Justin Bieber was known as the young heartthrob teenage
boy found on Youtube. Miley Cyrus wore her blonde wig on Disney Channel for
over 5 years. Now what? Bieber was recently arrested for a DUI while Cyrus is
floating on a hotdog in little to no clothing during her Bangerz tour. What
caused these drastic changes? Why is it now “normal” for teen celebrities to
turn “bad,” or to find themselves in rehab?
Bieber was arrested in January. According to “Judge:
Justin Bieber Video Will Have Blackouts,” “Bieber has pleaded not guilty to
charge of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and driving with an
expired license” (Anderson) In addition to the arrest, according to the article,
“Biebs Behaving Badly” he has also “hoped Anne Frank would have been a
Belieber,” “[been] charged with allegedly assaulting a limo driver,” “[settled]
a lawsuit for allegedly assaulting his own bodyguard,” has been caught with
strippers, and spit on his neighbor among other things (Entertainment Weekly).
Yet, he still has a solid fan base and is one of the most followed celebrities
on Twitter with over 50 million followers.
The media tends to encourage this bad behavior. According
to E! Online, “A shirtless image of the 19-year-old pop star graces the new
cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. Bieber’s
image is accompanied by the headline, “Bad Boy: Why Justin Bieber Just Won’t
Behave” (Malec). The media almost “glorifies” his actions and reports every
mistake he makes. Calling him a “Bad Boy,” just adds to the attention the media
is putting on Bieber’s recent “tantrums.”
Why does anyone care? We become fascinated with celebrities.
We find their every move newsworthy and judge everything they say and do. I think
the article “The Promotion and Presentation of Self,” attempts to answer these
questions, “Collectively, we disdain the public focus on celebrity at the same
time as we continue to watch, discuss and participate, and thereby ensure the maintenance
of a celebrity industry” (Marshal 427). As much as everyone dislikes Bieber,
they are still talking about him. I think this adds fuel to the fire. He might
be just 19 years old, but all of his actions are being closely watched. This
might cause anyone to act out.
Now onto a somewhat different situation – Miley. Miley
Cyrus is definitely not who she used to be. Who gets to define if this is a
“good” or “bad” thing? Like the article, “Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013,”
the writer couldn’t even decide if Cyrus was a winner or loser. It mentioned
some of her most “bizzare/famous” moments of the past year including her
“controversial, sexed up and ultimately embarrassing performance at the MTV
VMAS,” but also the fact that “her new album, “Bangerz,” was a massive hit”
(Shewfelt). On one hand, besides the new album, Cyrus has debuted three videos,
all including sexual acts and drugs. Her current tour includes Cyrus barely
dressed included a marijuana unitard. On the other hand, her videos have had
millions of views, some of her concerts are sold-out, and her VMA performance
became one of the most talked about performances ever and will not be
forgotten.
Regardless of whether or not this past year has been a
positive or negative one for Cyrus, I think most of the backlash stems from
disappointment. Cyrus had a huge fan base of teenagers and younger children
from Hannah Montana. Coming from
doing a stint on Disney Channel to constantly cursing, being nude, and
promoting drugs is a drastic transformation. Parents who once took their
daughters to see Hannah Montana are now horrified by what Miley has become.
Once again, I think the media is encouraging this image
and giving Miley exactly what she wants – attention. What does this say about
the media industry and society in general? For example, According to the
Billboard article, Miley Cyrus strips, swings around Naked in Wrecking Ball
Video,” “a nude Cyrus is shown straddling a swinging wrecking ball and
lip-synching along to the pop ballad. The 20 year old smashes more walls and
licks the aforementioned sledgehammer…” (Lipshutz). While extremely
inappropriate, according to E! Online, the video “has become the fastest to
reach 100 million views on Vevo” (Gicas). She is getting the views on her
videos and is constantly being talked about all because of her “new” image.
So much attention and expectations
are put on teenage celebrities. Whether this is an excuse or “reason” for
outbursts and arrests, I don’t know. I think it is a trend that will continue
if we don’t stop giving celebrities the attention they crave.
Works
Cited
Anderson, Curt.
"Judge: Justin Bieber Arrest Video Will Have Blackouts." Billboard.
