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CHAPTER III
ANALYSIS
This chapter provides the answer to the two research questions. Thus, this chapter
is divided into two subchapters in order to give a clear answer to each research
question. The first subchapter discusses the changing images of Miley Cyrus as an
American celebrity represented in Miley Cyrus‟ official music videos and the second
subchapter discusses what triggers Miley Cyrus to change her images to stay popular.
A. The Changing Images of Miley Cyrus as an American Celebrity Represented
in Miley Cyrus‟ Official Music Videos
As an American celebrity living in constructed images, Miley Cyrus has done
some image changing related to her persona in media which is intended to maintain
and raise her popularity. To answer the first research question, “How are the changing
images of Miley Cyrus as an American celebrity represented in Miley Cyrus‟ official
music videos”, here are the changing images I find within her six music videos.
1. 7 Things (2008)
In 2008, Miley released her first studio album entitled „Breakout‟. The album
which consists of three songs was commercially successful as the lead single 7
Things hit the top teen charts in various countries. However, the album got criticisms
because it was her first record that was not affiliated with her television series
Hannah Montana. The criticisms said that there was a difference in her image. Miley commit to user
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appeared as a pop rock youth star in the album, while she appeared as a cute Disney
star in Hannah Montana television series. Therefore, it can be clearly noticed that
there is a transition from a kid‟s idol (Hannah Montana) into a youth‟s idol (Miley
Cyrus). Moreover, in this year, Miley had triggered another controversy by posing
half-naked in Vanity Fair. Her pose got many incisive criticisms. Because of the
criticisms, Miley apologized to all of her fans. Another reason why she apologized
was the contract. She had engaged with Disney‟s contract from 2006 until 2011.
Since she was under the contract, she had to keep her images as clean as before. Even
though she shows some changes toward her images in this year, but the images of
Hannah Montana still dominates her persona in this year. It is clearly seen in her 7
Things music video released in 2008. Her images in this music video were overall
similar to Hannah Montana‟s images showing a cheerful and optimistic girl. In this
music video, the images of a cheerful and optimistic girl can be seen from its
narrative. The narrative in the music video which is created through the correlation
between image, lyrics and music has placed Miley Cyrus as the center of the story in
this music video. This helps me find the significant images delivered in this music
video. There are two significant images which appear within this music video. The
images are as follows:
a. Optimistic Girl
In this music video, Miley is the main character in the story. The
music video tells about Miley‟s experiences dealing with her personal life.
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She appears as a teenage girl who is wearing a black dress, with some colorful
patterns on it. Her hair is long and loose, but neat. Her face is covered with
natural make-up.
The black dress with colorful patterns, loose but neat hair and natural
make-up are things that express optimism. The black dress represents power.
The colorful patterns mean rainbow which carries the meaning of hope,
promise and dreams. Therefore, by dressing in black dress with colorful
patterns on it, she delivers message of power to chase hope, promise and
dreams. Hope, promise and dreams are things which signify optimistic mind.
The music video starts when the camera shoots Miley and her band
personnel using the eye level technique. It also uses pan camera movement
that it stays in one position. This technique forces the audiences to focus on
Miley‟s appearance while singing the song. When the music starts, Miley
starts to sing the intro and verses. She keeps her position in the center of the
screen. She stands and dances confidently along with the song.
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The kind of lighting used in this music video is high key lighting. This
high key lighting shows a clear mood filled with optimism. Moreover, it is
added with the white backdrop which adds the bright mood within the scene.
From the setting of place, costume and lighting, this music video wants to
give message that Miley Cyrus is an optimistic teenage girl.
Besides, the clear and optimistic mood is also seen in her face when
singing the song. She smiles and gazes confidently toward the camera.
She smiles sincerely during the whole scenes. Her eyes gaze clearly and
straightly toward the camera. The way she smiles and gazes toward the
camera bears a meaning that she is a confident girl. The confidence itself is
strongly related to the idea of optimism. Therefore, the image appeared is an
optimistic girl.
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In this music video, the image of an optimistic girl is also supported by
the lyrics of the songs.
I probably shouldn‟t say this
But at times I get so scared
When I think about the previous
Relationship we‟ve shared
It was awesome but we lost it
It‟s not possible for me not to care
And now we‟re standing in the rain
But nothing‟s ever gonna change until you hear, my dear
The first verse gives the message of Miley‟s uncertainty and scared feelings. It
is because her ex seems to ask her to reunite, but she feels afraid. She feels
confused and afraid to recall her memories in their previous relationship.
However, in the next verse, she says, “But nothing‟s ever gonna change…”.
She clearly states that she is not going to reunite. It shows that she is an
optimistic girl who already makes her choice wisely and clearly.
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Even, she adds one more explanation to her ex that whatever he will
do, she insists to not reunite.
It‟s awkward and silent
As I wait for you to say
But what I need to hear now
Is your sincere apology
When you mean it, I‟ll believe it
If you text it, I‟ll delete it
Let‟s be clear
Oh I‟m not coming back
You‟re taking 7 steps here
Miley wants a sincere apology from him, but he does not give a convincing
explanation. Therefore, she makes it clear that he should let her go.
From the lyrics above, it is known that Miley has just ended her
relationship with her ex. Meanwhile, her ex tries to ask Miley to reunite. Yet,
after all the things she has been through, she decides not to reunite. She keeps commit to user
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smiling and thinking about her happy life without looking back to her broken
relationship. She keeps her mind positive that everything will be fine. The
way she thinks positively clearly presents an optimistic mood. Therefore, in
this music video, she is represented as an optimistic girl.
b. Cheerful Girl
In this music video, Miley also appears as a cheerful girl. She appears
with her fancy colorful dress as before. She also smiles sweetly and laughs
cheerfully during the whole scenes.
Her fancy colorful dress bears a meaning of excitement. Excitement is
strongly related to cheerful mood. Thus, her costume also outlines her image
as a cheerful girl. The image of a cheerful girl is also noticed as she smiles
and laughs cheerfully as shown in the pictures above. The first picture is taken
in a long shot to show the whole body of Miley. She is squatting her body and
then dancing. In the next picture, she dances and jumps while her mouth is
widely open. Her loosely hair is boosted. Her face, hair and half body which
cover almost the whole scene express her cheerfulness. From the way she
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dances, jumps, smiles and gazes in this music video, she is expressing a
cheerful life.
Besides, the introduction which implies the strummy verses with
acoustic guitars slowly changes into moderate punky-pop when it reaches the
chorus. It signifies that „7 Things‟ speeds up dramatically and Cyrus‟ vocal
becomes more aggressive and powerful which represents her cheerfulness in
singing the song.
The 7 things I hate about you
[Chorus:]
The 7 things I hate about you (oh you)
You‟re vain, your games, you‟re insecure
You love me, you like her
You make me laugh, you make me cry
I don‟t know which side to buy
Your friends they‟re jerks
When you act like them, just know it hurts
I wanna be with the one I know
th And the 7 thing I hate the most that you do
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You make me love you
The chorus states the things she hates from her ex. She hates the way he plays
with her feelings. Even though she hates those things, she is not sad and not
depressed. Instead, she keeps dancing and singing the song cheerfully.
Moreover, the cheerful mood is also created by a group of kids
dancing along with Miley.
The picture above presents Miley and friends are dancing and singing the
song cheerfully. They move, jump and scream following the rhythm. They
follow the rhythm which is used as an arrangement of the sounds as they
move through time to present the cheerful mood. The cheerful mood is also
seen from the large number of the participants within the scene. In addition, it
is added with the shadows of the participants on the white backdrop which
presents more crowded atmosphere. By seeing many participants dancing and
singing cheerfully, the cheerful mood is apparently created.
The image of a cheerful girl is also seen in the end of the song in
which Miley cheerfully mentions the things she likes from her ex.
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And compared to all the great things
That would take too long to write
I probably should mention
The 7 that I like
The 7 things I like about you
Your hair, your eyes, your old Levi‟s
And when we kiss, I‟m hypnotized
You make me laugh, you make me cry
But I guess that‟s both I‟ll have to buy
Your hand in mine
When we‟re intertwined everything‟s alright
I want to be
With the one I know
th And the 7 thing I like the most that you do
You make me love you
You do (oh)
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Those are the things Miley likes from her ex. She likes his style, his treatment
and their sweet memories. While singing these lyrics, Miley looks very
cheerful.
She smiles sweetly and cheerfully in a close-up shot. She becomes the center
of the attention in the picture above. Her eyes blaze directly toward the
camera which shows her clear feelings. The way she smiles and gazes directly
reflect a cheerful mood. Moreover, it is added with high key lighting which
focuses on her face. This lighting gives effect to her clear feelings that she is
totally happy and cheerful.
