat George Orwell to the punch; and that it did, by three years.
It might not have been apparent in 1981 that "Big Brother" had in fact arrived. After all, no one has ever held a gun to a child's head and forced him or her to watch MTV. But, that's the genius of it all. The images flashing on the screen are so passively seductive - it takes no effort whatsoever to press the remote and plop down on the couch - that not only will the adolescent herds corral themselves without coercion, but when they are finally captive, they will march to the piper's tune - even when the flute isn't playing.
Earlier this year, PBS ran an episode of is award-winning current affairs program
Frontline entitled, "The Merchants of Cool." In this particular program,
Frontline chronicled the manner in which America's youth have been indoctrinated into and brainwashed by popular culture. Singled out for its unrivaled prowess in the marketing of pop, was MTV. The insights were startling.
Not only does MTV perform run-of-the-mill marketing research to help determine where profits might be maximized; but, it sets up an entire web of deal making that assures MTV penetration into the very minds and souls of its target audience. So detailed is MTV's approach, that marketing specialists even perform house calls on individual teenagers to mine them for information on everything pertaining to their daily lives.
Now, some might argue that MTV simply reflects the entertainment preferences of its audience. This is true to some extent, for it runs contrary to self-interest for MTV to air content that has no appeal. However, there is a very definite feedback loop that MTV uses in order to direct its willing minions.
Consider the last Super Bowl. Most people have probably already forgotten which two teams were on the field that day. But, what millions of America's youth
do remember is that Britney Spears, NSYNC, Aerosmith, Mary J. Blige and Nelly all performed in the halftime extravaganza. How is this so?
Well, not only is MTV a Viacom company, but so is CBS - the network that carried the Super Bowl. In the weeks prior to the game, MTV pulled out all stops, letting viewers know at every available opportunity that Britney and the other teen idols would be performing at halftime. But wait…there's more. Viacom also owns Infinity Broadcasting, which operates 185 major market radio stations in America, many of whose formats include pop music, providing yet another cross-marketing opportunity. Or how about VH1, UPN, Blockbuster, Comedy Central and a whole host of other holdings? All of which provide Viacom with unprecedented opportunity to pitch its messages to the public. That's why people remember Britney Spears shaking her backside on Super Bowl Sunday. And, even if she hadn't been there, many people might have just assumed she was, since with so much Britney on the mind she's liable to pop up just about anywhere if you look hard enough.
It's pure evil genius. The executives at MTV simply have a lock on the market of mind manipulation; and the disturbing thing about it all is that it's manipulation for profit. As rapper Master P says, "If it don't make money, it don't make sense." Unfortunately this mercenary business philosophy has led MTV to the least common denominators of human interest: sex, violence and materialism.
If bodies aren't bumping and grinding on the screen, then Tom Green is verbally assaulting people. When he's not on air, the casts of
The Real World and Road Rules are bickering at one another over petty issues of teen angst. And, let's not forget the late night antics of
Undressed, which brings racy soap opera themes to younger and younger audiences. All the while, kids are being sold products they surely don't need and most likely would do well without.
Sure MTV has its worthwhile causes, like its "Rock the Vote" voter registration effort and its "Fight for Your Rights" anti-discrimination campaigns (although they skew far too heavily in the direction of accepting homosexual lifestyles). But, the fact of the matter is the MTV is not in business to help people. MTV is in business to make money by influencing impressionable minds. At present it seems to be doing a pretty good job.
That's the legacy of 20 years of Music Television.
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