For my summer research project I have decided to focus on the
singer/actress Miley Cyrus. The reason I have chosen her is because over the
past few years she has caused much controversy not only with her fans but also
in the media.
The 21 year old actress began her career
on Disney channel in 2006 where she landed the main role of Miley Stuart in the
show Hannah Montana. During 2007, she signed a contract with Hollywood Records
and released her debut studio album ‘Meet Miley Cyrus’. In 2008, Miley released
her second album breakout featuring successful track ‘7 things’ and managed to
launch the role of a voice in animated film Bolt. In 2009, Miley starred in the
feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie and produced a hit single ‘The Climb’
and ‘Party in the USA’. Her third album ‘Can’t be tamed’ released in 2010 and
became the lowest selling record of her career. Later that year, Miley starred
in the film ‘The Last Song’ with co-star Liam Hemsworth who she then was
engaged to until 2013 when the couple split. Miley focused on her acting career
in 2011 and 2012 where she had several television and film appearances. She later
signed a recording contract with RCA Records, generating controversy by
cultivating a sexually explicit public image while promoting her fourth studio
album ‘Bangerz’. Singles ‘We can’t stop’ and ‘Wrecking ball’ were promoted with
controversial music videos and became her first number one hit on the US
Billboard Hot 100.
The main reason for Miley's controversial image is due to her innocent reputation on Disney channel which started when she was just 13 years old. She then did a photo shoot when she was 15 with Annie Liebovitz for Vanity Fair where Miley was topless with a bed sheet on. Parents with young children who looked upto the Disney star were unhappy with this. She did however apologise for that stating it left her feeling 'embarrassed'. From her 'Party in the USA' performance, she began to wear less and less clothes and even did a pole dance.
The first website I looked at was Huffington post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/19/bangerz-tour-shut-down_n_4815160.html). This included many articles on Miley Cyrus being controversial in the public and within the media. The first example includes 'Disgruntled Parents who want Miley's Bangerz tour shut down'. Parents were upset with her tour that kicked off in Vancouver where they had to walk out of the show early and refused to subject their 9 year old's to a 'porn show'. Miley wore little clothing and was performing inappropriate acts during the concert along with dirty dancing on others. The show was even selling hand rolling papers along with other Bangerz merchandise.
The second website i looked at was E Online which releases the latest celebrity news (http://uk.eonline.com/news/452740/what-happened-to-miley-cyrus-her-biggest-controversies-and-scandals). This post looked at Miley over the past years and again shows the stars image from being an innocent 13 year old to how she is portrayed today.
The Daily Mail also released a story on Miley quoting ''Coke is gross but Molly and weed are happy drugs!'' Miley spoke to Rolling Stone about her experience with drugs and how they create the feeling of happiness. She was on the cover of the magazine which included her article inside during 2013. The online newspaper also gives fans/readers the opportunity to comment and debate between themselves at the bottom of page, as do other sites such as Huffington post and E online.
Despite the articles and stories that look at the negative ways in which Miley is being portrayed, there are also some positives. One example is on Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/14/gloria-steinem-miley-cyrus_n_4097006.html) where Gloria Steinem (a feminist) spoke about Miley Cyrus during the Women's Media Awards. She quoted ''I wish we didnt have to be nude to be noticed... But given the game as it exists, women make decisions. I think we need to change the culture, not blame the people that are playing the only game that exists''. Gloria strongly believes that Miley is just trying to fit into the world we live in and people should stop talking about her in a negative way
Another article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/15/paul-mccartney-miley-cyrus_n_4100156.html) reveals how an unexpected Paul McCartney defends Miley Cyrus's behaviour and states ''I think it was only mildly shocking. She's dancing with Robin Thicke, so what? Come on, we've seen worse than that!''
In addition, Vanessa Petition wrote an article on Miley called 'Great Expectations' http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-petion/miley-cyrus-controversy_b_4043658.html). The article looks at the brighter side of Miley's career and the fact that she is judged too quickly and harshly by the media and public, compared to the fact that other Disney stars such as Zac Efron and Demi Lovato have ended up in rehab, Miley is not doing too bad for herself.
The Miley Cyrus topic will always be controversial and has really hit the media hard during the past few years as she has grown from a Disney star to releasing explicit music videos and behaving in a way similar to other celebrities such as Lady Gaga. However, as Lady Gaga came straight into the music industry aged 22 and was not made a big deal of as Miley was for the way she dressed or behaved.
MIGRAIN questions:
Media Representations:
Miley Cyrus is being represented by the media e.g. journalists and news reporters. Miley is represented in a negative way due to her innocent background where she began her career on Disney channel which compares her to the way she is now. The representation is accurate as it shows the true picture of Miley's behaviour, however it is not fair because it only shows her in a negative manor due the comparison of how she was when she was 13 years old. Miley chooses to represent herself in this way as it reflects her personality. For the following questions i will focus on her single 'Wrecking Ball'.
