*This article does not represent the views of Her Campus FSU.
For Miley Cyrus and Kanye West, August 30, 2015 is a night that they will always remember for a number of reasons. In the first hosting gig for the actress, singer, and icon, Cyrus called on fashion gods from near and far in inspiring her multitude of over-the-top outfits. While Miley decorated herself in glitter garb, Kanye arrived wearing all khaki. However, while their fashion choices occupy different sides of the spectrum, both chose to shock the audience with their choice of words and actions.
Since 1984, the VMAs have captivated audiences across the globe with a combination of controversial stars and their even more controversial actions. One interesting aspect of the famous awards show is the way it represents our society. While we tend to watch the VMAs purely for entertainment, the show also reflects social changes that are occurring at the time of the broadcast. For example, this year’s VMAs included numerous references to marijuana, a drug that has been scrutinized and painstakingly deliberated, especially as individual states have put forth efforts to consider legalization of a medical form of the plant.
Our first question from the title still lingers, then: “Do the VMAs represent us as millennials?”
While we often think of events like these on a national or global scale, the VMAs (and what they represent) can be generalized to fit our Florida State community! In an effort to better understand the general reception to the VMAs by my generation, I interviewed a few Florida State students and asked them if they thought that the VMAs were representative of the millennials of Generation Y. Their responses are recorded below:
Brandon Mauriello, Junior: “No. I hope that the VMAs don’t represent our generation, because I don’t think that would be a positive depiction of the productive, innovative, real things that aren’t veiled by makeup and lip synching.”
Rachel Schmitt, Junior: “Yes. I believe that this year’s VMAs represent us as millennials. The producers of the VMAs broadcast what they know consumers want, and in this case the broadcast was filled with references to drugs, inappropriate aspects of pop culture and other controversial issues.”
Robyn Schulte, Sophomore: “No. The VMAs are produced by a network that broadcasts these shows as entertainment. Therefore, most of the show is exaggerated or staged and the celebrities cannot represent the millennials as a whole.”
Elizabeth Bradford, Junior: “Yes. The VMAs represent the disillusionment that millennials have with today’s society as a whole. Millennials look to the sometimes outlandish acts and antics of the VMAs as a representation of how they themselves are trying to be set apart from society.”
From the above quotes alone, it’s clear that the reactions to this year’s VMAs have been quite mixed. While some believe that they do represent the millennial generation, others find that notion to be too pessimistic to follow. Interestingly enough, while Kanye West argued that he was part of the millennial generation, his age (thirty-eight) indicates that he is not a part of this group, whose birth years fall between the early 1980s and early 2000s.
Courtesy: SheKnows
While reactions to the VMAs and how it relates to millennials have been mixed, the reactions to Kanye West’s actions have formed a confusing conglomerate as well! Numerous Kanye moments during the show made us cringe with severe second-hand embarrassment, from his discussion of the Taylor Swift VMA incident in 2009 to the fact that he had just “rolled up a little something,” referencing his marijuana usage. It appeared that Kanye was going for shock value with some of his remarks, but he ended his speech with a seemingly-serious announcement to run for the presidency in 2020.
In addition to Kanye’s surprising words, Nicki Minaj called out Miley Cyrus at the beginning of the show for her comments in an earlier interview. The event set the tone for the rest of the night, as Miley travelled from one antic to the next with little fluidity. Miley has been accused of exemplifying cultural appropriation towards black women and using immensely vulgar language throughout her VMA performances. However, since the VMAs are put on for entertainment purposes, it seems that Miley certainly did a good job at entertaining; social media networks (especially Twitter) exploded during and after she hosted the VMAs.
Even though the VMAs were broadcasted to a global audience, the implications of this show resonate on the campus of Florida State University. Students are still discussing the methods of entertainment employed by MTV and the effects of what was said at the show. While some argue that the VMAs are just an entertaining gig, it seems that they have been taking the world by storm and forcing everyone to question their views on marijuana, crazy outfits and Kanye West as the new Commander in Chief.
#Kanye4Prez, anyone?