The Devolution of Miley Cyrus

2373 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Media representation of young people

Aims and Objectives

This project will attempt to analyze the implications and impacts of the representation of the former Disney sweetheart, Miley Cyrus, in her latest music videos “Wrecking ball” and “We Can’t Stop.” This is in an effort to evaluate whether this representation is a form of unfairness against Miley Cyrus, or it truly represents her transition from the golden girl to a wrecking ball since her appearance in the Hannah Montana TV series. This assessment will involve a review of academic literature related to issues of controversy in the media with particular reference to Miley Cyrus’ controversy and an academic analysis based on the research. The format used will be some kind of biography, with deep insights as to psychological aspects contributing to her behavior, and a conclusion to define the new Miley Cyrus.

Literature Review

Since her debut at the Disney Show in 2004, Miley has been on everyone’s lips if not eyes for the right and now ‘questionable right’ reasons (Millard, 2013, Para 1).

Miley Cyrus is the girl that no one can stop discussing now. She has transformed herself from a naïve, Disney idol to a pop figure that society now perceives in a luminous way. Back in 2010, Miley was engaged in a film by the name “The Last Song,” and, at the same time, advancing her third studio album “Can’t Be Tamed.” This happened in an effort to cross the rift from an influential pop star to a pop celebrity. Her prior extensive play, “The Time of Our Lives (2009),” which mainly depicts the happenings in a smash party, in the United States, was commercially successful, but failed to ascertain Miley as a stern, adult artist (Yalda and Greenfield 84). The album “Can’t Be Tamed” set out to play a similar role by tra...

... middle of paper ...

...Nickelodeon Channels." Journal of Children and Media 4.3 (2013): 265-282.

Summers, Kimberly Dillon. Miley Cyrus: A Biography. ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Tieck, Sarah. Miley Cyrus: Singer/Actress/Star of Hannah Montana. ABDO Publishing Company, 2013. Print.

Uhls, Yalda T., and Patricia M. Greenfield. "The Rise of Fame: A Historical Content Analysis." Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 5.1 (2011). Print.

Vares, Tiina, Sue Jackson, and Rosalind Gill. "Preteen Girls Read'tween'popular Culture: Diversity, Complexity and Contradiction." International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics 7.2 (2012): 139-154. Print.

Watercutter, A. "Miley Cyrus Delivers Latest Blow in Youtube Dance Battle." Underwire Blog 11 (2008). Internet Resource.

Cyrus, M., 2009. Miles to Go. LA: Disney Hyperion

Byrne, K., 2014. The Dangerous Pressure Cooker of Childhood Fame

Show More
Related

  • The Disney Princess Effect Summary

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    Are the little girl 's in America being cheated of their privilege of having a childhood? Stephanie Hanes, a freelance journalist, believes so and she decided to express her opinion in the article “ Little girls or Little women ? The Disney Princess Effect”. Hanes argues that today’s society is morally ambiguous because of the sexual messages being sent to young girls. In consequence of this , toddlers now aspire to attain the pre-teen goal to be sexy at such an early age. It all begins with the influence and example that The Disney princesses give to their young fans. For the reason that the article appeared in magazines and in the USA today , the targeted audience must be

    Read More

  • Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media by Susan Douglas

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "Where the girls are: Growing Up Female With the Mass Media," Susan Douglas analyses the effects of mass media on women of the nineteen fifties, and more importantly on the teenage girls of the baby boom era. Douglas explains why women have been torn in conflicting directions and are still struggling today to identify themselves and their roles. Douglas recounts and dissects the ambiguous messages imprinted on the feminine psyche via the media. Douglas maintains that feminism is a direct result of the realization that mass media is a deliberate and calculated aggression against women. While the media seemingly begins to acknowledge the power of women, it purposely sets out to redefine women and the qualities by which they should define themselves. The contradictory messages received by women leave women not only in a love/hate relationship with the media, but also in a love/hate relationship with themselves.

    Read More

  • Rebellion Theme In Looking For Alaska

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout time, generations have been exposed to the theme of teenagers rebelling in literature, films, and music. Teenagers rebelling is a topic that everyone can relate to because of the pressure that comes with being a teenager. During this time, teenagers are being given rules to follow, expectations to meet, and society telling them what they need to do to make their lives meaningful. The exposure to rebelling themes in the media is presenting them with messages to relate to, and can even showcase the consequences that will come with their actions.

