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Editorial: Miley Cyrus at a Fork in the Road
The views expressed in this editorial do not necessarily express those of this station or its management.
Miley Cyrus has everything going for her.
• She has her own successful Disney Channel TV show, “Hannah Montana”
• Her CD “Breakout” was certified Platinum by the RIAA for more than 1 million copies shipped in the U.S.[1]
• She has even enjoyed a starring motion picture role in “Hannah Montana: the Movie” released earlier this year.
• In 2008, Cyrus was listed in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in The World". Forbes magazine ranked her #35 on the "Celebrity 100" list with earnings of $25 million in 2008. Her rank in this list improved to #29 in 2009.
Now, with her new single “Party in the U.S.A.” just released in mid August, it would appear that nothing can stop her. But I would submit that her own success could stop her. Her own lack of forethought over her own career could stop her. Her own poor decisions as to what to do with the “Miley Cyrus” brand could stop her.
With Cyrus’ 17th birthday now only days away (she was born November 23, 1992), she stands on the brink of making weighty long-term adult decisions about her career, her image, the causes she gets behind…and the possible long-term ramifications of stupid choices.
As with many before her, Lindsay Lohan, Anne Hathaway, and Christina Aguilera also grew weary of being thought of as teen stars doing teen roles. Consequently, their springboards into adulthood were marked by controversial and promiscuous movie roles, scant clothing, seductive song lyric content, sexual deviance, and sadly (as in the case of Lohan) unrelenting drug and alcohol problems. We already see some of this peering through in the song lyrics of Ashley Tisdale (Tisdale’s recent “He Said She Said” fantasizes over having relations with a boy). But is this road so worn that ALL have to go this same path? A good amount of “trust capital” has been built up in the minds of parents and kids from Cyrus’ "Hannah Montana" product. That trust capital is under severe stress as of late because of her extremely poor decisions to pole dance at the Teen Choice Awards as well as the controversial Vanity Fair cover shot. If this is a taste of Miley to come, fans (and parents) around the world will revolt in disillusionment and disappointment.
UPDATE(10/28/09): Case in point, the tween and teen website jsyk.com conducted their first online poll and Miley Cyrus was voted "Worst Celebrity Influence of 2009" - by a whopping 15-point margin over 2nd-place Brittney Spears. Are you paying attention Miley?
She should consider well what her next steps are as she enters adulthood. It would be such a pity to see her end up as just another “sleazy sex-appeal star” that our culture is already inundated with. The world does NOT need another Brittney Spears or Lindsay Lohan! Imagine what longevity her career would have from taking the “clean” high ground and offering a positive role model for young women; showing that girls don’t have to flaunt and flirt to get ahead in life. Wouldn’t it be great to see a courageous female entertainer prove that you can be a mega-star and still keep your dignity….AND your clothes!?
Happy upcoming birthday Miley. Adulthood will bring you much freedom – but “to whom much is given, much is required.” You have the opportunity to shatter the glass ceiling for women in entertainment by making choices that are consistent with the wholesome history you’ve had. It is this wholesomeness that has built your career, your brand, and your fortune thus far. It should not be discarded.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakout_(album)
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miley_Cyrus
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