Please post your responses to Ann Powers' "When Pop Stars Flirt With Danger" here. You're free to respond in any way that makes sense to you, but, if you're stuck, you might consider:
- What this piece has to do with the notion of the child celebrity
- Whether or not "taste" figures into the equation of "successful" celebrity
- Whether Miley Cyrus' recent VMA performance supports or detracts from Powers' thesis
- How women might respond to the rampant objectification--often by women themselves--perpetrated in these performances/videos
Post your responses as comments to this post. If you like, you're free to respond to the responses of other students, so long as the are very close to 250 words or more. If I were you, I'd compose my response in a word processing program and then copy & paste it into the comments box so as not to lose your comment if you press the "back" button.
Based on her article “When pop stars flirt with danger” Ann Powers hit the basic concept of pop star problems directly on the head when she discussed the change from fun pop music to the blurred line of today’s popular hits. One of the lines in her article that had the most impact on me was the line “this symbolic “no” gets only a few seconds of screen time”, this has such a strong message behind it because it is clearly showing the blurred lines between what is appropriate and what is viewed as todays normal. She also touches on the line “I know you want it” and how many popular songs contain a phrase that could be considered to condone rape, this is also a prime example of the blurred lines between “pleasure and transgression”. For Miley Cyrus the blurred lines only begin to describe the change in personas from her childhood “Hannah Montana” phase to her “twerk queen” status. From her music video for “We Can’t Stop” to her VMA performance Miley has drastically changed the view her fans had held of her being a loved pop star to a much less appealing butt shaking, fame obsessed, and chaos causing twerk queen. I completely agree with Ann Powers view on the escalading problems caused by people pushing on the boundaries of right and wrong that should be a clear cut line instead of a blurred idea.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Ann Powers’ article “When Pop Stars Flirt With Bad Taste”, it becomes possible for one to believe that the artists Powers analyze in her article are at fault for the actions that we see them commit. She’s calling out the “blurred lines” Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus create by breaking down their questionable music videos and lyrics, essentially. It’d be wrong to say that both pop stars are completely free of fault in how they objectify women in a sense and “twerk” their former Disney-owned butts, but after reading Ann Powers’ reaction, it seems almost wrong. It would seem that the way she (along with many others) interprets things lead to the exact message that the celebrity is trying to get across. Over-analysis tends to be a common practice in pop culture these days. People really shouldn’t expect too much from Miley Cyrus. She does what she does in the name of fun (whether people like it or not) and she doesn’t have a problem with it. Her VMA performance just showed the world how much she doesn’t care (or how much she cares about making others care). As for Robin Thicke, his song “Blurred Lines” allegedly “condones rape” and objectifies women, but did Robin Thicke really think that out as he sat in the studio recording the song? No. He probably didn’t see it from that perspective until he got called a womanizer (or some sort of equivalent). This so called “new movement” in pop music is borderline questionable in some cases, such as Miley and Robins’ joint VMA performance, but it’s a sign that times are changing, and that our culture has shifted to a point where the blurred lines entertainment created are being pushed, allowing celebrities to create their own. The problem with that is many are uncomfortable with allowing those lines to be pushed, and afraid of what will come next. Ann Powers is correct when she points out this transitional period in pop culture, but the over-analysis of pop music needs to stop. It’s not that complex, and it never was made to be so.
ReplyDeleteThe article “When Pop Stars Flirt With Bas Taste” by Ann Powers talks about a trend of inappropriateness in a specific area being found in some songs. “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke shows harassment towards women and promotes male dominance while Miley Cyrus and asked to sing a more “black” type song showing racial separation. Powers says that this trend has only popped up recently in pop songs. I myself am not a huge pop fan and wouldn’t know when it started appearing, but the underlying theme is nothing new. These pop artists did not create gender and racial discrimination or dominance, they just sing about it.
ReplyDeleteI’ve have heard the song “Blurred Lines” about a billion and a half times since it has been released, due to its popularity on the radio and TV commercials but I never really listened to the words. So after reading the article I went to watch the unrated music video for purely academic reasons to see what Powers meant by the stop sign. While I listened to the lyrics I finally heard the theme of the song or what I interpreted as some (or all) girls may act innocent and have a good image but it’s just a cover and it’s actually in their nature to want dirty sex. I certainly do agree if he is referring to some girls, but not all girls. As humans, these girls do feel more emotions than just a lusty core cloaked by self-respect.
As for Cyrus, I don’t know where to begin. Powers talks about her wanting to sing “black people” music and twerking. Honestly, I haven’t seen the VMAs or seen Miley’s transition into this phase first hand. What I get is the Facebook statuses saying how she’s a slut and maybe a meme about how they’ve lost faith in humanity as well as hearing the stuff in class from other people. All I can do about her is right click the word “twerking” which is underlined in red and add it to the MS Word dictionary because I guess it’s a thing now and we all have to live with it.
While reading this article, there were many thoughts running through my head. Sometimes I agreed with the author but sometimes I thought that she interpreted certain things in a way not intended. She talked a great deal about “blurred lines”, mainly between fun and danger. Although she had some valid points that the videos “We Cant Stop” by Miley Cyrus and “Burred Lines” by Robin Thicke, I think she stretched it too far by including “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line because having watched the video several times, I don’t really see how any of the people in the video seemed unwilling to participate.
ReplyDeleteShe is definitely pointing this article towards the social concern that people are accepting the fact that women are objectified, which can cause a dangerous situation where a girl is unwillingly participating. She is emphasizing that the way many pop stars portray their lives and reality is show that it is okay to treat a women without respect, including women themselves.
I think that the reason pop stars will portray themselves and others in such a way is due to what society is entertained by and pushing the limits. The further a star can push the limits of what is seemingly acceptable in the eyes of the viewer, the more popular and interest they can gain. Had Miley Cyrus stayed under the radar, she would not be nearly as popular as she is today. I have many emotions about Miley Cyrus because I grew up with her as Hannah Montana and watches her through these changes is both exciting and sad. She was forced to be a certain person as a Disney star, the more she grows up, the further away she pushes from that character. This happens with many child stars with their transition into adulthood, the need to be different.