2. The Climb (2009)
In 2009, Miley performed in Hannah Montana: The Movie. The movie conveys
the images of Miley Cyrus which are so much close to Hannah Montana‟s cheerful,
funny and innocent images. Even, it is supported by the movie soundtrack entitled
„The Climb‟. The song tells about a life journey. It is about a struggle of life to reach
a certain goal. Moreover, the song is chosen to be performed by Miley because it
really reflects Miley‟s life. Alfred Gough, the film producer stated that the song told
about Miley‟s journey and the lessons she had learned from the movie. It is about
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how Miley had her struggle to reach her dream to be a popular singer. She had come
from far away to the city to make her dreams come true. “It‟s about having a dream
and seeing in the distance. It‟s about working for what you want. It‟s about the
climb”(Cyrus, 2009, p. 120). However, in the same year, Miley had triggered another
controversy. She performed inappropriate dance moves that triggered many
criticisms. The criticisms were stated by Hannah Montana‟s viewers, both kids and
parents. To deal with the issue, Miley said that she just learned about herself. She
learned about who she was. Yet, regardless of Miley‟s opinion, Disney Channel
tended to avoid being linked to the controversy. Her father, Billy Ray in tmz.com
stated that Miley was under contract that she had been forced to do things regardless
her own opinion. Therefore, her persona in „The Climb‟ music video is similar to her
persona in Hannah Montana television series. In this music video, her images can be
seen from its narrative. The narrative has placed Miley Cyrus as the center of the
story. Therefore, her images which are delivered from the music video can be clearly
seen. There are two significant images identified from this music video. The images
are as follows:
a. Ordinary Country Girl
In this music video, Miley acts as the main character. She outlines the
whole story in this music video. The story tells about her life. It is about her
difficult but rewarding life. In this music video, she appears as a teenage girl
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wearing a grey T-shirt and jeans. Her hair is long and loose. Her face is
covered with less make-up.
The grey T-shirt, jeans, long loose hair and less make-up express a casual
look. The grey color is a neutral and balanced color. It expresses an ordinary
thing. T-shirt and jeans express an ordinary, daily and casual outfit. Therefore,
by dressing in T-shirt and jeans, Miley delivers an image of an ordinary girl.
The music video starts when the camera shoots Miley walking on the
road to the mountain using a long shot camera. The long shot camera shows a
wide landscape of nature in the scene. It shows a long road between a large
field and mountain. It also shows a large farm field and horses.
The road, mountain, farm field and horses are things which signify a
countryside life. The single long road in the middle of the field and mountain
represents a country road. The farm field presents an area to cultivate. Horse
is an animal used to carry things or to help the farmer to do farming.
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Therefore, both farm field and horse present a life in countryside too.
Moreover, Miley rides the horse in the farm field as the picture shows. From
the setting of places, it can be seen that Miley is an ordinary girl living in a
countryside.
In this music video, the ordinary side of Miley Cyrus can also be seen
from her face. Her face is covered with light make-up which makes her look
pale.
A girl with light make-up is strongly related to an ordinary or innocent girl.
Therefore, by performing light make-up in this music video, Miley wants to
give a message that she is just an ordinary country girl. The image of an
ordinary country girl is also supported by her biography I mentioned in
chapter II. It is stated that she was born and raised in a countryside named
Nashville.
b. A Girl with Strong Ambition
In this music video, Miley appears as a girl with strong ambition. The
image can be clearly seen from the narrative of the music video. The narrative
tells about how Miley Cyrus struggles to reach her dreams. She has dreams
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that she wants to be a popular singer and actress. Therefore, to make it come
true, she needs to work hard. She has to face problems and keep on moving
until she reaches her dreams. The narrative starts with Miley Cyrus walking
on a long road. She walks into the mountains and the blue light in the end of
the road.
The road represents a journey of life. The mountains represent the difficulties
and problems in life. Therefore, it can be said that there must be difficulties
and problems in life. Moreover, it uses low key lighting which adds the
mystery and uncertainty feelings. Yet, there is a blue light behind the
mountains. The blue light represents hope. Therefore, it can be concluded that
in every difficulty of life, Miley always sees that there is a hope to success.
Therefore, she keeps on moving to reach her dreams.
In this music video, the image of a girl with strong ambition is also
supported by the lyrics of the song.
I can almost see it
That dream I‟m dreaming, but
There‟s a voice inside my head saying
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You‟ll never reach it
Every step I‟m takin‟
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction,
My faith is shakin‟
But I, I gotta keep tryin‟
Gotta keep my head held high
Firstly, she feels like „she lost with no direction‟. She does not know where to
go. There is a doubt in her mind that she will never reach her dreams.
However, she tries to keep on moving. She keeps her head „held high‟ which
shows she will be strong. During the scenes, when she walks on the road, she
wears a black coat. When the song hits the chorus, Miley suddenly takes off
her coat and throws it away.
The black color is strongly related to negative feelings which are interpreted
as doubts in this scene. The doubts stick tightly in Miley‟s body in the form of
a coat. Therefore, a black coat represents doubts in her mind. When she takes commit to user
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off the coat, it means she releases the doubts from her mind. She wears a tang
top confidently to continue her journey. It means that she is ready to face the
world in order to chase her dreams bravely.
She knows that to face the world is not an easy thing. There are many
difficulties that might stop her before she reaches her dreams. She clearly
mentions it in the chorus of the song.
There‟s always gonna be another mountain
I‟m always gonnawanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I‟m gonna have to lose
Ain‟t about how fast I get there
Ain‟t about what‟s waiting‟ on the other side
It‟s the climb
"There's always gonna be another mountain"represents that there is always be
difficulties in life. Even though she faces difficulties, she has to move
forward. She has to keep on moving. There is an „uphill battle‟ which
represents struggles to face a very difficult life. To struggle, she might feel
tired, but she needs to move on. It does not matter how fast or slow she
moves, it is a matter of „the climb‟. The climb represents the struggle.
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Therefore, she needs to struggle hard to face the difficulties in this world to
make her dreams come true.
In this music video, she strengthens her ambition to reach her dreams
in the next lyrics.
The struggles I‟m facing
The chances I‟m taking
Sometimes might knock me down, but
No I‟m not breaking
I may not know it, but
These are the moments that
I‟m gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep goin‟,
And I, I gotta be strong
Just keep pushing on
She strengthens herself to „not breaking‟. She will never give up and keep on
moving until she reaches her dreams. She will be strong and confident to
chase her dreams.
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One remarkable moment in this music video is when Miley takes her
guitar. She takes the guitar she brings since the beginning of the music video
and plays it passionately in the middle of the song.
The guitar represents her dreams. She wants to be a singer and actress.
Therefore, when she takes her guitar and starts to play it, it means that she
believes and holds her dreams. She believes that her dreams will come true
someday. The thing she needs is only to keep on moving.
In the end of the music video, Miley has successfully passed the
difficulties and reached her dreams. She stands confidently on top of the
mountain carrying her guitar. She faces the horizon bravely and proudly.
Through all difficulties during her journey, she finally reaches the top. She is
ahead of her dreams. The horizon represents a future. When she stares at the
horizon bravely and proudly, it means that she is ready to face the future. It
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also uses a high key of lighting which presents a clear mood. This clear mood
also presents success.
In the end of the lyrics, she mentions that the things which make
success happens are faith and struggle.
Keep on movin‟
Keep climbin‟
Keep the faith baby
It‟s all about, it‟s all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith
She has to keep on moving and believes in her dreams. She has nothing but
ambition. As long as she believes in herself, she can be anything she wants,
including a popular singer and actress.
3. When I Look At You (2010)
After releasing her single hits entitled “The Climb”, a year later she worked on
her EP (Extended Play): Time of Our Lives with “When I Look At You” as the final
single. This song was featured with her romantic-drama film released in 2010 entitled
“The Last Song” and became the soundtrack of the movie itself. The song presents
Miley Cyrus playing a piano in some different settings. The song which was released
in March 26, 2010 by Hollywood Records has presented the way in which Miley has commit to user
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definitely grown up and most certainly been ready to leave Hannah Montana images.
Moreover, the premise of this music video mostly talks about family and love. It
correlates with the relationship between Miley, the piano, the music and Liam
Hemsworth. Liam Hemsworth is an Australian actor who played The Last Song film
in June 2009 as the co-star of Miley Cyrus. Liam and Miley began a relationship in
2009 and after three years of going through hard times, they announced their
engagement in June 2012. However, their relationship ended in September 2013. In
this music video, she appears as a more mature young woman. Her images can be
seen from the music video narrative. The narrative tells Miley as a young woman who
can not live without her man. She is so fragile and innocent to face the world. There
are two significant images identified from this music video. The images are as
follows:
a. Pure & Innocent Young Woman
In this music video, Miley wears a white dress, with a necklace. Her
long wavy hair is loose but neat. Her face is covered with natural make-up.
