The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards was scheduled on Thursday, Sept. 6 instead of its usual Sunday broadcast and moved an hour earlier than usual to avoid coinciding with President Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. But even that move didn’t save the awards show viewership from dropping more than 50 percent from its peak of 12.4 million viewers in 2011.
It’s usually the award show’s trademark to inject the programming with outrageous hosts, guests and performances from Madonna and Britney Spears’ infamous makeout in 2003 to Gaga’s meat gown in 2009 to Beyonce’s pregnancy announcement in 2011. But this year’s show seemed to pass without any surprise announcement, any controversy and any viewers.
Daily Bruin’s A&E editor Lynn Chu battles it out with Film | TV editor Anneta Konstantinides about the evolution of the VMAs and where the future of pop culture is headed.
Daily Bruin: Some say the show was boring this time around while others say it was better than other years. Have the VMAs remained buzz-worthy this year?
Anneta Konstantinides: There was nothing about this year’s VMA’s that had the typical shock factor. No Britney in a nude bedazzled pantsuit, no Britney with a snake (I think we’re starting to understand why the VMA’s weren’t successful this year). Even last year’s Beyonce baby bump reveal was a boost of excitement. But the VMA’s this year were washed down, with average boy bands who don’t even know how to dance. I think the VMA producers were so worried about a controversy that they forgot what’s made the VMA’s a part of our pop culture lexicon ““ controversy. The MTV of today is something my 15-year-old sister isn’t even interested in.
Lynn Chu: It’s obvious that the celebrity guests are aware of what the audience wants, but it seems that they are almost manipulating reaction and trying too hard to shock audiences in a way that makes the show seem scripted and dull. This year’s host, Kevin Hart, attempted to rile people up with the candid way he joked about Drake and Chris Brown sitting in the same section of the theater with Rihanna despite their summer brawl ““ and consequent lawsuit ““ at a New York Bar. Hart also touched upon Kristen Stewart’s absence from the crowd in light of the recent cheating scandal but the effect seemed too contrived. It’s true that these events were shocking in their own context at the given time, but the novelty element of the news isn’t there anymore when the VMAs ride off the coattails of these scandals weeks later.
DB: The VMAs have always been a reflection of showcasing the trends of popular culture whether it be from movies or music. What has this year’s show demonstrated about the changing tides of today’s popular culture?
AK: The bubblegum pop of One Direction and Taylor Swift isn’t the kind of entertainment the old MTV crowd is used to. The boy bands that are trying to make a resurgence today aren’t those of our ’90s youth. The members are indistinguishable (remember how easy it was to tell the difference between sexy JC, smooth Justin and funny Joey F.?), with music videos that just ask them to walk around the beach rather than take part in well-choreographed dances. Songwriters and producers know these guys are a ticking time bomb, so they might as well churn out as much money as possible until the next one-hit wonder catches our attention span ““ which only seems to be minimizing. It’s a sad product of our blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pop culture, with an industry that thinks they have to keep up with our changing tastes by constantly throwing new acts our ways (the once hot-shot Jonas Brothers have been relegated to a sad excuse of a VH1 show), rather than developing real personalities that people care about.
LC: The state of popular culture and the influence of viral media on our generation is a strange game of hit or miss. This year’s performing artists show that despite the many highly publicized mainstream artists that appear on the show year after year, there is emerging talent who get a moment on screen because of the mass’s attention on their work, normally through viral videos. Frank Ocean, Adele and Carly Rae Jepsen are all testimonies to how one video or one post on the blogosphere can send people flocking to their fan base. But at the end of the day, it’s still about keeping those fans, and while it seems the catchy pop stars and good-looking boy bands have learned the tricks of the trade, there is still hope for the occasional gem to cross the viewer’s path.
DB: With such a radical decrease in viewership, should the network expect a dwindling audience next year or will people come back?
AK: This isn’t anything new or profound, but MTV needs to go back to being about music. One of the reasons why people aren’t watching the Video Music Awards is because music videos have lost their relevance. Do you even remember the last music video you watched? I don’t. Unless a music video is heavily teased and made into an epic theatrical spectacle, a la Lady Gaga’s endeavors, they’re often pushed to the wayside. Music videos are no longer part of the national conversation, so without the controversy or hype of previous awards, it’s no surprise that an award show based on music videos isn’t getting viewers. It’s not like amazing music videos aren’t being made, but with only YouTube and word of mouth to get them going it’s hard to make them as important as they were in the ’90s, where a good video could catapult a song to number one on the charts. It’s either that, or I just really miss TRL.
LC: Assuming that there won’t be a major political convention airing on the same day, yes, people will watch it. Despite how much people complain about it or how sometimes the show doesn’t deliver as exactly planned, it’s a show that will continue to be around as long as pop culture exists. The beauty of pop culture is that it’s constantly changing and if it’s changing, there’s hope that the show won’t be the same every year. If Lady Gaga can shock the nation with unconventional poultry couture, I’m sure there’s someone out there who is waiting to top it, and someone watching the show, waiting for it to happen.
Email Chu at lchu@media.ucla.edu and Konstantinides at akonstantinides@media.ucla.edu.