The conversation about Miley Cyrus’s raunchy VMA’s performance just won’t quit!
Many blogs and major news sites are still reporting the backlash resulting from the unexpected low-level antics the 20 year-old pulled off on national cable television.
She obviously did this with the consent of MTV network execs and her entourage, which by the way includes her parents who chose to watch their child from the sidelines.
What is interesting are the sidebar conversations that arose from this media affront to her younger fans — mostly kids Hannah Montana incubated into hormone-raging adolescents.
In this respect, the outrage over her pole-dancing stripper-club like performance on MTV’s Video Music Awards is understandable.
Parents will, and should, push back when a seemingly fun and entertaining show like the VMAs comes on during prime family viewing time on a Sunday night: 9pm. I remember being stung by many awkward moments when we used to sit together to watch these awards when our kids were minors, and hating that we didn’t have time to change the channel fast enough when language, gyrations, and other overly suggestive moments were allowed on air.
My friend over at the Parents Television Council, Dan Isett, had this to say about the MTV-VMA Awards:
“This much is absolutely clear: MTV marketed adults-only material to children while falsely manipulating the content rating to make parents think the content was safe for their children,” Isett continued. “MTV continues to sexually exploit young women by promoting acts that incorporate ‘twerking’ in a nude-colored bikini. How is this image of former child star Miley Cyrus appropriate for 14-year-olds?” ~ Hollywood Reporter
Now, to address the issues many have raised about the Cyrus-VMAs debacle, here’s the rub: Yes, I agree the televised performance was over the top! In my view, both Thicke and Cyrus are just gauche — both just as base (or ‘entertainers’ as they like to call their artistic liberties).
In the post -VMAs conversations, the mud-slinging and blaming that took place tried to re-focus on Robin Thicke as the culprit for allowing Cyrus to Twerk on him, a grown man. (His part in this brothel-inspired act had a perp feel to it, didn’t it?).
Well, something to take into consideration is that Thicke has a different fan base than Cyrus, as I mentioned earlier, and perhaps this is the reason the crooner hasn’t remained at the forefront of the Cyrus-VMAs fiasco.
Confounding the problem are the enablers of this raunchy performance: The industry, parents and fans who still buy Miley Cyrus’ crap — figuratively and literally!
Causing public reaction and debate is the marketing ploy of choice in Hollywood. No surprises there. But it’s how parents handle these instances at home that matter: change the channel, dismiss it as just an act, or push back.
The choice and the responsibility to educate our kids and protect them from this type of media assault is ours, too!
So let’s take this bull by the horns and not let this go down in our homes. There’s a number of things parents can do to not feel ambushed by what the liberal media puts on national CABLE television.
1. Talk with your kids. As my colleague wrote in her guest post on this site, Tweek the Twerk Talk with your Teens.
2. Support the Parents Television Council to get ‘a la carte’ cable pricing.
“We urge Congress to pass the Television Consumer Freedom Act which will give parents and consumers a real solution for future MTV VMA programs — the ability to choose and pay for cable networks that they want vs. having to pay for networks they don’t want. After MTV’s display last night, it’s time to give control back to consumers,” Isett told the Hollywood Reporter.
3. Senator John McCain introduced The Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 regulating ‘a la carte’ cable pricing, and recently spoke with TheWrap about it:
The Wrap: Can you give your elevator pitch for your a la carte cable legislation?
Sure. My mother is 101 years old. She watches television all the time, but she doesn’t like football anymore. So why should she pay five dollars or six dollars extra for her cable service a month for something she doesn’t watch? … Maybe six dollars doesn’t mean that much to some people… but why should somebody have to pay that when they don’t watch it?
4. Don’t be a victim, you can do something about these crazy MTV times we live in.
As a mom of two adult kids now in college sans saran wrap insulation, complete free-range parenting did not happen here at all. Yet our kids are fine and are productive members of our society.
Fortunately, those days of having to EDUCATE, as opposed to OVER-PROTECT, our offspring are gone for us (sigh!). Our well-adjusted kids are fending for themselves out in the real world without bubble wrap (gasp!), and will soon be coming to a work place near you. (Provided there’s a job for them out there, Mr. Obama.)
Getting our kids to this spot wasn’t easy, I assure you — it was downright exhausting since we were present parents (no TV or iPad nannies here), and we didn’t live on a remote mountain top either! We maintained a (very precarious) balance between mainstream pop-culture, decorum, decency, fun, and respect for others, while discussing the train wrecks that Hollywood and MTV spotlight: Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, etc.
Speaking of wrecks, Cyrus’s latest music video could be quite telling. “Wrecking Ball” might signal the advent of a sex tape.
Glad we don’t have to explain to our children why an already rich and famous 20-year-old needs to be swinging naked on a wrecking ball. Whew!
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