The white color bears the meaning of purity and innocence. The necklace,
make-up, dress, and long hair represent femininity. Femininity is strongly commit to user
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related to young woman. Therefore, by wearing white dress, necklace, and
make-up, Miley delivers the image of a pure and innocent young woman.
The music video starts when the camera shoots Miley playing a piano
using long shot camera. It also uses pan camera movement to focus on
Miley‟s appearance. She wears white dress while playing piano under the blue
sky between the green grass and clear lake.
The white dress, piano, blue sky, green grass, and clear lake are things which
express the perfection of life. White dress represents purity and innocence as I
mentioned before. Piano represents her life. It is because she is a singer and
playing music, including piano is part of her life. Moreover, piano is strongly
related to innocent and peaceful life. The blue sky, green grass and clear lake
represent a good life. They are so clear and natural. They present a good life
that is perfectly clear which means pure and innocent life. Therefore, by
wearing white dress and playing piano in good nature, she portrays the image
of a pure and innocent girl. Moreover, it is supported by the high key lighting
which represents clearness and openness. The clearness and openness add the
image of pure and innocent life of Miley Cyrus.
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Besides that, the image of pure and innocent girl can be seen in her
face when singing the song. She smiles slightly and gaze hesitantly toward the
camera.
Her beady eyes and her slight smiles express the image of pure and innocent
young woman. Moreover, it is added with her natural make-up which creates
an innocent face.
b. Dependent Young Woman
In this music video, Miley also appears as a dependent young woman.
The dependent young woman image can be clearly seen from the narrative of
the music video. The narrative tells about Miley Cyrus as a pure and innocent
young woman who is very fragile. She needs a man to protect her to walk on
her life. The narrative starts when Miley Cyrus plays the piano and Liam
walks approaching Miley and then sits still next to her. Miley plays the piano
sweetly in the seashore while her head leans on Liam‟s shoulder.
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The seashore bears the meaning of a deep soul. “The seashore and ocean are
connected with strong emotions which at its heart represent a deep soul” (
www.amycope.com/ocean-dreams/). Miley appears as the soul who has strong
emotions for Liam. She trusts Liam for everything in her life. Therefore, when
Miley leans her head on Liam‟s shoulder, it means that she lays her soul on
Liam. This shows that Miley is a dependent young woman.
In this music video, the image of a dependent young woman is also
supported by the lyrics of the songs.
Everybody needs inspiration
Everybody needs a song
A beautiful melody
When the nights are so long
„cause there is no guarantee
That this life is easy
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As a pure and innocent young woman, Miley feels like there are confusions in
her mind. She feels fragile, confused and afraid. She feels afraid of walking
alone in this difficult life. Therefore, she needs an „inspiration, song, and
beautiful melody‟ which links to Liam as her man.
The image of a dependent young woman is strengthened by the lyrics
when it hits the chorus.
Yeah when my world is falling apart
When there‟s no light
To break up the dark
That‟s when I, I
I look at you
…
When the waves are flooding the shore
And I can‟t find my way home any more
That‟s when I, I
I look at you
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She makes it clear that she needs the presence of a man in her life. She states
that when her „world is falling apart and there‟s no light‟, which means a
broken life and she has nowhere to go, she will „look‟ at her man.
Connotatively, the word „look‟ bears the meaning of dependence. Therefore,
„when I look at you‟ means that she depends her life on Liam.
In the next lyrics, Miley explains things that make her continuously
depend on Liam.
When I look at you
I see forgiveness
I see the truth
You love me for who I am
Like the stars hold the moon
Right there where they belong
And I know I‟m not alone
…
You appear just like a dream to me
Just like kaleidoscope colors that cover me commit to user
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All I need
Every breath that I breathe
Don‟t you know you‟re beautiful
Miley states that when she looks at him, she sees good things. She sees a true
and sincere love. It is because he loves her for who she really is. „Like the
stars hold the moon‟, the stars represent Liam‟s love, while the moon
represents Miley‟s heart. He holds Miley‟s heart „right there where they
belong‟ which means he loves Miley for just the way she is. He does not want
to change Miley. He appears as a „dream and kaleidoscope‟ for Miley.
Connotatively, the word „dream and kaleidoscope‟ represent a kind of perfect
man. Dream means „something that you have wanted very much‟, while
kaleidoscope means „a mixture of many different things‟
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dream). Therefore these two
words are considered to be perfection. She sees Liam as a perfect man who
can give her anything she wants and protects her whenever or wherever she
breathes.
In this music video, Liam also shows himself that he wants to protect
Miley. He encircles Miley‟s body with stones and clamshells while Miley is
laying on the sand.
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As Miley lays on the sand, it presents that she is a weak young woman.
Therefore, Liam tries to give her protection which is shown by his effort to
encircle Miley‟s body using stone and clamshell. Stones and clamshell are
solid things that represent power. They are strong and unbreakable. Therefore,
by putting stones and clamshells around Miley‟s weak body, he really means
to protect her. This clearly shows that Miley is a weak young woman who
indeed needs a man‟s protection. Therefore, the image which appears is a
dependent young woman.
The image of a dependent young woman can also be seen from several
scenes in the music video. In this music video, Miley hugs her man many
times.
The pictures above show Miley who is hugging Liam. She hugs Liam deeply.
From the way she hugs Liam, it can be seen how deep she needs Liam in her
life. A hug usually links to affection. When the hug comes over and over
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again, it becomes a sign of dependence. Therefore, in this music video, Miley
appears as someone who is always dependent on her man.
4.Can‟t Be Tamed (2010)
Within the same year, after releasing the final single on her EP: Time of Our
Lives, Miley produced her third studio album “Can‟t Be Tamed”. This album
establishes a maturing public image of Miley Cyrus that increasingly leads to
controversy. In her single, entitled “Can‟t Be Tamed”, Miley appears to perform a
naughty awakening image. Within its music video, Miley eagerly proclaims for her
„declaration of independence‟. She appears in a more appealing choreography,
striking costumes and cosmetics which she likely adapted from Britney Spears and
Lady Gaga‟s music videos. She said that the music was indeed inspired by techno
music commonly used by Lady Gaga (http://www.mtv.com/news/1635313/miley-
cyrus-says-next-album-has-a-techno-vibe/). Lady Gaga becomes an iconic female
singer in this era for her explicit performance in her music videos. By displaying any
kind of provoking music videos, she influences other singers, including Miley Cyrus.
Miley Cyrus declared her rebirth as a young woman and different kind of artists by
displaying her „all grown up‟ images within the music video.
The 17-year-old has traded her wholesome Hannah Montana image for a very
raunchy new look in the sexually charged clip for her new single, Can‟t Be
Tamed. Miley hinted that the video mirrors her desire to break out of the
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character.(www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1272863/Miley-Cyrus-
ruffles-feathers-raunchy-video-Cant-Be-Tamed.html)
From the statement above, she makes it clear that she performs a new look to leave
Hannah Montana images which are still sticking in her. She wants to make a movie or
music she wants. She wants to be free to do anything she wants without being linked
to Hannah Montana images. During interview with Dailymail, she revealed that, “Its
about the core of I don‟t want to be in cage. I want to be free and do what I love”. It
can be said that this music video becomes the turning point of Miley Cyrus in her
effort to leave Hannah Montana images. There are two significant images identified
from this music video. The images are as follows:
a. Rebellious Girl
In this music video, Miley appears as a rebellious girl. The rebellious
image can be clearly seen from the narrative of the music video. The narrative
tells about how Miley Cyrus rebels to escape from the cage. She wants to be
free and do anything she wants. She wants a new life where there is no link to
Hannah Montana‟s squeaky clean images. The narrative begins with a
museum curator who introduces her by saying, “Here is a creature so rare it
was believed to be extinct- in captivity for the first time, the rarest creature on
earth, Avis Cyrus.” After introducing her, the camera starts to shoot the cage
with Miley Cyrus trapped inside. She appears as a black raven with a pair of
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jet black bird wings. She wears a black midriff-baring shirt, black hot pants
and knee-high black boots.
A dark-based lighting and cage are things which signify dark age and
oppression. The dark age and oppression are strongly related to Disney
contract. It is because Miley Cyrus had to hold her squeaky clean Disney
image which is popularly known as Hannah Montana until the end of the
contract. The concept of her costume seen as Raven represents a battle.
“Raven itself is an animal which usually carries a meaning of battle and
rebel”(www.what-your-sign.com/raven-symbolism.html). Moreover, the
black color dominating her costumes represents her power. The black midriff-
baring shirt, black hot pants and knee-high boots express her new power. She
appears in these provocative outfits to show the world that she is no longer a
cute and innocent Hannah Montana. In addition, the bird wings represent her
readiness, her power to fly, to escape from cage. She performs rebellious acts
to quit from Disney Company by displaying a new look which heavily
triggered controversies.