4 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5923164/judge-justin-bieber-arrest-video-will-have-blackouts>.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Gicas, Peter.
"Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball" Music Video Breaks Vevo-Viewing Record
Previously Held By Miley Cyrus Herself." E! Online, 13 Sept.
2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.eonline.com/news/459297/miley-cyrus-wrecking-ball-music-video-breaks-vevo-viewing-record-previously-held-by-miley-cyrus-herself>.
Lipshutz, Jason.
"Miley Cyrus Strips, Swings Around Naked in 'Wrecking Ball' Video:
Watch." Billboard, 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5687261/miley-cyrus-strips-swings-around-naked-in-wrecking-ball-video>.
Malec, Brett.
"Justin Bieber Labeled a "Bad Boy" on Rolling Stone Cover, Mag
Dissects His Fall From Grace." E! Online. N.p., 27 Feb. 2014.
Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.eonline.com/news/515453/justin-bieber-labeled-a-bad-boy-on-rolling-stone-cover-mag-dissects-his-fall-from-grace>.
P.
David Marshall, “The Promotion and Presentation of Self: Celebrity as Marker of
Presentational Media,” in The Media Studies Reader, Laurie
Ouelette, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012), 427 - 438.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers
of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
Hayley,
ReplyDeleteFirst to answer the mystery question that all of society wants to know about why people act the way they do when get a little bit of fame or money I feel will remain to be un answered clearly. I honestly wish that I could help myself even to relive some anger and frustration about it but I am learning to just deal with it and that is the way our society is forming and growing… I guess. I feel that all these changes happen like I had stated before because these kids are exposed to something that is very outrageously large and obscured to the average person and for a teen to see this style of life or have people act the way they do towards them makes you feel that you are the most special person on the face of the earth.
Another way that I feel makes people act this way is to be different and to last in the industry they choose to be in. I know that Entertainment tonight had a documentary on Miley Cyrus and asked her many of the same questions, like why did you create the dance of tweekering, or why did you dress up like a nude naked chicken? Well her overall answer was to be different and not be the same as all other celebrities with fame and money but also the big thing was to not be remembered for a short period of time but for a long time now. Her idle is Lady Gaga if that says anything!
Justin Bieber on the other hand is just the male version of Miley. They both take things to the next level and don’t know when to stop because they know that money and fame once again can get out of anything. Justin makes comments and even acts on them through his social media tweeter page. Like you and Biebs behaving badly have quoted, “He hopes Anne Frank would have been a Belieber,” is completely uncalled for and in my eyes very disrespectful. (Entertainment weekly) This is just an obscured thing to say so attention is once again given. It is for he wrong reason and wish that all these media channels and outlets would stop giving him the publicity he is STILL receiving after all the wrongful things he has done and said.
Both of these celebrities have also been listed in the Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013. They are both LOSERS but some how Miley has been voted a winner and loser! (Raechal Leone Shewfelt, OMG!) Not quite sure how this can be true and let alone occur. The last point I want to make and agree with what you have said is why do we follow and care about these crazy celebrities. I totally agree that it is just a form of disappointment. Especially these two crazy off the hook teens in particular but at one time they were both young celebrities and had a positive path going for them. They have probably the most if not most children/young teen’s fan club running.
