A role model is someone whose lifestyle and values a
person wishes to imitate. Hannah Montana was a role model to young girls since
the airing of her show in 2006 until 2011. However, Hannah Montana was not a
real person it was just a character. Under this character was Miley Cyrus. Whether she likes it or not
Miley has always been a role model. Many people in our society idolize
celebrities but when they make mistakes just like any other person they receive
more criticism. Because of this show people may have thought they knew the real
Miley and expected a lot from her but where there is expectation there is also
disappointment.
Extra! Extra! Read all about comes to mind when you
now hear Miley’s name now. She is the hot topic in the media on YouTube, news
shows, vines, and even memes. Is she a Disney Star gone wrong? After her provocative
VMA performance with Robin Thicke she has received a lot of backlash. Many
people have begun to question her as a role model. Parents of young girls and
even people who work in the media are upset with her performance and ask what she
was thinking. However expecting a 20 year old to be a role model and still live
up to being Hannah Montana is a little peculiar to me. Although people idolize celebrities
we have to realize that when people are in their twenties (celebrity or not)
they are still going to make stupid mistakes and are still trying to figure out
who they are.
Her raunchy
and vulgar performance has caused uproar in our society. This just goes to show
how caught up our society can be in the lives of celebrities when there are
many other issues going on in the world besides Miley’s twerking. There are a
lot of different views about her concert at the VMA’s. Some see her behavior as
inappropriate, some view it as her expressing her sexuality, while others see
it as her exploiting/making fun of black women. Looking at her show over and
over again and viewing it through the different lenses of others I can understand
why her actions have led to such criticism. Being a celebrity automatically makes
you a role model to some people which Miley has to recognize. As Miley continues
to grow into the woman that she wants to be, she has to know that young girls
still look up to her or even want to be her and that all publicity isn’t good.
Observation
Last night I read an article by Dr. Christine Smith
who is a professor here at UT. In this article she talks about how horrified
she was when she found out she was pregnant with a boy and why she was
horrified of raising a black boy in our society today. I have attended many
talks on campus where we talk about what it is like being black in society and
how it is even harder to be a black man living in this society today.
Here’s the link to the article if you guys want to
read: http://thefeministwire.com/2013/07/an-open-love-note-to-my-son-on-mourning-love-and-black-motherhood/
I totally agree with you. I think that with fame and fortune comes a lot of responsibility for your actions. Especially in this day and age where your every move is closely watched and scrutinized. Often times it is hard for society to remember that Miley Cyrus is still 20 years old and her brain has not finished developing so her judgement may be off a lot of times.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for your observation and the link. Occasionally when thinking about (or reading about) Trayvon Martin I try to imagine what that must be like for pregnant or parenting moms. Mine is thankfully 30 years old, but to emotionally try to frame raising another one... whew.
ReplyDeleteI agreee with you when you say that the media places to much on attention on celebrities and their mistakes instead of more important issues. They do. Miley Cyrus is looked at as a role model for young children and though her latest performance was a little inappropriate for the young eyes that look up to her, she is still young and makes mistakes like everyone else. I also think it's sad how today's society has people being scared of raising their own children in it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link you provided about Black women raising sons and how in this day and age, that can feel like an automatic death sentence. Having to struggle with the reality that your son might be in the wrong place at the wrong time and face a "justifiable homicide" is beyond frightening. Thanks to our society and it's continually racist actions, mothers of color have to fear for their unborn children and that is a complete shame. The fact that this does not have to cross the mind's of white women in this same sense exemplifies white privilege and how far reaching it can be.
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