‘Halftime’ Review: Jennifer Lopez Reveals The Ruthless Side Of Hollywood That Looks Down On Latina Women
I feel like when we look at people at the top, it is easy to see how far these people have come without acknowledging the amount of work that goes into getting to that position. And I feel that is the beauty of success. The product always looks so much more effortless and the more effort that has gone into the end product, the more effortless it looks. I was reminded of this when I saw the Netflix documentary, Halftime which revolves around Jennifer Lopez and her journey to stardom up to her legendary 2020 Super Bowl LIV halftime show along with Shakira. Halftime, directed by Amanda Micheli, highlights the implications race and gender have in achieving the American dream. So let’s take a look at Halftime.
The title
I loved the name of the documentary, Halftime. It is so fitting because the documentary follows J.Lo’s road to success up until her performance in the 2020 Super Bowl LIV halftime show along with Shakira. Moreover, she was 50 when she was given the opportunity to do the same, which gives the title so much more meaning! Also, I demand that you go and watch that performance right now and keep in mind that she is 50 while doing all of that. The way J.Lo has made me feel unfit while I watched.
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What did halftime teach me?
Jennifer Lopez came from an immigrant Puerto Rican family in the Bronx, New York City. She said that she was not considered to be the singer in the family as she had 2 sisters. At 18, J. Lo left her mother’s home to pursue her dreams of being an actor and singer after a fight with her mother about her education.
I think being in India, I have never completely been able to understand the atrocities of racism, the way I understand the atrocities of gender-based crimes as a woman. And I feel like Halftime gave me an insight into how the system is broken to favour whiteness and Anglo features. The documentary gave an insight into the body-shaming and scrutiny that J.Lo had to deal with. Not only this but she was termed as a “diva” and “serial bride” for her love life.
Also, the documentary follows J.Lo’s journey to success up until the Super Bowl performance in 2020. While tabloids had discussed the political leanings and influences on the NFL due to Trump’s take on immigrants and the building of the wall. Halftime also kinda opened my eyes to the amount of effort that performers put into every show they do. Like I was aware that it was hard work to be able to pull off a stage show with perfection but I never really thought about the magnitude of hard work that goes behind even a 5-7 minute performance. Especially with someone as big as J.Lo. I feel like while I always acknowledged her to be this powerhouse of a woman who is a force of nature (she sings, acts and dances; what more do you want?), Halftime really made me see her as a true performer. The entire conceptualisation and BTS of the Super Bowl halftime show were documented in Halftime and OMG, it was so much more work than I even imagined. And the way J.Lo was involved in each and every part of the process is so interesting to watch.
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Criticism of Halftime
The only criticism of Halftime, and trust me that I am being nitpicky was the lack of conversation around J.Lo’s personal life. The documentary mainly focuses on her career ups and downs and briefly mentions her personal life, if needed or relevant. However, I do understand that she is allowed to withhold information she wants to and maintain her privacy as she deems fit. However, usually, documentaries on particular personalities usually revolve around them completely and will also give the viewer into their personal life too. So this is the one thing that bothered me but to be honest, I enjoyed the watch enough to not care about this aspect that much.
Final Verdict
Halftime is a story about Jennifer Lopez’s climb to success. It will give you an insight into the ruthless side of Hollywood where women who stand up for themselves and of colour are not welcome. It will not only push you to pursue your dreams but also realistically highlight the hard work and sacrifices that go into them without presenting a sugarcoated version of stardom and fame. Moreover, it will alter how you view Jennifer Lopez because that’s what it did for me. With this, I give Halftime 4 out of 5 stars.