ReplyDeleteAs we stated in class that fans and their support of buying merchandise, concert tickets are their biggest revue but they are going to make that change. The temptations and fame has just made many turn down the wrong path. For the teen celebrities coming up behind them, I want to wish them good luck and ask them to please be different in a positive way and you will be remembered for the right way and show that there is still hope and high expectations for teenage celebrities.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
Haley, an interesting topic focusing on the evolution of two teenage celebrity stars we just can’t seem to get enough of. You raise some good questions about why teen celebrities often end up in rehab centers throughout their careers. Personally, I dislike both artists (Miley Cyrus more than Justin Bieber) and think that the cultural molds of the celeb lifestyle prompt young teenage stars to ‘be different.’ Miley Cyrus is trying her hardest to rebrand her image from the Hannah Montana days to a ‘unique’ bad girl artist. According to the article, Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013, the former “Hannah Montana” star has definitely put her Disney persona in the rearview mirror. (Shewfelt)This quote sums up the goals that Miley Cyrus and her marketing staff wanted in regards to promoting her new ‘image.’ I put my hands up and say she did a very good job of transforming her image as she managed to expand her music to a larger demographic. For example; from young Hannah Montana die-hards to teenage/mid-adult groups. I’m not surprised Miley Cyrus idolizes Lady Gaga because the notion of ‘being different’ is forced by both of them. Is that wrong? I think we as an audience, buy into the ‘different’ image. Let’s draw our attention away from Miley Cyrus “Bangerz” album and focus on her latest “23” song with MikeWillMadeit-“I'm in the club high off purp with some shades on, tatted up, mini skirt with my J's on.” (Metro Lyrics 2013) Miley Cyrus is going to continue to push her image into new demographics. Why? Well her success has rocketed thus far.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the blog post focuses on Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus as a teens gone bad ‘duo’, I think Justin Bieber falls into a somewhat different category. According to the article Biebs Behaving Badly, we can understand the difference between Justin and Miley. “What was pop’s most prolific troublemaker, Justin Bieber, up to last week? Here’s our guide to the hits and misses of the past few years from the maestro of misbehavior.” (Entertainment Weekly) My response to this article is “Who really cares?” But I must remember people DO care if the article is being published. Is Justin focusing on changing his image from loveable Justin to bad boy Justin? I don’t think so. We need to keep in mind of just how loved Justin Bieber was before, yes he reached to a younger demographic but as he got older his music slowly reached out to the older-teen demographic. I think the pressure that Justin Bieber has been put under to date has essentially resulted in his misconduct. I agree with your point that media trends tend to encourage this bad behavior. For example; Rolling Stones “Bad Boy” title to match Justin Biebers shirtless pose, speaks a thousand words to us an audience and of course promotes the idea to Justin that perhaps this ‘bad boy’ character will help sell music. Justin Bieber is collaborating with other types of artists to help spray his music to a larger demographic. As mentioned before, Justin Bieber is growing up; media outlets need to understand that. We complain about Justin Bieber but yet we crave the entertainment news on his latest ‘mess-up’. According to Celeb Winners and Losers 2013, the article emphasizes just how caught up we’ve become in Justin’s behavior. “Remember when Bieber was just a cute kid? Those were the days. But in 2013, the 19-year-old “heartbreaker” singer seemed to go off the rails.” (Shewfelt) We love the attention of Bieber, but unlike Miley his attention swings to a new extreme that is perhaps hindering his celebrity status rather than promoting it.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I agree that the media is encouraging Miley Cyrus and falling into her intended marketing plan. She want’s attention and we’re giving it to her. As for Justin Bieber, I think he is still in the mix of playing ‘catch up’ of his teenage years. He’s amateur but yet has the power to do whatever he wants because of what he’s worth. Justin Bieber has always been given an extreme amount of attention and is placed with such high expectations to perform both on and off stage. We could argue that it’s part of the business and that celebs should EXPECT the attention. Does that make it right or make it any easier for a young star forced to grow up in the spotlight? If we didn’t crave the stories Enews wouldn’t exist.
Citations
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
Also I thought you might enjoy this link: Miley Cyrus Course to be offered at college
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/miley-cyrus-course-to-be-offered-at-college--2014303
Luke Glockenberg
ReplyDeleteHayley I ask the same things about a lot of celebrities while reading news today. I hate Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. They really disgust me. I never really liked them when they were normal I guess you can say either. What they have turned into this last year and a half is crazy to think they are the same people they were a few years ago. I mean its so disgusting the things these two have done. For example her performance with Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards was absurd. What happened to the country girl on Disney Channel? For Justin Bieber the new attitude and trouble making just doesn’t make sense. I don’t think it was that long ago when you were singing songs really directed at 8 to 14 year old girls. Who does he think he is now? I feel like our generations of celebrities think they are invincible. I guess its cool to get piss drunk and do drugs and just cause havoc. Why do I care? Well it pisses me off because what there doing is not right. How do people like them? Well me hating on them I guess you could say is still giving them attention and that’s why it does not matter what they are doing today because whether you’re a hater or a lover of a celebrity as long as their name is in the news the attention is still on them making them a popular topic. The media and paparazzi will always be there for the good or bad for them. Which will always have them trending.