Moreover, Miley stands bravely and confidently in the cage. She stares
at the camera bravely and starts to walk to the edge of the cage. She tries to
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get out from the cage through the space between the poles of the cage. While
trying to escape, she takes time to perform a brief pole-dancing show.
Pole-dancing is strongly related to strip clubs and night clubs.
Therefore, by performing a pole-dancing show, it expresses that Miley is a
grown up girl. She becomes a grown up girl appearing in more provocative
outfits and more appealing choreography. It is in contrast to her previous
persona appeared in her previous videos as I have explained before. By seeing
the contrast, the image of a rebellious girl can be clearly seen.
In this music video, the image of a rebellious girl can also be seen
from her face. Her face is covered with thick make-up, especially on her eyes.
The thick make-up on her face represents her maturity. By this thick
make-up, she makes it clear that she is a grown up. Moreover, there is a
special eye-make-up done on her eyes. She puts a kind of smokey eyes. This
type of make-up makes Miley‟s face look more ferocious and angry. In
addition, the scene uses low key lighting which presents a mystery and threat.
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Therefore, by wearing thick make-up supported with low key lighting, Miley
presents the image of a girl who is angry and wants to escape from her cage. It
represents a type of rebellious act.
In this music video, the image of a rebellious girl is also supported by
the lyrics of the song.
For those who don‟t know me,
I can get a bit crazy
…
I‟m like a puzzle
But all of my pieces are jagged
…
I wanna fly,
I wanna drive,
I wanna go
I wanna be a part of something I don‟t know
…
I can‟t be tamed
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She says for those people who don‟t know her, she can be a little bit crazy.
She is complicated just like a „puzzle‟ with all of the pieces that are „jagged‟.
The pieces which are jagged represent that she is a complicated girl who is
hard to be understood because she might be ferocious or crazy at anytime. She
wants to „fly, drive, go‟ which means that she wants to be free. She wants to
leave Hannah Montana as well as Disney. She wants „to be a part of
something I don‟t know‟ which means she wants to feel and experience
something new beyond Disney. This makes her seem to be a rebellious girl.
Moreover, when entering the chorus, Miley sings, “I can‟t be tamed”
repeatedly. It indicates that she strongly wants to say that she is wild and hard
to handle. Therefore, it may construct the image of a rebellious girl.
In addition, in her final statement, she mentions that she is a rebellious
girl.
Well I‟m not a trick you play,
I‟m wired a different way
I‟m not mistake,
I‟m not a fake,
It‟s set in my DNA
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She makes it clear that she is not a „trick you play‟. It means that she is not
something Disney can play. She is „wired a different way‟ which means that
she is born in her own way. She is born as Miley Cyrus who is clearly
different from Hannah Montana. She is right and real. “It‟s set in my DNA”
means that it is truly her intentions because she was born to be sexy and
attractive. From the lyrics above, it can be clearly seen that Miley Cyrus
presents the image of a rebellious girl.
b. A Sexy and Desiring Girl
As displaying the image of a rebellious girl who wants to be free, Cyrus
asserts the image of a sexy and desiring girl as the representation of her
naughty awakening. She appears in a peacock dress concept. She wears a
$25,000 silver-scale corset designed by The Blonds in one scene, said the
Dailymail.co.uk.
The peacock represents her awakening. It presents an awakening and
refinement. By this peacock costume, she declares that she has a new look
which displays herself as Miley Cyrus, not Hannah Montana. Moreover, she
lays in the center of the screen in long shot camera which performs her whole
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body. Her body seems to come in more revealing way that she shows half of
her cleavages and legs.
The cleavages and legs are parts of woman‟s body that express
woman‟s sexuality. They are performed as fetish icons which lead to sexual
attraction. Moreover, Miley delivers different gaze through her eyes. She
stares seductively toward the camera while making sexy lips pose. It indicates
that she wants to seduce the audiences through the way she dresses and
behaves. In addition, this music video uses low key lighting which performs a
mysterious atmosphere as well as sexual tension for almost the whole scenes.
Therefore, from setting, costumes and behaviors it can be seen that she is into
the image of a sexy girl.
In this music video, the image of a sexy and desiring girl is also
supported by the lyrics of the song.
Have to get my way, yep
24 hours a day
„cause I‟m hot like that
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…
Every guy, everywhere
Just gives me mad attention
Like I‟m under inspection
I always gets a ten,
„cause I‟m built like that
She feels like she needs to find her own way beyond Disney. The
lyrics which says „24 hours a day/‟cause I‟m hot like that‟ means that she
needs her whole time to play with her own. She does not want to follow what
Hannah Montana looks like anymore. It is because she recognizes herself as a
hot girl, not a cute Hannah Montana. She feels like she is a hot and sexy girl
who is exactly not Hannah Montana. When she goes out, „every guy,
everywhere‟ sees her as a really sexy and attractive creature. She becomes the
center of their attention. This is to say that she becomes a sexy and desiring
girl to men out there. Besides, she „always gets a ten‟ means that by
performing herself in sexy and desiring ways, she always gets compliment. It
is because „ten‟ means a person with a perfect body
(www.internetslang.com/TEN-meaning-definition-asp), therefore, she intends
to say that she is a hot girl with perfect body. Thus, this is to say that she
performs more revealing images because she finds that it is her nature and that commit to user
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she is built like that. Additionally she gains more attention and popularity
from it.
Moreover, she was a 17 year old girl. She notices herself as a grown
up girl who is free to explore and play with her own body. She needs
liberation toward her own life without Disney controlling her. Her liberation
can be seen from some scenes in this music showing her as sexually attractive
and desiring girl. She appears in the cage while showing her revealed legs.
She gropes it from her heel to thigh. When she lays down while showing her
half cleavages, she also gropes her breast with her hand.
The ways she performs her revealed legs and cleavages express sexy,
seductive and desiring performances. When she gropes her leg from heel to
thigh means that she invites a man to be her sexual partner. She feels that she
is too sexy to be ignored. She wants a man to be there and „do‟ her. Her
sensual and seducing act is also seen when she gropes her breast with her
hand. This act is strongly related to sexual performance. This kind of act is
used to excite the man‟s desire and ask him to be her sexual partner.
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By displaying her body as the pictures above, Miley performs the
image of a sexy girl who is desired and desiring at the same time. Besides, she
performs some seducing acts to add the sexual tension atmosphere within the
music video. She intends to invite male‟s desire with her sexy body presented
in the music video. By this, it can be said that she gains her power. She
becomes independent, sexy, beautiful, stylish and sexually attractive without
being exploited. Moreover, she has her own opinion and taste related to her
own body. She hates of being thought as a product by the society. She hates to
be someone who is exactly not her. She wants to grow up as what she really
intends to. In addition, she has explained her real intentions during her
interview with Kevin Sessums in parade.com.
I hate being thought of as a product. I am not a doll, and people want
to treat me that way. They say, „Now this is what we need to do to
your makeup, and this is what I want you to wear,‟ and I‟m like,
„Dude, I choose.‟ When I was 12, that was okay. But I‟m older now. I
have an opinion. I have my own taste. What I am sure about is I‟m
going to rejoice and be happy to finally not have to be…well, to not be
somebody I‟m not exactly. Now I just want to be chill and have my
private life. When I was 12, I didn‟t know who I was. I know who I
am now and I am so content and full of purpose.
(www.parade.com/131365/kevinsessums/miley-cyrus-4/)
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As she declares her independence toward her own body, she feels like
a new power comes inside her body. She finds herself more powerful in more
revealing performances. It is because she shows her parts of sexy body which
make her feels free, beautiful and sexy. By being free, beautiful and sexy, she
gets her own taste. Moreover, since she has a perfect body, she feels proud of
it and turns it to be more sexually attractive without feeling exploited by other
people. In addition, she has decided to live her life in the way she wants to
live. She is mature enough to choose her own life. She does not want to be a
doll anymore. She just wants to be herself who is sexy and desired by
thousands of people out there.
5. We Can‟t Stop (2013)
The previous four music videos have presented Cyrus‟s images in certain ways
that she is represented in the image of cheerful, optimistic, ordinary, strong ambition,
pure & innocent, dependent, rebellious, sexy and desiring girl. Those varieties of
images which are recognized in the music videos released from 2008 until 2010 have
shown Cyrus‟s image transformation. It has been identified as the gradual
transformation which is following her stage persona as Hannah Montana. Through
the years, Cyrus has slowly changed her images into a new persona as she grew up.
