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Netflix just released Halftime, a documentary that is supposedly about Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 Super Bowl halftime performance but actually ends up becoming a political pamphlet against Donald Trump and in favor of Joe Biden.
Halftime is narcissistic and self-centered beyond belief, and should only be enjoyed by brainless 15-year-olds who have a JLo poster in their bedroom. Although it may also appeal to Biden and Kamala groupies, for its unsubtle political content, seasoned with the usual condescending, sentimental and sobering tone of the Democrats.
In fact, as the documentary progresses you realize that it has little to do with the Super Bowl held 2 years ago, and that it is more related to a pathetic attempt to influence the hispanic vote for the impending mid-term elections that will take place in a few months.
Anyone over the age of 15 who is not mesmerized by Jennifer Lopez’s anatomy will immediately detect Halftime’s political opportunism. If the documentary had been released before the 2020 Golden Globes — for which Jennifer Lopez was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, — it could have been seen as a marketing ploy for her candidacy, but its release right now only leaves the option that it is a Democratic election ad with Hispanic rhythm.
Jennifer Lopez’s Halftime, more political pamphlet than documentary
The whole documentary is artificial and impostured, full of incongruities that do not support the slightest critical analysis. Jennifer constantly plays the victimhood card for being a woman and Hispanic, but it is hardly believable when she does so in expensive couture dresses and designer clothes, walks around with a diamond-covered drink cup, and is constantly surrounded by an entourage of professional applauders who remind her how wonderful she is at all times.
Halftime wants to convince us that Jennifer Lopez’s only flaw is her great humility, but making it clear that she wasn’t always like that, since there was a time when she let herself be dragged down by success and fame, but thanks to her great capacity for learning and overcoming, now she is finally perfect.
During the documentary, narrated by Jennifer Lopez herself and filled with testimonials from her friends and collaborators, she tells us about the big problems she has to face in her life: having to share the Super Bowl intermission performance with Shakira, when she was originally going to be the absolute protagonist; the stress caused by having to choose dresses every time the heteropatriarchal and racist system invites her to galas where she is awarded and entertained; and how sad it is that they do not value her for her talent, but only look at her butt or her breasts when she shows them off in the dresses with less fabric available.
The cognitive dissonance she displays throughout the documentary reaches its peak when she explains her artistic choices for the Super Bowl halftime show.
She claims she is tired of not being taken seriously for being too sexy, but decides to start her performance on a stripper pole, or as it is now called, pole for the noble art of pole dancing. She also assures that she never gets involved in politics, but that she wanted to send a “subtle” message by making the stage of one of the most watched shows in the world take the shape of a huge feminist symbol from which 18 cages emerged with dancing Hispanic girls locked in them.
It seems evident that Jennifer Lopez’s concept of subtlety is the same for both politics and wardrobe. At least in that she is consistent, unlike Trump’s naming of kids “cages” now called Biden’s “temporary shelter facilities for unaccompanied migrant minors.”
The documentary is worth watching if what you want is to laugh at a comic absurdity that could perfectly pass for a parody of Jennifer Lopez, were it not for the fact that it is made by Jennifer Lopez herself.
Finally, an almost imperceptible detail, but that serves as an example of JLo’s excessive egocentrism. When Donatella Versace appears on screen, the label does not read “Donatella Versace, famous Italian fashion designer,” but is reduced to Jennifer’s “friend.”
It would have been funny if when Joe Biden appears, the sign would have read “Joe Biden, person for whom Jennifer Lopez sang during his inauguration.”
Ignacio Manuel García Medina, Business Management teacher. Artist and lecturer specialized in Popular Culture for various platforms. Presenter of the program "Pop Libertario" for the Juan de Mariana Institute. Lives in the Canary Islands, Spain // Ignacio M. García Medina es profesor de Gestión de Empresas. Es miembro del Instituto Juan de Mariana y conferenciante especializado en Cultura Popular e ideas de la Libertad.
Social Networks: @ignaciomgm