Clothes off, tongue out, and butt twerkin’… yes collegiettes, I’m talking about America’s Sweetheart, Miley Cyrus. The “We Can’t Stop” artist has raised much controversy over the past several months, but perhaps she shouldn’t stop. The apparent “train-wreck” claims that it is all part of her plan—excuse me, her movement. Miley may appear to be another childhood actress gone crazy, but in fact she seems to have totally mastered the fame game.
Miley claims that her recent behavior is a “strategic hot mess” and, as it turns out, there is a plan behind all this madness. The truth of her master plan is quite evident in her MTV documentary, Miley: The Movement, that contains months of footage of our favorite good girl gone bad. Narcissism and a desperate need for attention emanate from the documentary, but this is Hollywood after all. Why shouldn’t she be allowed to create a movement and take over the world?
What is most shocking about the documentary is how much thought, time, and planning went into performances that many saw as mental breakdowns and cries for help. It is in fact all part of a master plan.
Some of the events that brought Miley to the top (… as she twerked from the bottom):
- Bleached and chopped off hair: We all had Britney flashbacks.
- Break-up with fiancé Liam Hemsworth: Break-up right before album release… Coincidence?
- Release of the “We Can’t Stop” music video: We were ALL talking about it.
- Raunchy VMA performance: The amount of VMA Miley costumes this Halloween was astronomical.
- Release of the revealing “Wrecking Ball” music video: Yet again, EVERYONE is talking about Miley.
- Miley: The Movement, a documentary: The MTV film that captures some of the thought processes behind the wild actions.
In terms of manipulating the media, Miley is most definitely – as much as it pains me to say – a marketing genius. She has dominated the news, tabloids, social media, and has even been a topic of conversation in some of our very own WFU classrooms. Miley has mastered the fame game (she is the daughter of Billy Ray and goddaughter of Dolly Parton, after all); however, whether or not she is a true artist remains questionable.
According to an article by People, Miley says, “Madonna’s done it, Britney’s done it… you might as well make people talk for two weeks instead of two seconds.” The difference between Miley and Madonna’s VMA performance (which, if you have trouble remembering, included a kiss between Madonna and Britney) was that the 2003 event was actually a good performance. Although Miley’s spectacle had just as much shock factor, some might say it was performed terribly. The one thing Cyrus is correct about is that she does get people talking and she keeps them talking.
I must ask, when did music become about the amount of TMZ airtime one could snag, who’s trending the longest on Twitter, how much skin one can show off, or who has the most complaints filed by the Parents Television Council? One would hope that Miley could find the “best of both worlds” (see what I did there?) and find the balance between being a genuine performer and manipulating the industry.
Miley claims, “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.” Part of me wants to say “Hey… she’s just being Miley!” However, the “She’s just being Miley” argument falls apart when taking into account the amount of bank she has rolled in from her strategically planned escapades. More like “She’s just being ridiculous so everyone talks about her and makes her more rich and famous.” But collegiettes, can you blame her? We all have fallen right into her strange, little trap.
And we can’t stop…