Biebs Behaving Badly is an article that just shows pictures of some of the stupid things Justin Bieber has done really over the past year or so. One of the pictures shows a car and the caption states, “being busted for DUI while allegedly drag racing in a yellow Lamborghini.” Are you serious your not even 21 and you go around drag racing while intoxicated? That puts your life in danger while putting other civilians at risk. Teenage kids lose their lives every year to drunk driving. I mean did he think just because he was famous that he couldn’t kill someone or get killed himself? Other things in the article are statements saying he spit on his neighbor, peed in a mop bucket-yelling fuck Bill Clinton, and settling a lawsuit for assaulting his own bodyguard. All of these things are ridiculous. I didn’t like him before and boy do I really hate him now. (1)
Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013 is a blog post that lists the winners and loser celebrities of this past year. What was interesting to me was Miley Cyrus was a winner and a loser. The article says, “no one was prepared for her controversial sexed-up and ultimately embarrassing performance at the MTV VMAs in August where she twerked on Robin Thicke and danced around suggestively with a foam finger.” This was most likely what made her a loser. However her new album “Bangerz” was still a major hit and even fared ok with music critics. Like I said before celebrities can do a bunch of crazy things and still can have a big fan following. It’s crazy because I am no fan of her but she still does have music talent. (2)
Are celebrities invincible? Justin Bieber might think he is, but in 2013 he was considered a loser according to Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013. Miley Cyrus fell in between doing crazy things at the VMAs but still having a hit album somehow. I guess will have to see how 2014 turns out for these two crazy celebrities.
Work Cited
1. "Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
2. Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
By Heather Madore
ReplyDeleteWhy does anyone care? I think that’s the question that a lot of people ask when it comes to any celebrity news. I think one reason we care is because we have to-or should I say, are forced to. We are constantly being bombarded with media. There are people who’s jobs depend on Justin or Miley’s next antic, and they make sure that the public is highly informed of everything that these stars do. Its nearly impossible to turn on any TV station, radio station, open a magazine, or scroll through your internet homepage without catching at least a glimpse of celebrity news and gossip. While Smilers and Beliebers may care, everyone knows about those two celebs, even though the majority of the world probably does not care.
Although 2013 was a huge year for Justin and Miley as far as their personal lives go, I agree with Raechal Leone Shewfelt when she categorized Miley as being both a winner and a loser. “The former "Hannah Montana" star has definitely put her Disney persona in the rearview mirror. The all-grown-up Miley gave us "Can't Be Tamed" and countless tattoos and piercings, but that didn't prepare anyone for her controversial, sexed-up and ultimately embarrassing performance at the MTV VMAs in August where she twerked on Robin Thicke and danced around suggestively with a foam finger,” (Shewfelt). Although Miley rebelled this year, I don’t really think it was a huge surprise. We’ve seen this countless times, with Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears being two recent examples. Child stars grow up and want to shed their image. Apparently the only way to do this is to go to the extreme anti-Disney, sexed up, drugged up route. However, who’s to say that this is bad? As Miley said in an interview with Jay Leno, ““I get the most flack yet I’m not doing anything illegal, everything I do is legal in California”” (hollywoodlife). What Miley is doing isn’t really bad, its just different. And although the media likes to tell us otherwise, different is not necessarily the same thing as bad. While I don’t really agree with or care for her new image, she really isn’t doing anything wrong. In fact, this might be the perfect publicity for the singer; with her new album coming out, a highly publicized private life might actually be a good thing.
Unfortunately, I would also agree that Bieber was a huge loser in 2013. According to Entertainment Weekly, he was accused of causing $20,000 damage to a neighbor’s home, busted for a DUI and illegal street racing, allegedly assaulted his limo driver, and “smoking so much weed on a private flight, pilots said they had to don oxygen masks,” (EW). This behavior is not only bad, it’s illegal. While Miley can be chalked up to publicity, I don’t think there is any excuse for Bieber’s behavior this year. He endangered the lives of so many people and losing the respect of millions. His fans don’t even seem to care. When he was arrested for DUI, #freebieber trended on Twitter. No one cared that he could have killed anyone, they wanted their idol back (although this could be because the fans had no idea what DUI even meant. A popular meme that was floating around that day showed various Tweets from his fans asking what DUI meant, and other fans responded saying that it meant ‘drinking under the influence’). If all of this is for attention, then honestly, I think Miley is doing better. Like she said, nothing she does is illegal in California.