Media Languages and Forms:
Miley Cyrus's music videos have connotations and denotations that have to do with the lyrics and video of the song. For example in 'wrecking ball', she states 'you wrecked me'. The connotation of this would be that she is giving this message out to someone, perhaps a past lover. Which in fact seemed like was to her ex fiance Liam Hensworth, although she denied it during interviews. However, the denotation of the video is her breaking walls and knocking down buildings using a bulldozer. In this particular video there are close ups shown of Miley face crying at the start of the video to emphasise her emotion and feeling empowering the song. She is wearing little clothing (white underwear) which could connote her innocence in the song. She uses props such as a hammer to knock over building and a wrecking ball, which is also the title of the song. The setting is significant as it represents the lyrics to the song. Also, the mise-en-scene in the music video is all relevant to the song, emphasising the lyrics and creating more feeling for the audience. The soundtrack is the main focus of the song and helps Miley get her message across. The iconography in the video help bring across emotion. For example, Miley crying shows the audience that she is sad and the song will be about a topic that has affected her. The fact that the video uses slow motion allows Miley's feelings to be emphasised and the lyrics match the pace. For example when she is singing slowly the pace is very mellow, however speeds up when she starts to express anger/hurt. Also, there are a range of camera angles used including close ups, long shots, medium shots, tracking, panning and low and high angles. These are all used to show a different perspective to the music video.
Narrative:
The narrative is linear and goes in chronological order as the song is used to tell a story. The audience are positioned to perhaps feel sympathy for Miley as she sings about a person experience. Villains are created in the song as Miley states 'you wrecked me', which is a message she is directing to someone who hurt her. Miley is alienated in her music video as she is alone and no one else is shown in the video. The role of the sound, iconography and music is to create feeling for the audience to help Miley get her message across. The edit shows a chronological order, reinforcing the linear narrative. The narrative embodies values to believe in yourself and never give up on hope as Miley states 'don't you ever say i just walked away'.
Genre:
The music video is a power pop and romance genre as Miley is singing about love and heartbreak. The major generic conventions are a hero and villain. The iconic features are the tools Miley uses such as her hammer and bulldozer as she is essentially showing how she has been knocked down emotionally and mentally. The audiences generic expectations are fulfilled in my opinion. Th expectation is to produce a song and music video that portrays the lyrics and feelings of the character, which is what Miley does. The characteristics of the video conform to the genre as Miley displays her feelings through the use of props. The music video features only Miley Cyrus who the song is about and she is associated to it as it is her personal story that she is telling.
Media Institutions:
The producers of 'Wrecking ball' are RCA Records. The video has been influenced by RCA to create power pop type music. The company has also worked with singers such as Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson who embrace a similar genre in their music. RCA is the name of three different co-owned record labels. The music video has been distributed massively. It was on all the music channels which feature latest hit songs such as Kiss and MTV. It was also on popular radio stations and of course the internet on sites such as YouTube and mileycyrus.com.
Media Values and Ideology:
The major values underpinning the text is a deeper meaning of what the lyrics of the song actually are. Miley is singing about how a lover has heart her and compares him to a 'wrecking ball' hence the title of the song. We the audience assume this, however it is actually true and was her intention behind the song. I believe when making the video, Miley selected content that would be presented to represent the song and the meaning.
Media Audiences:
The text is directly addressed to Miley's past lover, however sends a generic message about love to the audience. The target audience is anyone who has been heartbroken before, therefore does not matter what demographic or psychographic group they fit into. The video assumes that the audience know what Miley is singing about, however if they did not have a clue who she was then they would not be able to guess she is singing about a personal experience. The text assumes that the audience will be able to figure out the narrative as it has been scheduled in a chronological order. The audience receive the text on the release date and still view/hear it after this. This however does not impact the characteristics of the text. The size of Miley's audience is massive. This is evident because she has been in the music industry for years therefore has gained many loyal fans. Also, her videos did create controversy, expanding the audience size. I believe the audience readings of the music video were debatable as some were fans and some simply found it shocking due to her nudity. Wrecking ball provides personal identity as audiences may be able to see themselves in the song lyrics. It also provides diversion for audiences as they can use the music as an escape from their own problems (Uses and Gratifications). As an audience member, I did find Miley Cyrus's Wrecking ball video to be quite surprising due to the nudity content. I do not believe it is influenced by my age, gender or background as it was quite unexpected for any audience member to see. Nevertheless, I believe Miley produced a heartfelt song that smashed the charts and has made her into the successful singer/actress she is today.
