Please!
Posted on 04/30/2008 4:13:14 AM PDT by fweingart
What is the leading breeding ground for tomorrow's role models of degradation and promiscuity? The Disney Channel. On Monday, news broke that Vanity Fair was planning on running "discreet" and "artistic" photos from a topless shoot with pre-teen and tween hero Miley Cyrus. The photos include a shot of Cyrus, barebacked, clutching a sheet to her bosom -- a shot no less pedophilic than the infamous Brooke Shields jeans ads of 1980.
Miley Cyrus is the most popular act in the country. Her 3-D concert film from her tour, "Best of Both Worlds," took in an astounding $31.3 million in its opening weekend. Her show, "Hannah Montana," is a megahit. In 2007, Cyrus reportedly earned $18.5 million.
Cyrus' fan base is largely young girls, who sell out her concerts, buy her clothing line, and sit rapt before their televisions. Now, they're being taught by a teen superstar, her father, and a willing media, that inappropriate behavior is no barrier to happiness or satisfaction.
As I wrote in my second book, "Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future," Cyrus is hardly the first pop tart to make the transition from clean-cut role model to promiscuous party girl. And the vast majority of such characters spring from the geniuses at Disney Channel. Britney "Disaster Area" Spears was a Mickey Mouse Club girl before she morphed into the paradigm of personal pandemonium. So was Spears' former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, the man who would later be responsible for the term "wardrobe malfunction." So was Christina "Xtina" Aguilera, who sang the theme song for "Mulan" before deciding to get "Dirrty." Lindsay Lohan was wholesome twins Hallie and Annie in "The Parent Trap" before she decided to reveal her twins in the name of art. Hilary Duff was the star of "Lizzie McGuire" before, at age 16, she began dating rocker Joel Madden, age 24; she shortly thereafter denied that she had claimed that she was a virgin, stating, "Whose business is that?"
These are clearly young women without a moral foundation -- and without responsible parents. The creepiest photo from the Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair shoot wasn't her bed sheet pose -- it was a shot of her, midriff bare, leaning lazily back on her dad, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Billy Ray sure ain't Ward Cleaver.
These pop tarts would also seem to be without direction, celebrities-too-young overwhelmed by the glamour and fame of stardom. In reality, however, promiscuous behavior and provocative poses are calculated career moves for teen stars seeking to break into out of the 10-16 age group and into the mainstream entertainment business.
When Aguilera decided to pose for the cover of her album "Stripped," wearing nothing from the waist up, she explained, "I guess I've grown up in a lot of ways." When Spears posed for Rolling Stone in her nighties at age 17, she stated, "it was Rolling Stone and it has an adult audience. The photographer explained to me what he wanted to do and I was cool about it." When Lindsay Lohan turned 18, she, too, posed for the cover of Rolling Stone. The headline read: "Hot, Ready and Legal!" Rolling Stone observed, "There comes a time in the life of every teenage girl who works for the Disney Corp. when that girl realizes she has suddenly -- how shall we phrase this? -- 'broadened her appeal.'"
Miley Cyrus, then, is following a long line of similarly minded Disney stars in her salacious strategy. Not surprisingly, Vanity Fair observed of her photo shoot that "though the pose was Annie Leibovitz's idea, the topless but demure portrait accompanying this article could be seen as another baby step, as it were, toward a more mature profile."
Here's the big question: does Miley Cyrus really need to descend to the gutter to raise her profile? She's immensely successful, and she can remain immensely successful by continuing to appeal to younger audiences.
Yet, in all likelihood, she will follow the path paved by the Spears/Aguilera/Lohan/Duff brigade. She will do so because Hollywood and the mainstream media propagate the idea that R-rated material sells better than G-rated material, and that mature entertainment must involve sex. To be taken seriously as artists, Disney Channel queens must become Independent Film Channel queens -- or at the very least, Rolling Stone icons.
In the end, no matter how "legitimate" an artist Miley Cyrus becomes, she will never be able to regain her innocence. Neither will the legions of young girls who admiringly follow her example.
You are OK with intended-to-be-erotic images of 15 year olds? I'm floored. The hypocrisy is all yours.
You said it!
Do you know the difference between erotica and pornography?
Not 'is' Playboy, but rather 'might' be Playboy. The piece should not have made that bold statement as if it were fact, especially in its title. That is a good way for harmful rumors to begin. In any case, I agree totally with the message that we have a serious problem with the 'slutification' of young women in our society. But she seems to be a long way from that, at least at this point. Hopefully, her father or other relative(s) will give her some necessary guidance here. Being even more hopeful..she'll listen to them.
One of the principal reasons for modesty is to obviate temptation in the opposite sex (or whomever). Erotica and pornography both elicit temptation. Even a Catholic schooled in Texas should realize that. The notion of “erotica” is derived from social liberalist principles.
In that case, I’m guessing your girls are younger... half my sister’s friends have a shirtless pic of Daniel Radcliffe standing next to a horse up in their lockers and all over their social-networking sites and such. The first time my sister asked me “what do you think of Zac Efron” my honest answer was “Isn’t he the kid who was in that one episode of Firefly?” (I was fortunately unaware of the HSM craze for long enough that I had no idea who my friends were talking about when we were watching the episode in question and they started yelling “omigosh, that’s ZAC EFRON!”).
They are 10 & 8. Both are late to the Zac Efron game all around. Like I said, they found him with “Hairspray”. They saw HSM and HSM2 after.
But I’m the same way with James Marsden. I had to look him up on IMDB while my hubby knew him right away.
When we saw it, he looked at me and said, “Oh that’s Cyclops.” I had to watch X-Men again to see. (and we own it!)
I remember a spread that People did on Miley and her family maybe a year ago where her parents talked about how they were making sure that Miley didn’t turn out like some of those “other” young girls. They said they showed Miley photos of them getting out of limos with no underwear and warning her that it could happen to her someday. Oh no, their Miley was different.
Blah, blah, blah. What liars. These people are trained monkeys and will say what they think the public wants to hear.
Having money must be like being on a drug. Already wealthy it just isn’t enough so they had to pimp out their 15 year old daughter to insure that they can continue to live in the manner in which they have become accustom. What kind of parent does that? You have to feel sorry for the kid.
I can’t imagine ever posing like that with my father. Maybe hugging each other or with an arm around me but the last time I was on his lap I may have been 6 or seven years old.
Creepy creepy creepy.
Yeah, I was sort of like that with Ewan McGregor. I saw him in Star Wars then my friends made me watch Moulin Rouge again (although I have yet to recieve a satisfactory answer to my question of “What could possibly be hotter than a Jedi knight?”). I sometimes even have a desktop wallpaper of him...
>>“What could possibly be hotter than a Jedi knight?”<<
Close to nothing, I’d say!
That wasn’t the question or comment. The point he made was that there is a logical disconnect between something being erotic and being tasteful and not obscene. That simply isn’t the case.
To be honest, the pic in question is borderline inappropriate, but not near as disturbing as the picture with her father.
Save your outrage for that which deserves it, like that ‘man’ in Austria that kept his daughter prisoner for 18 years. Thanks.
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