Works Cited
1. "Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
2. Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
3. Melas, Chloe. "Miley Cyrus Slams Justin Bieber’s Legal Drama On The ‘Tonight Show’." Hollywood Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 0131 Jan. 2014. .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHayley,
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting read and actually something I have recently given thought to. I was watching the Wolf of Wall Street the other day and was just thinking about Leonardo DiCaprio as a person. I started wondering what it would be like to be him for just a day. I immediately thought it would be cool to be that powerful and rich but also saw the negatives that come with it. There are levels of fame and DiCaprio, Bieber, and Cyrus are at the top of it. Every single moment for these celebs is being monitored. They have no privacy and can’t even go out to McDonalds without be hassled. If there driving on the highway and need to go to a public restroom they’ll also get hassled. To me this sounds awful and I almost feel bad for celebrities in a way.
Justin Bieber has fully gone off the deep end and is starting to go down the dangerous slope we all expected he would eventually go down. He was famous in his early teens and never experienced what it’s like to be normal or be a regular teenager. His talent instantly put him in the spotlight and he was treated like a god. Of course that’s going to affect a teenager’s personality and ego. He started to get this bad boy image to rebel and in my opinion a secret cry for help. If you throw a teenager massive amounts of cash he’s bound to experiment with things. He must feel invincible because of the power he has. I can totally understand why he is the person he is. If I was treated like a god I would eventually start acting like a god. In the article “Biebs Behaving Badly” it mentions that he got a DUI for drag racing in his yellow Lamborghini. This to me suggests that Bieber is getting bored with life and using his feeling of invincibility as an excuse to do whatever he wants. He could easily call his personal driver for a ride after a night of drinking but he doesn’t think he has the same consequences as anyone else. The track he’s heading on is a stint in rehab, or a couple years in jail. Sad but true.
As far as Miley goes I feel differently about her. I think she is smarter than Bieber and is using that to her advantage. She has totally transformed herself from Hannah Montana into basically a whore.
“The former "Hannah Montana" star has definitely put her Disney persona in the rearview mirror. The all-grown-up Miley gave us "Can't Be Tamed" and countless tattoos and piercings, but that didn't prepare anyone for her controversial, sexed-up and ultimately embarrassing performance at the MTV VMAs in August where she twerked on Robin Thicke and danced around suggestively with a foam finger” (Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013).
She has gained publicity and instantly became the most talked about celebrity after the VMAs. I think she hated the Hannah Montana image she had and didn’t want to forever be known as that single character. She wanted to be herself and get a new image which she has accomplished whether it is in a negative or positive way. I think that she loves fame and actually wouldn’t function without it. So by changing her image she climbed the levels of fame and got what she wanted.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
Hayley,
ReplyDeleteThe topic of your blog was a very important one because it is obvious that being a teenage/really young celebrity is a challenge and I agree that a ton of pressure is put on them everyday. The fact that Justin Bieber was found on Youtube as a talented little boy and now is getting into some serious trouble with the law may be shocking, but if you think about it, it seems to be the norm these days. It is also shocking how innocent little Miley Cyrus who used to play an idol for little girls on Disney Channel, is now swinging around naked on a wrecking ball and smoking weed on stage in front of thousands of people. It is all about the shock factor. Sometimes I wonder what really goes through their heads? They love the attention they are getting because any publicity is good publicity for these young celebs who are trying to find themselves and form an image that will make them unforgettable.
According to the article “Biebs Behaving Badly,” Bieber is considered pop’s most prolific troublemaker. Although that may not seem like a compliment, let’s be real he is eating it up. Here is a celebrity who is barely 21 and owns his own mansion, cars, and anything else you can think of. He allegedly caused $20,000 in egging damage to his neighbor’s home ("Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14). The list goes on. The fact of the matter is that he is getting recognized for his stunts. One may think, why doesn’t he do something good that will get him recognized? It is unfortunate to say but nowadays celebs get noticed more when they do controversial things or break the law.