However, in 2013, Cyrus has produced an extremely surprising image. She was
provoking explicit sexual content in her fourth studio album entitled Bangerz. Within
this album, Cyrus seems to totally leave the images of Hannah Montana and be the
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real Miley Cyrus. It is also supported by the end of the contract of Hannah Montana
which lasted from 2006-2011. It is no wonder that Cyrus drastically changed her
images. After ending the contract with Disney Company in 2011 which is marked
with the Hannah Montana: The Final Season, Miley signed a contract with RCA
Records to produce Bangerz with We Can‟t Stop as the first single. This mid-tempo
R&B and dance-pop song was released on June 3, 2013 and peaked number two on
the Billboard Hot 100. This album consists of three songs: We Can‟t Stop, Wrecking
Ball and Adore You. It has brought Miley into her first Grammy Award nomination
and peaked on the U.S Billboard as the furor of her drastic changing images. It also
became the leading record for having most views in that time-frame across Vevo
platforms. However, the first single entitled We Can‟t Stop triggered many incisive
criticisms for Miley‟s sexual explicit content and any drugs references within the
music video. The furor of Cyrus‟s provocative images within this music video has
been known by the worldwide society. Moreover, the provocative images are added
with her highly-controversial performance during the 2013 MTV Video Music
Awards featuring with Robin Thicke. This song tells about a house party completed
with dirty dancing, drug, violence and sex. Here are Cyrus‟s images analyzed from
this music video:
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a. Racy Girl
In this music video, Miley wears a white bra top and white legging.
Her belly is exposed. Her hair is blonde and short. Her face is covered with
thick make-up.
The white color which bears the meaning of purity and virginity represent her
rebirth. She is reborn as a girl with a racy image. It is identified from the
white bra top which explicitly exposes her whole belly and half cleavages.
Moreover, she is wearing no breast holder which makes her breasts and
nipples clearly seen. By wearing white bra top without breast holder inside, it
triggers the racy image of her. The white tight legging also strongly exposes
her curves, especially in the part of her genital area. It makes her body looks
racy. Moreover, her short blonde hair and thick make-up also add her racy
image. A short and blonde hair adds the atmosphere of seduction. Moreover,
it is completed with thick make-up lining around her face and lips which
directly gives passionate effects on her. Therefore, by showing white bra top,
white tight legging, short blonde hair and thick make-up she represents the
image of a racy girl.
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The image of racy girl can also be clearly seen from the narrative of
the music video. The narrative tells about Miley Cyrus as a racy girl who has
just started the party. The narrative starts when Miley Cyrus turns on the
music and starts the party with her friends. During the party, she moves and
dances inappropriately. She makes her inappropriate moves on the bed which
are strongly displaying racy image. She lays down on bed playing a chewy
gum in her mouth, while her hand playing with her genital area.
As she lays down on bed alone while playing with gum and her genital
area, it means that she provokes a sexual tension. Playing gum in her mouth
with her hand may represent that she is playing an oral sex; while playing her
hand around her genital area means that she is masturbating. Both oral sex and
masturbation are things obviously carry the racy meanings. Moreover, it uses
pan camera movement which insists the audiences to focus on Miley‟s genital
area. It is also supported by high-key lighting which presents a clear intention
of what Miley‟s doing while laying on bed.
Besides provoking sexual tension by displaying oral sex and
masturbation, she also presents another inappropriate dance which is
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popularly known as „twerk‟. “Twerk dance is a kind of dancing which shakes
the butt while making a low squatting stance”
(www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/twerk).
Twerk dance which exposes bottom right into the eyes of the audiences
clearly presents a racy image. She often twerk nastily at the camera which
means that she really wants to show her raciness as her new persona to the
world. Besides, the low squatting stance is strongly provoking a sexual
tension because it symbolizes one of sex positions known as „doggy style‟. By
doing twerk over and over again, she indirectly invites the viewers‟ mind to
think about sexual intercourse.
Her raciness in the music video also appears in a scene when she
suddenly displays a rough sexual performance by slapping a girl‟s bottom.
She stands arrogantly behind a girl‟s bottom and then she slaps the girl‟s
bottom over and over again.
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Slapping a girl‟s bottom while she is in a low squatting stance is strongly
related to a rough sexual performance. It is rough because it uses violence
which produces pain. As she slaps the girl‟s bottom, it hurts the girl. This kind
of act may also represent S&M (Sadist&Masochist). S&M is “the practice of
using pain as a sexual stimulant. One partner is a sadist who inflicts pain &
asserts control over the Masochist through certain rough acts, including
spanking (slapping) and whipping”
(www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term%3DS%2526M&ei=jdz0IKdH&I
c=id-ID&s=1&m=264&ts=1443063908&sig=APONPFmVB5ysZD3aFx-
MFKu1tmlkV3IG-A). Slapping bottom is similar to whipping bottom. Both
slapping and whipping are used in rough sexual performance to produce pain
and pleasure for sadist and masochist. Both sadist and masochist enjoy to give
and to receive the torturing sex. Yet, it is usually man who always becomes
the sadist, while woman becomes the masochist. It directly makes woman the
one who seems to be oppressed and objectified. However, in this scene, Miley
takes over the role of the sadist. She stands confidently and slaps the girl‟s
bottom hard. It indicates that she does not want to be the masochist; the one
whose body is objectified and tortured by man or other people. Instead, she
becomes the one who tortures. She wants to be the one controlling her own
body and other‟s bodies. She wants to show the world that she is no longer a
weak and innocent Hannah Montana. She is Miley Cyrus, the girl who loves
to play with her body and sexuality explicitly. She performs a kind of rough commit to user
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sexual performance which obviously turns her into a racy girl. Therefore, by
displaying this sexual performance in the music video, Miley becomes racier
than before. Besides, the sexual tension is also supported by low-key lighting
which directly presents the sexual tension.
Her intention to perform the explicit sexual content in this music video
is also recognized through her face while singing the song. She appears on
bathtub with a thick make-up completed with red lipstick and black eye-
glasses while her tongue is hanging out.
The bathtub usually carries the meaning of a good time. It is because people
enjoy their time nakedly with bubbles all over their bodies. A thick make-up
especially red lipstick is strongly linked to sensuality. It is because the red
color bears the meaning of passion and desire. Moreover, her tongue is
hanging out. The hanging out tongue represents a seductive act. It is because
tongue in sexual performance takes big role in creating the sexual atmosphere.
Thus, when she sticks her tongue out while laying on bathtub, it means that
she intentionally creates the sexual atmosphere. The black-glasses
representher ignorance toward what people say about her since she left her
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sweet and innocent Hannah Montana‟s images and declared her new racy
image.
The racy thing in this music video is also represented with several
properties like, a digital board with the word „fuck‟ on it. However, the word
is converted into „uck‟ to be seen more appropriate to publish.
The word „fuck‟ is a strong language which explicitly expresses racy thing. In
the Western country, this kind of word is used to express sexual intercourse.
This sexual intercourse usually links to something fun. They do sex not
because of love, but only because of lust and fun. Therefore, when this word
appears in this music video, it clearly shows that Miley is a racy girl.
In this music video, the image of a racy girl is also supported by the
lyrics of the song.
To my home girls here with the big butt
Shaking it like we at a strip club
Remember only God can judge ya
Forget the haters „cause somebody loves ya
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…
And we can‟t stop
And we won‟t stop
The lyrics above tell about how Miley encourages all of the sexy girls to do
whatever they want. When she says, „To my home girls here with the big
butt/shaking it like we at strip club‟, she means to invite all of the sexy home
girls in the party to shake their butt passionately and erotically just like a
stripper. She encourages the girls not to hesitate to show their sexy bodies.
She asks the „home girls‟ who are usually “cute urban girls who are very good
to date/sleep with” (www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=homegirl) to
enjoy the party without thinking what people are going to say about them.
They will dance or strip in the way they want and they will sleep with
whomever they want. It is because they live in freedom where they are free to
choose any kind of life they want. Nobody will stop and judge them. It is
because they believe that „only God can judge‟ them. Therefore, by inviting
the girls to show and be proud of their bodies in explicit ways, Miley has
provoked racy image toward herself and the girls. Moreover, the racy image
appears stronger as they are going wild on showing their bodies. They show it
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and shake it like there is no tomorrow. As they go wild, they do it over and
over again and just can‟t stop.
b. Druggie Girl
In this music video, Miley also appears as a druggie girl. The image of
a druggie girl can be clearly seen from the narrative of the music video. The
narrative tells about Miley Cyrus who has just had a party containing some
drugs references. There are three kinds of drugs appeared in this music video.
They are ecstasy (molly), cocaine, and weed. The ecstasy (molly) is
recognized clearly in the beginning of the video by the appearance of a red
capsule.
The red capsule speaker represents the molly (ecstasy). It is identified from
the shape which is similar to molly. Besides, the lyrics of the song also
strongly represent the existence of molly.
We like to party
Dancing with Molly
Doing whatever we want
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She clearly mentions that she likes to party. She likes things in a party that she
can do anything she wants like having molly. Moreover, in Dailymail.co.uk
she said, “Pop a Molly and you know you‟ll never stop”. It means that she
admits that she uses Molly. Besides molly, she also clearly presents the
reference of cocaine in this music video. It appears in Miley‟s white cloth
with the word „dope‟ on it.