    Read More

  • The Merchants of Cool

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the documentary was produced, media exposure was limited to private and expensive mediums such as television, movies and radio. These outlets were plagued with marketing agendas designed to sell products under the guise of authentic music and entertainment. Formerly non-existent cultural archetypes such as the boy band, pop diva, and gothic artist were created and promoted by corporations with the intent to profit from their fame. This systematic fabrication of teenage culture was achieved through the monopolization of popular media by people and companies with money. This created a narrow and one-dimensional mainstream cultural media, limiting the prefere...

    Read More

  • You’ve Seen One, You’ve Seen Them All: "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, in Robert Ebert’s movie review, he admires the acting, but describes the film as being unbelievable and silly. When The Last Song comes to mind, one draws their attention to the main character, Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus plays a rebellious teenager named Ronnie, who has pure hatred for her father, played by Greg Kinnear. Although this is her first movie not acting as Hanna Montana, “she does a good job of making her character Ronnie engaging and lovable” (1). She acts as an alienated teen by being distant from her father and the world, showing no emotional features toward situations that face her, including the “Meet Cute” between her and Will.

    Read More

  • Essay On Demi Lovato

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Demi Lovato is a famous singer, songwriter, and actor born in 1992 in New Mexico. Although she was on “Barney & Friends” as a child, most people know her from her years as an actress and an occasional singer on disney channel. She co-starred in the famous movie series “Camp Rock” and also in the television series “Sonny with a Chance.” After these acting positions, Lovato began a career in singing. She has released many albums and has had many hit songs such as “Heart Attack” and “Cool for the Summer.” In 2012 and 2013, Lovato was a judge on “The X Factor” (Wikipedia). Singing is a huge part of Lovato’s life, and she pours her heart and should into her lyrics.

    Read More

  • The Way American Culture Has Changed Over Time

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Posts.” Fame is a dangerous Drug: A Phenomenological Glimpse of Celebrity.” N.p. ,n.d. Web 15. Feb 2014

    Read More

  • Beauty: The Media Profits by Making Girls Hate Themselves

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Female beauty ideals are an overwhelming force in teen media. Approximately 37% of articles in leading magazines for teen girls emphasize a focus on physical appearance. This is none to surprising considering two of the top contenders in this media genre are Seventeen and Teen Vogue. CosmoGIRL and Elle Girl were among the ranks of popular teen magazines, but in recent years have become exclusively online publications. Add in a dash of publications Tiger Beat and Bop, and it becomes glaringly obvious that girls are charged with the prime directive of looking good to get the guy. The story becomes more disturbing when the actual audience, which includes girls at least as young as eleven years old, is considered. In a stage when girls are trying for the first time to establish their identities, top selling publications are telling them that their exteriors should be their primary concern of focus. Of course, this trend doesn’t stop with magazines. A study conducted in 1996 found a direct correlation between the “amount of time an adolescent watches soaps, movies and music videos” a...

    Read More

  • Differences Of Hannah Montana Vs Miley Cyrus

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miley Cyrus has been a household name since the success of her hit show Hannah Montana. Long gone is the thirteen-year old girl who played America’s sweetheart on Disney Channel. Today the media portrays her as an out of control twenty-two year old superstar. The recent confrontation on the 2015 Video Music Awards with Nicki Minaj is a prime example of how Hannah Montana has turned herself into a thing of the past. The transformation from Hannah Montana to Miley Cyrus has caused her to change her appearance, morals, and music.

    Read More

  • The Crazy Life of Miley Cyrus

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Music is what I breathe, what I love to do. It keeps me alive, " Miley Cyrus once said. Her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, knew even as a baby, Miley could sing (Miley Cyrus Quotes). She has an extraordinary story. One day Miley was just a normal girl and what seemed like the next day, a pop star. She was introduced to fame at a very young age and is now still growing up in front of the world. She was born Destiny Hope Cyrus because her parents believed she would achieve greatness (Miley Cyrus Biography). They had a lot of hope and promise for their young daughter. Miley is one of the most successful kids from Disney and now she is rising to fame all on her own. It is hard having everyone watch your every move and being constantly photographed, but she deals with it because she loves what she does. Miley Cyrus has led a very unique life both through her childhood and teen life.

