The wrecking ball is a metaphor for symbolism
By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor
Because we live in a world where Madonna and Lady Gaga never really existed, Miley Cyrus is apparently the most controversial female musician ever. At least, that seems to be how everyone else is reacting to the “Wrecking Ball” video.
There are a lot of things wrong with the “controversy” going around right now, but let’s back up a little bit. You might recall back in 2010 when Cyrus released a video for “Can’t Be Tamed,” where then 17-year-old Cyrus was scantily clad in a black leotard, sported awful CGI wings, and basically tried to make it clear that her contract with Disney was ending. Although Wikipedia will tell you she was praised for the song and video, I clearly recall people tearing Cyrus apart. One, because it is a dumb video; two, the song is annoying; and three, it was fairly obvious Cyrus was ready to move on, but was still figuring out what that should mean for her career.
No person in their right mind wants to be Hannah Montana for the rest of their life, so it shouldn’t have surprised anyone when Cyrus attempted to change things up. Then, something similar happened in June of this year: “We Can’t Stop” was released, and it was kind of weird. More importantly, Cyrus was almost unrecognizable with her Macklemore-like hair and entirely new style… and largely different music. Compared to “Can’t Be Tamed,” “We Can’t Stop” had a significantly more interesting video with a significantly better song. Yet it seems people generally hate it more than “Can’t Be Tamed,” which confounds me.
Now we have “Wrecking Ball,” another not-bad song with another interesting video, and both luckily stray far from mediocre. Except this time, Cyrus isn’t singing about partying. She’s singing about a breakup (or something), although, for about a third of the video, Cyrus is naked (save for her shoes). Because of the fact that this 20-year-old woman is barely baring all, people have decided to condemn her—and it’s pathetic. Sure, obviously she wanted that to happen, any publicity is good publicity. Still, the negative overreaction is enough that it should be embarrassing for anyone jumping on that blame train.
I’m absolutely stunned that people jump at the chance to attack any artist, musician or otherwise, for trying something different. It’s one thing if what they were attempting to do is god-awful, regrettable even, but Cyrus, as far as I’m concerned, hasn’t made or done anything horrible as an adult (yet). She’s in the prime of her life, and as a public persona, she is entitled to do whatever she wants—even if that includes twerking against Robin Thicke’s crotch. Let’s not forget that Bangerz isn’t even out yet, so we still have songs like “Love Money Party,” “#GETITRIGHT,” and “Do My Thang” to hear before any real criticism of her new style and music can happen.
This controversy everyone’s so dead set on spreading around is sad. I’m glad Cyrus is doing something different, and I genuinely like that she’s expressing something more about herself besides liking boys and having an alter ego at age 15.