The white color in her cloth represents the color of cocaine. The word „dope‟
means smoking cocaine. Therefore, by wearing this cloth, she intentionally
presents cocaine as one of her favorite drugs.
Moreover, the existence of cocaine in this music video is also
supported by the lyrics of the song.
And everyone in line in the bathroom
Trying to get a line in the bathroom
We all so turnt up here
The word „in line in the bathroom‟ is identically linked to smoking cocaine.
The obvious implication here is doing cocaine in the bathroom because
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do dope. The next word, „turnt up‟ is strongly related to something wild and
high. It is because of the cocaine‟s effect. It drives people who smokes it
wild and high.
The last drug she shows in the scene is popularly known as weed or
marijuana. The weed appears in this music video are in the form of smoke
and red sausage.
The smoke burst from a man‟s genital is identified as a smoke of weed. It is
thick and grey. It comes out from a man‟s genital which is linked to „high‟
feeling. Moreover, it is added with the low-key lighting which shows a
perfect place to smoke weed. Therefore, the appearance of thick smoke
bursting from a man‟s genital in a dark place represents high feeling because
of smoking weed. The next picture of red sausage represents weed too. It is
identified with the shape which is similar to cigarette. The red color
represents the high feeling. Moreover, one of the men lights the red sausage
and starts to smoke it. It is clearly identified that it is weed. Besides, the drug
reference of marijuana also appears in the form of marshmallow reds.
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The marshmallow which are burned represents marshmallow reds or
popularly known as depressants. “Depressants are kind of drugs used to
slower the brain‟s function” (www.alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction/central-
nervous-system-depressants/). It makes the user become more relax.
Depressants include Cannabis (marijuana) and Alcohol. This shows that the
reference of marijuana is clearly seen in this music video. In addition, during
in the interview with Huffingtonpost, Miley clearly said that she loves weed.
“I think weed is the best drug on earth. One time I smoked a joint with
peyote in it, and I saw a wolf howling at the moon. Hollywood is a coke
town, but weed is so much better.” (
www.m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4004430). Therefore, by looking at the
pictures and Miley‟s responds, it is an inevitable thing that Miley is a druggie
girl who loves to drug.
6. Wrecking Ball (2013)
After releasing her first single of the fourth album, Cyrus released her second
single on August 25, 2013 entitled Wrecking Ball. Lyrically, this pop ballad that tells
about the deterioration of a relationship has performed Cyrus‟s image in a more
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provocative way than the previous music video entitled We Can‟t Stop. This music
video has reached its success by hitting hot 100 on U.S Billboard and be the first
number one single after releasing the music video. The music video has become the
most viewed videos within the first 24 hour and has become the best music video in
2014. The music video performs Cyrus‟s face in close-up scenes displaying Cyrus
tearfully singing against a white backdrop and being nude while swinging on a
wrecking ball. She has explicitly performed and explored her sexuality more deeply
compared to the previous music videos. Her appearance as she is being nude through
almost the whole scenes has increased her image as it is dangerously provoking
sexual tension. There are two significant images appearing in this music video. They
are as follows:
a. An Explicit Girl with Strong Sexual Liberation
In this music video, Miley wears white bra top and brief pants. Her
hair is short and blonde. Her face is covered with thick make-up.
The white color represents her reborn as a racy girl as I mentioned
previously. The bra top and brief pants explicitly shows Miley‟s body. It
looks like she wears nothing but underwear. By wearing these clothes, she
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intentionally displays her sexuality. Besides, her hair and make-up add the
image of an explicit girl with strong sexual liberation. A short and blonde
hair may represent a kind of liberation. A short hair means a free hair that she
no longer needs to deal with feminine properties used on hair. A blonde hair
represents her liberation in coloring and doing whatever she wants toward
her body. It constructs the image of liberated girl who is free to play with her
body. A thick make-up on her face, especially seen in her lips, represents her
freedom too. She is free to do anything and put anything on her body to make
her body remains erotic and desiring. It makes her an explicit girl with strong
sexual liberation.
The image of an explicit girl with strong sexual liberation can be
clearly seen from the narrative of the music video. The narrative tells about
Miley Cyrus as a girl who is swinging on the wrecking ball naked.
The wrecking ball which consists of chain and black giant ball represents her
power. The chain made of steel represents a strong thing. The black giant ball
represents limitless power. It is because black represents power, while giant
ball represents unlimited thing, therefore, it presents limitless power. By
sitting on the black giant ball and handling hands on the chain, Miley commit to user
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presents that she is a strong girl who has limitless power. Besides, she is
sitting on the wrecking ball naked to show her sexuality. By this depiction,
she is apparently displaying herself as a strong girl who has limitless power
by showing her sexuality to the public. Moreover, the setting of place which
shows a shattered place full of wall debris represents a broken life. By sitting
and swinging on the wrecking ball above the debris, she becomes stronger
than before. Therefore, by seeing her swinging on the wrecking ball naked
above the debris, it can be clearly seen her image as an explicit girl with
strong sexual liberation.
b.Miserable Girl
In this music video, Miley also appears as a miserable girl. The image
of a miserable girl can be clearly seen from the narrative of the music video.
The narrative tells about Miley Cyrus as a girl who has a miserable love
story. The miserable story is strongly linked to a man named Liam
Hemsworth. He was her ex fiancé, but their relationship ended miserably.
The narrative starts when Miley Cyrus appears in the middle of the screen in
close-up shot against a white backdrop while she is singing with tears falling
from her eyes.
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The falling tears from her vacant eyes represent her deep sadness. The way
she gazes at the camera is quite different that she shows vacant sight. She is a
sad girl with a blank mind which means that she is in deep devastation. Her
lips are as red as blood. As stated in chapter II, red may represent passion or
anger. In this case, the red color on her lips is strongly linked to anger. She is
sad, devastated and angry. It makes her become a miserable girl. Moreover, it
is added with her pixie haircut which remains nothing but really short hair
just like a man. It also presents her devastating feeling that she cut off her
long hair to be this short. In addition, the white backdrop and high-key
lighting are clearly representing her miserable mood in this close-up scene.
This close-up scene makes her whole face the central attention of the
audiences to show how exactly her miserable feeling is.
Besides, the image of a miserable girl can also be seen from her
behaviors within the music video. She appears swinging a sledgehammer
then hit the wrecked wall devastatingly. After that, she sits still and wistfully
puts her head close to her knees around the wrecked wall.
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The Sledgehammer represents a strong thing. The nature of this
sledgehammer is destructive that it may destroy anything. Miley swings and
destroys the wrecked wall means that she is angry and desperate for
something. She releases her feeling by destroying anything around her. After
that, she sits still and wistfully which means that she is tired and totally
devastated. Therefore, by seeing the pictures it can be clearly seen that she is
a miserable girl.
Moreover, Miley also acts weirdly during the music video like, licking
the sledgehammer.
The sledgehammer represents a kind of strong thing which can destroy
anything. In this case, it may represent Liam. Liam had caused destructive
effects toward Miley since he broke Miley‟s heart down. It makes Miley
crazy. Her craziness can be seen from the way she licks the sledgehammer.
She licks the top part of the sledgehammer which means that she wants to
lick Liam‟s „top part‟. Frankly speaking, Liam‟s top part is strongly linked to
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his genital area. It can be clearly seen from the way she licks it; she kneels,
her head looks upward, her eyes are closed, her tongue is perfectly hanging
out and sticking on the sledgehammer, and her hand grasps the
sledgehammer. This kind of act is similar to do „fellatio‟. Fellatio is “the act
of stimulating a man‟s penis with the mouth for sexual pleasure”
(www.i.word.com/idictionary/fellatio). Moreover, this scene uses a close-up
shot which shows Miley‟s facial expression which enjoys of doing fellatio
very clearly. It seems that Miley wants to show how deep her love to Liam
is. In addition, she says in lines, “I will always want you” over and over
again which means that whatever happens, she will always want and love
Liam. She gives all she has to please Liam, but he betrayed her. Therefore,
she feels desperate and miserable.
In this music video, the image of a miserable girl is also supported by
the lyrics of the songs.
I put you high up in the sky
And now, you‟re not coming down
It slowly turned, you let me burn
And now, we‟re ashes on the ground
I came in like a wrecking ball
I never hit so hard in love
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All you ever did was wreck me
Yeah, you, you wreck me
The first verse is strongly related to Miley‟s disappointment to Liam. She
said, „I put you high up in the sky‟ which means that she raised Liam into
popularity through her movie in 2010. However, he is „not coming down‟
which means he forgot that Miley is the one making him popular. He stays on
top and ignores Miley. It hurts her. She is “burned and ashes on the ground”
means that she hurts badly until she can not feel anything that her heart is
decayed, empty and useless just like ashes on the ground. The next verse talks
about Miley‟s effort to fix her broken heart, but it hurts her more instead. She
came in like a wrecking ball which means that she appears just like a
wrecking ball which is strong and limitless. She has entered the world of
entertainment in order to be popular. She appears as a strong and invincible
girl who knows who she really is. But then, until she met Liam, she wanted to
bring Liam into popularity too. For the first time, Miley loves someone
seriously. She „never hit so hard in love‟ means that she loves Liam more than
anything, because she has never been in this kind of serious love before.