    Read More

  • Miley Cyrus Analysis

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    Continuing, she did a photoshoot for the cover of Vanity Fair, which resulted in controversy because parents did not want their daughters to imitate Miley. This was a precursor to Miley 's now reconstructed star text because she understood that controversy brought in a lot of attention, and she embraced it whether it was good or bad. That 's why she no longer wanted to be the stereotypical-looking woman, so she cut her hair short, got tattoos all over her body, and started dressing provocatively and doing nude photoshoots. She started to change up her songs from strictly pop and country music to doing R&B, rap, and unclassifiable genres. This led her to working with many people from all over the entertainment industry, predominantly with African Americans. Since changing genres, she started singing and rapping about partying and smoking marijuana, which she would be spotted doing with some of the rappers she rapped with. She made twerking, sticking one 's tongue out to the side, and foam fingers cool, which is apart of her controversial and outlandish brand. Overall, Miley Cyrus reconstructed her star text in order to stay relevant in today 's ever-changing

    Read More

  • The Life of Britney Spears

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is probable that if Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were to evaluate Britney Spears, they would affirm that her psychopathology is an undeviating product of her id, which according to Freud functions under the pleasure principle and is the starting place of natural human drives and desires, being too powerful. At an incredibly juvenile age...

    Read More

  • Music Television: Modern Phenomenon or Passing Fad?

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    MTV promotes a romanticized teen lifestyle, reflecting the images of famous artists that differ with the realities of the “Generation X” lifestyle. While some view the station as “illustrated radio” or an entertainment network for viewers’ pleasure, others more accurately consider it as an advertising enterprise that endorses products and promotes attitudes (O’Neil 12). Whether or not MTV critics agree with these “messages” that, the network sends out, it has become a huge franchise generating large profits and great popularity. MTV’s entertainment, commercialism, and messages satisfy and influence many types of viewers, giving us, the viewing audience, a better understanding of the immense popularity of Music Television (MTV).

    Read More

  • Miley Cyrus Research Paper

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    The last path is to reinvent themselves. According to Smalley and McIntosh, reinventing is when the celebrity “doesn’t attempt to capitalize on their former fame by becoming their public self”, and also requires a “strong core self that remains relatively intact through their fame”(Smalley and McIntosh, 391). Conveniently Miley possesses both qualities. All Miley’s life she wanted to be a role model to her audience, whether it be a positive/negative role model for young preteens or young women. Also she exclaims no further interest in the identity given to her by Disney, but rather wanted to reveal his true self. While interviewed by the Daily Star Sunday Cyrus has discusses her true feelings about her public-given ego given by her role given by Disney stating “they try to make someone not grow up, but you can’t do that to real, normal people.”(Celebuzz).  Miley wanted to no longer be seen as an immature teenager, but redefine herself as a mature women to be taken seriously after her prominent role in Hannah Montanna. Therefore, Miley Cyrus has completely pivoted from being a Disney star and did a 180 degree turn toward becoming an infamous “Wild Child”. “I went from people just thinking I was, like, a baby to people thinking I’m this, like, sex freak that really just pops molly and does lines all day. It’s like, ‘Has anyone ever heard of rock ’n’ roll?’ (Huffington Post). However, she doesn’t do these controversial things for her personal benefit, she does it for her publicity. Perhaps later in her career when she actually becomes mature, and loses her fame, she will attempt to regain it back by becoming a role model for adult females who have the ability to demonstrate female equality. With the ever increasing support of feminism currently happening in the United States she could become a women’s advocate once her singing career is over.

    Read More

  • Who Is Taylor Swift's Look What You Made Me Do?

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    Taylor Swift, a pop icon of this generation, debuted an aggressive, new reputation with the video for her latest single, “Look What You Made Me Do”, during the 2017 Video Music Awards program. It is fair to say, since her first single debuted in 2006, Taylor has been a target for media criticism for her relationships, music content, and naivety; yet, she has let very few comments antagonized her. However, in her “Look What You Made Me Do” video, Taylor makes it crystal clear that all is not forgotten, nor is it forgiven. With a lineup of 15 Taylor Swift personas from various stages in her career, Taylor uses the final 76 seconds to illuminate everything that she has been criticized for during her career, and what we have done to influence

    Read More

More about The Devolution of Miley Cyrus

Open Document