The media is a giant fishbowl. With the effects of
globalisation only increasing, everything is becoming more magnified, more
watched, more pressured. Miley Cyrus is an example of someone who the media has
recently gotten to.
According to Robertson, “Globalisation as a concept refers
both to the compression of the world and the intensification of the world as a
whole (cited in Rantanen 2005, p. 7). Media certainly serves as an intensifier—whether
it be of fame, popularity or infamy.
David Marshall (2010, p. 499) describes the specular economy
as the “new reconstruction of how the self is reconstituted through the screens
of engagement and interactivity that serve to organize and shape our lives.”
Many would agree that today we basically have no choice but to participate in the
specular economy. Without major social media sites like Twitter and Facebook,
you can easily find yourself cut off from the rest of the world or, in a word,
excluded. For example, there are several Apps that you can’t use unless you
have a Facebook account.
We have moved from representational media, where things were
shown more or less as they were, to presentational media, where individuals
(celebrities and everyday people alike) now construct their ‘persona’ that they
want to present to the world. This is all largely done through social media.
Miley Cyrus has recently done a series of shocking publicity
stunts in an effort to prove to people that she’s no longer the Hannah Montana
role model—apparently still holding to the adage “any publicity is good publicity”.
First there was the music video to her single ‘We Can’t Stop’, then the teddy bears from the video reappeared at the VMAs where Miley delivered her
now incredibly famous performance with Robin Thicke and the notorious foam
finger.
Is all this just an effort to say to the world, “I’m not a
little girl anymore”? Where is the line? Interestingly, now with the media door
swinging both ways, considerable backlash has surfaced on social media fronts.
David Marshall (2010, p. 499) says, “The use of social
network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, and MiniHompy, along
with parallel media-specific sharing websites such as YouTube and Flickr, means
that we are inhabiting spaces where we are not only on display but we think
about our mediated construction of ourselves sometimes continuously.”
Has this
self-obsession with our public image or ‘persona’ been the cause of stunts like
Miley’s? We tend to blame the individual person, like Miley, but is it the
whole of society that’s actually to blame?
References:
Image 1: Alman, C
2013, ‘Miley Cyrus’ raunchy performance at the VMAs’, Beauty Heaven, 27 August, retrieved 18 September 2013, <http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/celebrity/celebrity-news/miley-cyrus-vma-performance-11547>.
Arbeiter, M 2013, ‘2013 MTV VMAS: Miley Cyrus Pioneers the
Movement to Sexualise Teddy Bears’, Hollywood,
25 August, retrieved 18 September 2013, <http://www.hollywood.com/news/celebrities/55027338/miley-cyrus-teddy-bears-2013-mtv-vmas?page=all>.
Mashall, P D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502.
Rantanen, T 2005, ‘Theorizing Media and
Globalization’, The Media and Globalization, Sage, London, pp.
1-18.
Twitter 2013, ‘Twitter’, retrieved 18 September 2013, <https://twitter.com/search?q=miley%20cyrus%20vmas&src=rela>.
Vevo, 2013, ‘YouTube’, retrieved 18 September 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco>.
i am absolutely loving the miley cyrus example. what a great example to use, seeing as she is the most talked about person at the moment! your blog definitely raises some good points about how we cant even escape the specular economy sometimes. your use of references is done well. miley's behaviour is definitely questionable. would you act that crazy to tell people you arent a child anymore? if she was to portray a public person, it should be her spending some quality dowtime in decent clothing! good read!
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ReplyDeleteHi Lil,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post that uses current examples such as Miley Cyrus and her grab for attention and to dismiss her Hannah Montanna stereotype from the public eye.
Miley has used the media to reach out to the public that yes she isn't a "little girl" anymore and that her stage character Hannah Montanna is well in the past. Without the internet and social media websites and presentational media, do you think her cry out to the public would have been seen?. It makes you think how important the media is to the everday person as a source of media.
You used information from the reading and other sources quite well and it was an enjoyable read.
Thanks,
Prue McIntyre
Hello Lil,
ReplyDeleteUsing such a highly pulicised story was a very smart idea, and it would be hard for anyone to read this and not know automatically what this was going to be about. Your ability to use scholarly sources to strengthen your argument was well done and included in a simple way, which allowed the example of Miley to explain the theories presented further. I particularly think that you use of Robertson's definition of globalisation fit perfectly with the topic you put forward.
As well as this, your use of image helped to reiterate the stark changes Miley has gone through in a short amount of time to shake her Hannah Montana image. The inclusion of the video was a great way to also highlight this, and allows the readers to form an opinion themselves based on what they watch.
Moreover, your use of hyperlinks allows the readers to see further into the stories that surround Miley.
The end of this blog post is brilliant, and leaves the readers to question whether it is the intensification that society that drive celebrities to a self transformation, or merely the individuals actions alone that are to blame.
An extremely good blog post, clearly presented and well thought out. Great job.
Hey Lil,
ReplyDeleteIt's great how you've tied the point you're trying to make here in with excellent quotes and the current example of Miley Cyrus. I found your post flowed very easily from one point to the next, therefore making it an easy read. Its a shame that the media has such a strong impact on creating a personality, that the only way to change an image is to perform outrageous acts such as the recent performances by Miley.
Great work