Unfortunately, Liam broke her heart. He left aches in Miley‟s heart. However,
Miley will always want him to be near her. Therefore, she wants „to break his
walls‟. She wants to break Liam‟s arrogance and be together again. As she
tries harder to win him, her heart is wrecked more instead. „All you ever did commit to user
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was wreck me‟ points to Liam who wrecks her heart by not letting her in
again. Her miserable feeling while trying to win Liam again is also clearly
seen from the lyrics of the song.
„I never meant to start a war
I just wanted you to let me in
And instead of using force
I guess I should‟ve let you win‟
The lyrics tell about Miley‟s struggle to win Liam again, but instead,
Liam sees it as a war. Rather than triggering war, finally Miley lets Liam win.
She lets go of Liam; someone she really loves, even though she has to feel the
pain. As her heart is wrecked everywhere, she becomes desperate and
miserable.
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B. What Triggers Miley Cyrus to Change Her Images to Stay Popular
In the world of American celebrities, image is a very crucial thing. It creates
their persona in the eyes of audiences. It also gives effect on how much the audience
will notice their existence. Therefore, celebrities construct their images as fabulous as
they can. However, celebrities‟ images can not be static; it has to change over and
over again following the times to make them stay popular. In this case, Miley Cyrus
did so well on it. She has changed her images step by step through the years in order
to maintain her popularity. Her gradual changing images can be clearly seen within
her works in 2008 until 2013. In 2008- 2010, she appeared as an innocent country girl
who was cheerful and optimistic. However, in 2013, she appeared as racy, druggie,
and highly sexual liberated girl which are strongly against her previous images. She
appeared in highly provocative performances which are seen in her music videos
entitled „We Can‟t Stop‟ and „Wrecking Ball‟. The music videos present Miley Cyrus
in quirky way that it has described her as a „wild child‟ who is dressed scandalously,
but really attractive and interesting. She also has been noticed as a racy girl who loves
to drug. She had party with drugs references, violence and free sex. Indeed, these
portrayals are against the previous images of Miley Cyrus. Yet, by performing new
persona which are extremely away from her Hannah Montana‟s images, she has
successfully lead the nowadays trends. She invites massive attention from the society
and media. She becomes even more popular than before. This is why it is necessary to
be analyzed further.
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Miley Cyrus who works for Disney for over than 5 years feels the pressure
inside her. She has to stick in Hannah Montana‟s squeaky-clean images and did not
allow to change anything beyond the character. This is to say that anything comes in
her is considered to be Disney‟s role play; not her true intentions. This leads to her
rebellious act showing highly controversial performances which are totally against
her previous images. Her rebellious performances are inevitably linked to her youth
phase. Moreover, youth are often linked to something rebellious, because they seem
to oppose the notion of static, old-fashioned and conservative things. Instead, they
value on dynamic, free and liberated things. Freedom leads their way to a happier life.
These kinds of youth are particularly known as American youth living in 21st century.
As stated in chapter II, American youth in 21st century have their own characteristics.
They seem to give significant influence in American society, especially to young
people. They get connected to each other because they share experiences, attitudes
and characteristics. They are smart generation who are well-educated, open-minded
and independent. They are also the wired generation who are progressive, creative
and tolerant. By using technology and internets, they show their massive influences to
the world. At its best, this generation prizes on the freedom which lets them to do
anything freely. By seeking freedom, rights and opportunity, they become more
liberated people. They set their bodies free from society‟s burden and get involved in
juvenile delinquency like, free sex, drug and violence. They create a new lifestyle
where the value and norm are created based on their shared attitudes and experiences.
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Miley Cyrus, as part of American youth has shared the similar characteristics I
have explained above. She opposes the static images of Hannah Montana created by
Disney. She rebelled and tried to leave the squeaky-clean images of Hannah Montana
to be sexier and nastier. She is a kind of rebellious, quirky, unique and liberated
person. “I wanted to feel unique, quirky and different”(Cyrus, 2009, p. 15).
Moreover, it is also stated that she is a kind of rebellious girl when she was in school.
“There was no way I could sit still and focus for hours. People didn‟t know exactly
how to handle me. It‟s not that I was trying to be disrespectful, but I could. Not. Be
quiet.”(p.16). She is smart, open-minded and independent. She is very open for any
issues of life and stands on her own feet. She is the wired young woman who is
progressive, creative and tolerant which can be seen through her works. She looks
forward on life, creates and recreates things to excite people‟s attention. She shares
experiences through social media which makes her so connected to the people. She
goes crazy in the age of 20 that she seeks for unlimited freedom. She seeks freedom,
rights and opportunities of being an American youth without any limit.
She thinks that her craziness is normal in her age. In the age of 20, people
have to be crazy to be happy. That is the thing she really into.
I think people forget what it feels like to be 20. That‟s why I think some
people kind of fall off and they end up going crazy because you don‟t give
yourself time to go crazy. That‟s what you‟re supposed to do; you are 20, you
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are supposed to be a mess because you haven‟t figured it out yet, and 10 years
from now I am supposed to have it all together.
(http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/07/30/miley-cyrus-naughty-
wild-child-behavior-is-just-part-growing-up/)
Moreover, she shows some extreme performances right after she gets away from
Disney Company to show her true independences. She cut off her hair and colors it
blonde. When a fan of her asked her, “why did you cut off your hair?”, she
spontaneously answered, “I cut my hair mostly is just because I never had that kind of
position while I was in contract. I‟m not allowed to change anything and finally I had
it done, freedom. So I did the extreme, opposite”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF28F6E0pJ4 ). She wants something which is
totally new and fresh in her own age. She tries to find her social identities to fit in her
age‟s trends. She gets involved in drug, free sex and violence; the kinds of things that
very popular in nowadays youth, particularly in American youth. They are free as a
bird who just goesout of cage that they want to fly everywhere without anyone limit
their way. Besides, in her interview with abc news, she said, “I really feel like
everyday I‟m figuring it out. People that know me, they see me change really every
week, every two week; I‟m changing and learning so much. I think especially now,
that I feel I found more my independences.”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dioBYN96E3g ). She revealed that she does get
her freedom and independences after separating from Disney.
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I couldn‟t live the life like 2 years ago. My job right now is to be this strong
female figure. I just want to make music that I love. I think it is important for
people to realize that we have our own life and that‟s we have to live it in the
way it makes us happy. Everything that I do is kind of for me, for my own
happiness.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO1_BIAJwe0)
This makes it clear that she was not really happy for being Hannah Montana, instead,
she feels happier to be who she really is now. Moreover, in Elle UK, she claims that
she has not always been as confident as she is today and says, “I‟ve had really bad
anxiety and depress in my life and a lot of that stemmed from the way I look”
(http://www.skynews.com.au/culture/showbiz/celebrity/2015/08/29/miley-cyrus-was-
depressed-about-her-looks.html).
As explained in literature review, these changing images are also supported by
the American socio-cultural condition where the human freedom is extremely prized.
People are free to do things without feeling afraid. Things in this society are seen in
multi interpretation, flexibility and relativism. There is no universal truth. Thus, the
emergence of these kinds of youth is normally accepted in American society.
Besides being American youth, she is an American celebrity too. It is
undeniable thing that she has to hold back by the celebrity competition. To compete
each other, she has to differentiate her images from others. As it is stated in chapter
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II, “The celebrities are popular because of the differentiation of their personalities
from others, not achievements; therefore, by differentiating their images, they can
develop their capacity of fame” (Turner, 2003, p. 5). She realizes that as celebrity
whose life depends on media, she needs to give something new and fresh to the
audiences to keep her popularity up. She knows how to shock people with her music
and fashion. By shocking people with the new trends, Cyrus has won the media
attention. She crosses the line by dressing and acting provocatively in many media
representation. She gets naked everywhere. Indeed, this brings her to huge drastic
popularity.
The 20-year-old pop star‟s sex-crazed video “Wrecking Ball” shattered the
record for the most watched video in a 24-hour time period on video-sharing
site Vevo. The music video, which the website marked as “explicit content,”
shows Cyrus naked, swinging around on an oversized wrecking ball and
licking a sledge hammer. Once word of the controversial clip hit the web,
Cyrus‟ video quickly garnered unprecedented views for Vevo, with lots of
eager users sharing links to her latest song.
(http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/09/10/miley-cyrus-sex-crazed-
wrecking-ball-video-shatters-records-earns-lots/)
It looks like showing sexy or even naked body in American society is acommonthing.
