Another awards show means another chance for MTV to pretend to be relevant. Kudos to trying to have one about music for a change, but that never seems to make the tone-deaf liberal argument disappear. Much like its earlier movie awards show, the VMAs proceeds to make room in its three-hour lineup for more parroting and edge-pushing.
The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards hosted by Katy Perry on August 27 was bound to feature some idiotic political statement on top of the usual sexualizing that passes for entertainment. Even before the show began, the awards show clearly prepped for a completely politically correct night with completely non-gendered categories down to the renaming of the Moonman award to a Moon-person award. To go one step further, the red carpet preview even featured six transgendered members of the U.S. Military to act against President Trump's latest order to ban transgendered members from the military. With a warmup like that, we're bound for a long, long night.
For those of you lucky enough to miss the show, the night did not disappoint its bubble of an audience, which means it disappointed everyone else. Witness the dud of an opening right here complete with a reference to The Handmaid's Tale.
Following directly afterwards, this year’s call for unity ironically coupled with a poor Donald Trump impersonation comes to us from the clear center of media discussion, Paris Jackson, right at the opportune moment of announcing the nominees for Best Pop Video. I suppose someone somewhere must have thought trashing Trump right away but waiting more than thirty-five minutes to mention the current plight of those affected by Hurricane Harvey was a good idea.
I'm seeing a lot of love and light here tonight. Already. A lot of diversity. And, a lot of potential power. You know, if we all put our voices together, do you realize the difference we would make? If we were to all stand up, united, as one, our impact, it would be, huge. Believe me. Huge. And that's not fake news. So, let's leave here tonight remembering that, we must show these Nazi white supremacist jerks in Charlottesville and all over the country that as a nation with liberty as our slogan, we have zero tolerance for their violence, their hatred, and their discrimination! We must resist. And now, the nominees for Best Pop Video!
Now I understand why this award show also aired on Comedy Central because that moral posturing was funnier than anything on The Daily Show nowadays. Or at least it was funnier than anything Katy Perry tries to pass off as humor which includes popular vote jokes, Russian hacking cracks, and Twitter jabs. Can someone please tell her that these lines lost their originality (if they ever had it) nine months ago?
The night continued as expected from there. Singer Miley Cyrus performs, as promised, with an 85-year-old drag queen in front of millions of teenage viewers because that’s unfortunately a draw now. Hip-hop artist Cardi B (I had to look her up, too) gave a shout-out to standing up with part-time athlete, full-time victim Colin Kaepernick while her dress kept sliding down. Even Pink, who wore a "Stay Woke" sash, gave some praise to the past androgynous singers for being their “true” selves.
But the worst was sadly saved for last. After more than two and a half hours of mindless pop, MTV pulled its trump card by bringing out Reverend Robert Lee IV, a descendant of General Robert E. Lee, and Heather Heyer’s mother to honor the six videos for Best Fight Against The System (where, of course, everyone was a winner - seriously).
Announcer: Please welcome, the Reverend Robert Lee.
Robert Lee: My name is Robert Lee, IV, I am a descendant of Robert E. Lee, the Civil War general whose statue was at the center of violence in Charlottesville. We have made my ancestor an idol for white supremacy, racism, and hate. As a pastor, it is my moral duty to speak out against racism, America's original sin. Today, I call on all of us, with privilege and power to answer God's call to confront racism and white supremacy head-on. We can find inspiration in the Black Lives Matter movement, the women who marched in the Women's March in January, and, especially, Heather Heyer, who died fighting for her beliefs in Charlottesville. It is my distinct honor to introduce Susan Bro, Heather Heyer's mother continuing to magnify Heather's work.
The VMAs are just the latest platform to assume that the best fighters against hatred include notorious cop-haters and a movement led by an anti-Semitic Islam apologist. My heart goes out to the poor woman who lost her daughter to a heartless racist in the chaos of Charlottesville, but this night will solve absolutely nothing, much like the numerous self-righteous award shows before it. And with the Game of Thrones finale airing at the same time, it’ll be lucky to be watched at all.
