Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop - Reaction to Vice interview

As far as I'm concerned, it's a song and a music video, both carefully engineered in conjunction with her image in order to make money. Period. I don't think you can say that Miley is being racist, because the 'black culture' (which isn't actually black culture any more than Billy Ray Cyrus' image is an authentic representation of 'white culture') she's appropriating is itself perpetuating racist stereotypes. It's a gross simplification to claim otherwise. 

And on another note, how is it possible for one pop entity (Miley, who has been engineered by a corporation, remember) to bite the 'authentic' style of another pop icon (Rihanna, who this song was apparently written for)? There is no ownership, cultural or personal, within the context of corporate America. It's like claiming one TV dinner has appropriated the 'authentic ethnic recipe' of another brand of TV dinner.

I always remember the title of Challenger's first album in cases like this: Give People What They Want In Lethal Doses

Instead of throwing blame on pop entities like Miley Cyrus or Gucci Mane and Three Six Mafia, perhaps we should be asking ourselves why these media commodities continue their longevity and prevalence in our mainstream culture. The products wouldn't exist without enough people who wanted to buy them. But why do we want to buy them?

Like the song says: We Can't Stop.


Excerpts from Vice interview:


Q: When you see the black characters in this video, do they come off as accessories or fully realized people? Is it important to make the distinction? And what does it say about Miley's intentions?

A: Miley and the black actors in the video are all props on the stage of visual pleasure. I think it's important to consider that these images function within the sphere of multinational corporate control so both the lead (Miley) and the accessories do not maintain a high level of autonomy in terms of imaging.


Q: Is there a blame that should be placed on artists who work in hip-hop, such a Gucci Mane and Three Six Mafia, for helping mold the stereotypes that Miley presents in the video, even if their work is balanced by other elements that are conspicuously left out of her interpretation?

A: Absolutely. However our critiques of them need to be contextualized. Who makes these artists possible, why are their songs in heavy rotation, what labels and corporations are supporting these images and messages? Artists like Wise Intelligent, Public Enemy, One Be Lo, Bahamadia, and others have been putting out relevant images and messages that are not homophobic, sexist, and generally problematic for years. Yet they do not have the airplay or access as some of the groups you mentioned. It's not enough to be critical of the artists, though we should be—it must extend to the corporation that makes it possible.