"If the culture wars could have a 9/11, it is February 1st 2004."
9/16ths of a second that changed our culture, and one of the conception points of modern technology – it cannot be understated the impact of what happened following the 2004 Super Bowl Half Time Show.
The line-up for the show was pretty eclectic, including Jessica Simpson, Kid Rock, Nelly and P.Diddy, but the performances culminated with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson performing 'Rock Your Body', which itself then ended with Timberlake ripping off a part of Jackson's costume, revealing her body to the cameras for less than a second of live footage.
From there, the media went into overdrive. We kept hearing about "Nipplegate" and the phrase "wardrobe malfunction" became part of our daily lexicon.
There is also the popular anecdote that YouTube co-founder Jawed Kawim was at least partially inspired to create the video player website when he found it so difficult to find footage of the incident online.
The fallout of that moment also saw Janet Jackson become the target of blame and outrage, while Justin Timberlake's career seemed to only ascend higher from that point on.
That is the focus of Malfuction: The Undressing of Janet Jackson, the latest documentary feature from the folks behind the recent – and incredibly popular – documentaries Framing Britney Spears and Controlling Britney Spears.
With the spotlight on Britney likely assisting in the termination of her conservatorship in the last few days, it will be interesting to see if this attention of Janet, Justin and the '9/11 of the culture wars' will have a similar impact.
Malfunction: The Undressing of Janet Jackson debuts in the States on Friday, 19 November.
There is no set air date for the documentary in Ireland, but the previous New York Times documentaries have appeared on NOW and Sky, so they may yet announce a debut on those platforms.
Check out the teaser trailer for the documentary right here:
Clip via FX Networks
