Super Bowl Halftime Show

A commentary on representation, movement, activism, and celebration through entertainment

“Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage.” Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee

The beginning of February. A pivotal start to America’s most beloved game, American Football. Many families across the United States tune in to watch the Super Bowl on one Sunday afternoon. But many people also tune in to what is known as the Halftime Show. Many people think of the halftime show as a mere form of entertainment while waiting for the second half of the game to begin. But in recent years, these performances have deviated from simple entertainment to broader political and social movements. This year’s Superbowl, featuring Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican artist, gave a performance that is not only a symbolic piece of art that represented the Latino community and culture as a whole, but also a profound message that ties heavily into today’s political climate.

The halftime show begins with a view of farm fields that are filled with workers. Instantly, there is a direct reference to the importance of farm workers, who have historically been linked with Latino immigrants. This is a strong reminder that immigrants have been considered the backbone of this country’s agricultural industry. The performance quickly picks up, and the setting is very much reminiscent of Latino culture and social life. At one point, the camera focuses on carts and little shops that are selling coconuts and other fruits. These stands have been used as a way to not just provide food to the community, but to also connect the community at large. 

This performance presents small details that most Latinos would instantly understand, such as children sleeping on chairs at parties, or those recognizable white plastic chairs.  I observed that this performance also refuted the theme of machismo culture, which refers to an ideology that men are superior and possess power over women. The part in the performance where women are hauling cement blocks, demonstrating that women can do what is historically a “man’s job” made it so much more personal to Latino viewers, such as myself. 

Throughout my childhood and even my teenage years, I have never necessarily seen an accurate representation of Latino culture, or what it's like to grow up Latino. Media and entertainment have always portrayed Latinos in a very stereotypical way, and even now, it's still difficult to find any form of media that accurately depicts Latinos. Many forms of media depict themes Latino themes such as family or preservation of culture. And while these themes are accurate, they are usually written in a very shallow or surface-level way, and it's very easy to tell when a piece of media is not written by someone who is a part of the Latino culture. 

What made this Super Bowl performance unique to me was that it tied in those original themes to create a coherent story. So much thought went into telling such a story, and I believe this performance truly highlights what it is like to be Latino.

It's important to note that a performance that heavily depicted Latino culture is incredibly prevalent in today’s political climate. When it was announced that a Puerto Rican artist would be performing at the Super Bowl, many people were upset from the very beginning. There were many complaints about not being relevant or not being able to understand the language in the performance, but language was not the only problem. There seemed to be a stronger feeling and action towards not welcoming something different, even though Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. Unfortunately, there were many people who made many passive-aggressive and racist remarks. 

In my experience, it seems that in today’s climate, many people are very comfortable being outwardly hurtful and racist, even though the United States has always been a country where diversity is supposed to be welcomed. This country is a melting pot of different cultures, and rather than pushing for hostility towards each other, should we not be embracing the diversity this country has to offer?

Language and culture do not dictate how “American” you are. Culture should not divide; it should unite people together. In the end, these are the values that this country embraces, and it will continue to for generations to come, as long as we keep celebrating each other.