I am proud to say that I have not watched any kind of awards show since we tuned the old LeGrand console television to the Grammys in 1983, so that my sister and I could watch Michael Jackson do the moonwalk. My parents refused the luxury of cable (until we were out of the house, of course), so we couldn’t even catch it on the MTV.
I pretty much loathe these displays and the tweets about them and the ridiculous way that people/media carry on about them. It’s just one more way for attention-starved people to get more attention and I really don’t want to see anyone toting around a outfit made of black angus ribeye. Unless they happen to be toting it to my grill and had no other way to carry it.
(I’m also pretty sure this post is going to regenerate the #grumpyoldman title that I proudly earned on Twitter last year).
After all the unavoidable flap about Miley Cyrus’ performance last night at the Video Music Awards, I broke down and watched the whole sad, sickening episode. Her antics are certainly getting a lot of attention, which is of course the point. And people are more than happy to rip her apart–with cause, I might add.
It was a ridiculous display that was almost a caricature of itself, with a former “little girl” star trying to shed an image with shock value rather than talent. I doubt that anyone actually heard a word of any of the songs after watching the dancing bears and foam finger. I guess, when you’re a celebrity, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Some people offered the defense that Miley can do what she wants, that she’s putting up her “new” image (when did putting on a pseudo sex show become new?). My opinion: She looked pathetic and foolish, another young woman relying on sexuality rather than ability.
I know plenty of people who took to social media to talk about how trashy and slutty Cyrus has become, how pathetic and disgusting she is. Plenty of my Christian friends were more than happy to throw her under the bus. A few also stated to me that there is more reason for concern than disgust. But this leaves me with one question: What about Robin Thicke?
Nevermind the fact that he came out wearing a suit left over from the wardrobe room of Beetlejuice. People have actually stated that they feel sorry for Thicke for having to be a part of the display. Even Thicke’s mother shared that she didn’t like the way her baby boy was treated by that awful tart Miley Cyrus.
Excuse me, but wasn’t Robin Thicke somewhere around the scene of the crime? Did he HAVE to interact with Cyrus as he did? Let’s not pretend that he had not seen every bit of Cyrus’ performance or that he was totally caught off-guard. He knows the risk of becoming a one-hit wonder, and he knows the value of publicity just as Cyrus does. He also came out on stage singing a song that my teenage daughter refuses to listen to because, as she says, “I finally listened closely to the lyrics”.
Maybe Thicke’s mom should have a word with HIM before talking so much about Miley Cyrus.
This reeks of the same good ole boy locker room stuff from high school. If a guy does “it”, he’s the man! But if a girl does the same thing, she’s nothing but a whore. Make sure to teach the girls to say no, to not dress provocatively, to not “tempt” those good little boys with their sinful bodies. Because the boys are just innocent, aren’t they?
There is plenty of reason to criticize Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray, Disney’s handling of child stars, etc. But there is a pretty strong double-standard going on here. As long as we keep the “Boys will be boys” attitude going, then the boys are going to keep being…well…boys. I don’t buy for a second that Robin Thicke was just an innocent bystander in all of this nonsense on Sunday. The words of his own song are pretty strong circumstantial evidence, at the least.
It’s not that I think Miley Cyrus is a good role model or that she should be “excused” because she’s 20. But Thicke is a 36-year old married man who should have a little more maturity than Hannah Montana. If we’re going to call Miley every nasty name we can think of for putting off the image of a promiscuous female, shouldn’t we at least question why he didn’t have enough sense and maturity to keep himself out of such nonsense?
I think my daughter has it right. She doesn’t look up to Miley Cyrus anymore, but she also doesn’t think much of Robin Thicke. And I hope that some parents out there are teaching their daughters and sons that same lesson on choosing role models.
Let me also pledge that this will be my last post about the Video Music Awards–I hope!