It is because the consumption patterns of the nowadays American society are
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saturated with sexual discourse, erotica, and pornography. They are the avid
consumers. Thus, being sexy and explicit is good; especially dealing with American
women celebrity. They are overwhelmed with the sexy images. It means that the
sexier you are, the more popular you will be.
This notion has been followed by an American popular singer like Lady Gaga.
She wins the celebrity competition by differentiating her images away from the
mainstream culture into something unique, quirky and eccentric. She becomes one of
the biggest music and fashion icons of the 21st century and becomes the trendsetter in
this era. She has successfully achieved immense popularity in a relatively short period
of time. She really knows how to keep shocking people with her performances.
Besides, “she‟s not held back by the things that most women in the public eye are
held back by. She doesn‟t care of her face or
beauty”(http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-13458791). She comes so far
in her own way which makes her looks quirky and eccentric. It makes her be more
memorable in people‟s mind. What makes her stand out for audiences are her fashion
and attitudes. One of her fans says, “The strange outfits are nothing but a publicity
stunt: the weirder she is, the more press she gets, subsequently, the more famous she
is. And it‟s working perfectly” (http://www.gamespot.com/forums/offtopic-
discussion-314159273/what-makes-lady-gaga-different-from-any-generic-po-
27158109/). In order to maintain her popularity, “she is engendering immense loyalty
from her fans through her music, her message, and the community she has build
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around her”(http://www.convinceandconvert.com/community-management/7-
customer-loyalty-lessons-from-lady-gaga/).
She does inspire Miley Cyrus; especially in the way how she empowers those
who feel marginalized in society. She is an influential person who somehow changes
the world with her different perspectives.
Lady Gaga is an influential people who somehow reach legendary status and
along the way show integrity and commitment to making a difference in the
world. She teaches the value of uniqueness and individuality. She encourages
you to be your own person. She constantly encourages those with insecurities
about their sexuality and gender, in particular. She embraces portraying your
true personality and making the most out of your life.
(http://www.freshyoungmillionaire.com/lessons-from-lady-gaga-born-to-
make-a-difference/)
She empowers people, youth in particular, to be true of who they really are. She
creates a braver and kinder world to those who feel marginalized. Obviously, Miley
Cyrus is noticed as bisexual since she was 14 years old. She remembers the time
when she told her mom about her sexuality.
I remember telling her I admire women in a different way. And she asked me
what that meant. And I said, I love them. I love them like I love boys. And it
was so hard for her to understand. She didn‟t want me to be judged and she
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didn‟t want me to go to hell. But she believes in me more than she believes in
any god. I just asked for her to accept me. And she has.
(www.m.billboard.com/entry/view/id/128441)
It does make it clear that she has different perspective on seeing her sexuality.
However, less people know that she is bisexual at 14 years old. It is probably because
she had to hide it since she worked for Disney as American-girl-next-door named
Hannah Montana. When she had the contract done, she started to show off what she
was going to be. The emergence of fantastic Gaga and her strong empowerment to
youth does encourage Cyrus to do the same way. Both are performing in different
and quirky image which is against the mainstream to energize their careers.
Moreover, by having explicit body in performance, Miley Cyrus will not lose her
fame. Instead, she has boosted her career drastically.
It is also supported by the American socio-cultural condition where they
appreciate freedom in many ways. Meanwhile, it is known that American society in
this postmodern era is the avid consumers. These avid consumers, according to
Baudrillard are the representation of hyperreality society. The hyperreality society
sees the simulated images and representations of everyday reality which become
increasingly pervasive in the U.S and many other contemporary societies. Moreover,
since the consumption patterns of the society in contemporary American culture is
saturated with sexual discourse, erotica, and pornography; thus, this society can be
called the hypersexual society. “A hypersexual society is a society in which sexual commit to user
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discourse, erotica, and pornography are persistently present in almost all aspects of
the society” (Kammeyer, 2008, p. 25). Cyrus becomes the representation of
hypersexual society where explicit things exist, are appreciated and excited. In her
interview with abc news, when she is being asked, “Do you wanna be naked?”, Cyrus
explains, “I don‟t always wanna be naked. Once I came out on stage and I came out I
was in formal jacket dress completely covered, and they shout „Miley is boring, she
doesn‟t get naked and she is boring‟. No matter what I do, I‟m going boring or I‟m
suck” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dioBYN96E3g). This shows that there is
a cultural shift in celebrity culture where things are valued based on the excitement of
the controversial performances; instead of common achievement. Thus, by
performing herself in provocative ways or even naked, she stays popular. It is just
because the term of showing explicit sexuality and erotica is accepted in nowadays
American society.
With the emergence of many controversial celebrities like Gaga and Cyrus,
the new trends for women in American society are created. Women in American
society nowadays are different compared to those of the previous era. They hold
power in American society. They have changed the way they perceive their bodies;
not merely as object but as something precious to be proud of. Miley Cyrus has
shown her power through her sexuality. She speaks out about using her body as a
weapon to get attention to speak about the real issues, “If you get your tits out, and
they are all looking, then you can use that space to say something and get them to
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listen. I think that‟s a new freedom for women, especially”
(http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/08/28/miley-cyrus-confirms-she-is-pansexual/).
This shows that Cyrus gets the world listen to her. She owns the girl power by
showing her sexuality. There is no more oppression toward her body like she used to
do in her previous life of Hannah Montana. She has more choices and independences.
She is a grown up girl and she knows exactly how to deal with her body. She
embraces the notion of post feminism where she is free to celebrate her sexuality. As
it is stated in chapter II that post feminism “celebrates women‟s sexuality and
encourages women to explore sexual options and express themselves in whatever
ways they feel comfortable” (Gladen, 2007). Miley Cyrus does show this off.
Moreover, this type of new and improved feminism suits to the millennial generation
which are driven and shaped by technology. As the wired generation, Cyrus creates
and shares the values and norms by using the technology that gives her wider chances
st to reflect the condition of American values in this 21 century. In addition, this
technology helps Miley to stick with her fans and to stay popular. She uses social
media like, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep her profile alive.
Besides, she also shares the experiences as youth that makes her and her fans feel so
connected to each other. She says, “People are so connected to me because I‟m doing
the same exact thing they‟re doing”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO1_BIAJwe0). She does what young people do,
like going in the club, having party and living her life. These are clearly seen in her
music videos released in 2013. She has gone wild in a party while doing drugs and commit to user
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free sex. She is a grown up girl who has wider choices and freedom. In addition,
choices and freedom in U.S are highly appreciated and protected. Thus, drugs and
free sex are fine. Moreover, these things are something common in American society;
particularly in youth surroundings. Yet, her act to do drug is also inspired by Lady
Gaga. Gaga told the radio station in Z100 interview that she has been addicted to
marijuana to get live and inspiration.
I have been addicted to (marijuana) and it‟s ultimately related to anxiety
coping and it‟s a form of self-medication and I was smoking up to 15-20
marijuana cigarette a day with no tobacco. I do put that pressure on myself, I
have to be high to be creative. I need that, that‟s an error in my life that
happened for over 10 years because I want to live, and I want my fans to want
to live.
(http://flavorwire.com/424823/miley-cyrus-and-lady-gaga-a-tale -of-two-pot-
smokers)
In short, that is explaining on how much Gaga needs marijuana to be creative, so she
will stay popular.
It does happen to Miley Cyrus.
I think weed is the best drug on earth. One time I smoke a joint with peyote in
it, and I saw wolf howling at the moon. Hollywood is a coke town, but weed
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is so much better. And molly, too. Those are happy drugs-social drugs. They
make you want to be with friends.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/miley-cyrus-weed-
molly_n_4004430.html)
Miley reveals that she loves weed and molly. She realizes that when she smokes
weed, world is getting better which makes her to be able to produce better song.
Moreover, she was explicitly smoking weed on stage at the EMA (Europe Music
Award) in Amsterdam. These acts scandalously invite incisive criticisms from the
whole world society. It is considered as heavily promote things that are bad and
destructive. However, Cyrus defends herself that she is not promoting anything. She
says, “I don‟t promote anything that I am doing in my life. And you know that I live
far away from the place that thought marijuana is bad”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dioBYN96E3g). This is to say that she does not
break the law by smoking weed at the EMA. Moreover, weed is legal in Amsterdam,
thus, it is fine to smoke weed.
Miley Cyrus has changed her images in 2013 based on some reasonable
things. The things triggering Cyrus to change her images include American youth‟s
culture, celebrity culture and American women‟s perspective on seeing their
sexuality. She holds the choices of being American youth and the power of being a
girl in U.S. Moreover, she has to stick with the celebrity culture where differentiation
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of images is appreciated more than achievement. Therefore, being different and
eccentric leads her way to the immense of popularity in this era.
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