On this date (August 1), in 1981, the landscape of entertainment was permanently altered.
MTV began broadcasting, opening just after midnight with footage from the countdown and launch of Columbia, the inaugural mission of NASA’s late space shuttle program. Over that footage was a voiceover: “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll!” Then the MTV theme song started playing over more images of the space program, including shots of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Then, finally, the point of this upstart new network: music. First, Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles, and then You Better Run by Pat Benatar. And with that, a new wave (HA!) swept across the land.
At that point in history, MTV had no shortage of detractors, from the Religious Right and their fear of Satanic (or at least inappropriate) imagery and the dreadful effects of the stopped anapestic beat, to our parents, who said, “Yeah, I loved rock and roll in my day, but I didn’t want to SEE them!”
But there was no stopping it. Millions of kids – and the adults who were clever enough to make money off them – joined Sting as he crooned in Dire Straits’ background: “I want my MTV!!”
I didn’t watch it as much as some of my friends and peers, but I watched plenty. I marveled at some of those innovative, game-changing videos – Take On Me by A-ha, Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel, Rockit by Herbie Hancock, pretty much everything from Michael Jackson… they changed the way video was shot, edited, and presented. To be honest, I still kinda wish they hadn’t started that whole super shaky camera style that’s everywhere now, but they didn’t really ask me. And I still haven’t forgiven them for The Real World – the embryo which eventually grew into that horrible genre, Reality TV.
Of course, MTV didn’t really invent the music video. I think that honor probably goes to the Beatles and Richard Lester, the director of A Hard Day’s Night. But MTV was definitely the carrier that turned videos into a full on pandemic. Its influence can be seen everywhere, from television to fashion to technology to politics. It had an enormous impact on my generation, and we, in turn, spread that love to those who came after. You’re welcome.
Like a vast majority of Saturday Night Live sketches, MTV may have gone on a bit longer than it should have. Currently it’s influence isn’t as great as it once was. But there is no denying that MTV changed the world. And while I know without a doubt that my mom would disagree, I believe that change was for the better.