Speaking of controversy, let’s talk about Miley Cyrus! I personally did not see her drastic transformation coming although some people may have. The once Disney star is now a completely different artist. In my opinion, I think she knows EXACTLY what she’s doing. You don’t see her breaking the law for everyone to see, you see her marketing the crap out of herself and I must say although her raunchiness may be too much for one to handle, there is a reason behind it. She is very strategic and smart for a young artist. I am team Miley, which may be shocking, but I think she has a master plan. But time will only tell! The article “Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013” even showed that people weren’t sure if she was a winner of a loser because of her new image. But her “Bangerz” album was a massive hit and she is continuing to make headlines.
Unfortunately, I think we are only going to see more young celebs making news for making stupid choices, but the point is they will be talked about. Justin and Miley are two perfect examples of teen stars gone bad, now let’s see how their careers turn out in the next year!
Works Cited
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHayley,
ReplyDeleteInteresting article! It is interesting to watch these ‘child stars’ all grown up. Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber have both been in the public eye for years now and they have certainly been making names for themselves in the media. They party, make outrageous fashion statements and have run-ins with the law. But this can almost be looked at as the new norm for aging ‘child stars’.
As your blog post highlighted, it has been an interesting year for Justin Bieber. According to an article by Raechal Leone Shewfelt, the teen pop king has not been ‘winning’. The article lists Bieber as one of the year’s biggest losers, as it recalls some of his bizarre antics. But what I found to be most interesting was when Shewfelt called attention to Bieber’s work, “Music? Sure, he released some songs, but his day job was completely overshadowed by his offstage shenanigans,”(Shewfelt). By acting out Bieber is not being looked at as a professional, he is being looked at as a fool. In the future I think this could go one of two ways for him. He could come back from this, or his career could be forced to end. He better hope his ‘Beliebers’ still believe.
As your post goes on, you mention the idea that the media glorifies this bad behavior. Media cover when Bieber does something wild, and in some cases it even makes the nightly news. When Miley Cyrus takes topless pictures for a magazine my 89-year-old grandma knows about it. The media are all over these young and wild stars. In an article from Entertainment Weekly, a diagram is shown listing a bunch of Justine Bieber’s latest crazy behaviors for example, “Taking over Staples Center in 2011 for Titanic movie date with Selena Gomez,” (Biebs Behaving Badly). Sure this is funny and entertaining, but is it going over board? Do stories like this only make for more wild behavior from young celebrities? I think, yes. I personally believe aging child stars are so affair for becoming forgotten that they will do everything and anything to keep their star power, and negative media attention is still attention.
You also mention the case of Miley Cyrus. She, like Bieber, has had an interesting year. This year we got to see a totally new Miley. She shaved her head, ditched her fiancé and danced with Robin Thicke. Even with all this controversy, Miley’s singing career flourished, as your blog post mentioned. But I wonder if Miley will be able to keep up this pace? Will she have to reinvent herself for another successful album in the future? Or will Miley pull a Britney Spears circa 2007 sometime soon?
I completely agree with your point that the media are helping these young stars achieve their goal of getting our attention. We have seen countless ‘child stars’ behave like Justine Bieber and Miley Cyrus, and will most likely continue to see ‘child stars’ behave outrageously. This is an issue that the media will deal with for years to come. It will be interesting to see how the careers of both Justine and Miley play out in the future.
Work Cited
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
It is really unfortunate in today’s society that the image of the “bad boy” or the “bad girl” is considered good. Like you said in your article, Bieber is one of the most followed people on Twitter and I’m going to take a wild guess and say that not all of those people are 45 and see the world today as to really what it is. Of those 50 million followers, I would bet that at least 80% of them are young to teenage boys and girls. When they are seeing Bieber get arrested for a DUI or Miley riding around on a wrecking ball completely naked, those young boys and girls start to think that it is publicly acceptable to do those types of things.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I think it all comes down to money. What is going to get these young stars the money that they’ve always wanted. This draws them to create the next stunt that is going to get them the most publicity, which will result in the money flowing their way. A lot of these teen actors and musicians are trying to start this revolution of being different and being a leader and not a followed. Look, don’t get me wrong. I am all for being different and being unique and making a name for yourself but the way that Miley and Justin are doing it is the wrong way but to them, it’s working. Those 50 million people are so curious of the next move these celebrities are going to take and they all want to be the first to know about it and once they do know, they are going to follow in those foot steps no matter what the act is. I believe Olivia said it best in her blog post, “Justin Bieber on the other hand is just the male version of Miley. They both take things to the next level and don’t know when to stop because they know that money and fame once again can get out of anything. Justin makes comments and even acts on them through his social media tweeter page. Like you and Biebs behaving badly have quoted, “He hopes Anne Frank would have been a Belieber,” is completely uncalled for and in my eyes very disrespectful. (Entertainment weekly) This is just an obscured thing to say so attention is once again given. It is for he wrong reason and wish that all these media channels and outlets would stop giving him the publicity he is STILL receiving after all the wrongful things he has done and said.” These celebrities believe they can get away with anything just because of who they are and how much money they have which is unfortunate because in todays society, it is almost starting to look that way.
Another thing that bothers me is how much society “gets off” on this entertainment (for a lack of better words). We are so caught up with what Justin is doing instead of worrying about real world problems that are going to effect our futures and our children. According to Celeb Winners and Losers 2013, the article highlights just how caught up we’ve really become in Bieber’s behavior. “Remember when Bieber was just a cute kid? Those were the days. But in 2013, the 19-year-old “heartbreaker” singer seemed to go off the rails.” (Shewfelt) Even though we like to complain about how pathetic this is and how crazy it is to be on the nightly news, people still want to know what’s going on with these celebrities. As long as we still crave these stories, the more they will come.
Works Cited
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14. Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
I have never really seen the appeal of Justin Bieber. I never really thought he was that talented or ridiculously good looking. I wanted to read your blog because I was curious to see why you thought the public was fascinated with Justin and also because I am a huge Miley fan. After reading through what you had written and looking through a couple of the class readings I definitely saw your point. The American public as a whole loves watching celebrities, particularly those who have grown up in the public eye, do extravagant things that can be criticized and over analyzed.
ReplyDeleteIn the article “Biebs Behaving Badly” there are only two mentions of him even singing and neither of them have anything really to do with his musical career. The majority are about him doing ridiculous things such as renting out the staples center for Selena Gomez, smoking a lot of weed, and a lot about different assault scenarios (Entertainment Weekley).. Is he not a musician? A musical performer? People are starting care less and less about his music and more about his off stage antics. Even the article about winners and losers in the entertainment industry in 2013 stated “his day job was completely overshadowed by his offstage shenanigans,” (Shewfelt). No longer do these performers need their musical talent to stay in the public eye. All they need to do is some stunt to get the people talking, because to people like Justin the old adage “all publicity is good publicity” certainly seems to ring true.
I definitely have a different feel on Miley. We are the same age and I remember watching Hannah Montana and kind of growing up along with her. In your blog you pointed out how now that Miley has changed from her Disney persona, parents no longer feel comfortable having their children look up to her. But Miley is no longer fourteen. She is twenty one. Should eight year olds really be listening to adult-like music anyways no matter the past of the performer? People always argue that Miley went about shedding her Disney image too aggressively, often times comparing Miley to fellow Disney alum Selena Gomez. The argument that Miley is overly sexual is definitely true, but Selena is not perfect. Her recent hit “Come and Get It” is not exactly something you would want a middle school aged child singing at recess.
Just like Justin, her antics seem to be helping her. However, unlike him, they are helping her musical career rather than overshadowing it. In Shewfelt’s article, she writes that Miley’s album “Bangerz” was a huge success and she was even named one of Barbra Walters’s most interesting people of 2013. Obviously a lot of what Miley is doing is for publicity and it seems to be working. While she may have gone a little over board trying to become someone other than blonde pop star Hannah Montana, her musical career is starting to take off and she is becoming quite the accomplished singer.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.