Kia Gangadeen

Media A2

Why is the public row between the music artists Sinead O'Connor and Miley Cyrus important in understanding the relationship between artists and between artist and audience? Explore with reference to the representation of women, media institutions and the role of the media. Singer/Actress Miley Cyrus has been one of the popular discussions in the media recently after her dubious Wrecking Ball music video went viral and her out of hand public row with music artist Sinead OConnor. Miley Cyrus brand new image has received an outburst of mixed opinions from not just others in the music industry but her fans and viewers. After Sinead OConnor spoke about her, and many others true beliefs on the music industry, a lot of squabbling and questioning has been released in regards to the music industry and specifically female stars. Miley Cyrus released a much-awaited music video for her single Wrecking Ball on the 9th September 2013. In a period of 24 hours it already had over 19 million views on YouTube. To this date it has received 223,803,483 views. Wrecking Ball has received mixed responses with a small percentage of people saying she is merely just showing her true identity and opening up about her life with the public after her break up with ex-fianc, Liam Hemsworth. While a larger percentage of people think she is seeking attention which she has done countless of times in the past. In the video Cyrus is shown swinging from a demolition ball with hardly any clothes on and naked while in other shots she is seen to be seductively licking a sledgehammer. Various critics have said that Cyrus is not just unknowingly down grounding herself but also portraying herself ad a bad role model to her preteen/teenage fans. the best way for young women to be noticed is to sexually objectify themselves, said Michael Hunn from The Guardian who expressed his views on the singer/actress. This supports feminist Laura Mulveys male gaze theory suggesting Cyrus is being objectified by the music industry. Despite the fact, it could go against Mulveys theory as many people have said Cyrus simply made this video to be the centre of attention in the public eye. Furthermore, this video was directed by a man, Terry Richardson which once again supports Mulveys theory as she believes men are the ones who have control of the camera so the man will film what he thinks will make the video go viral which is all down to what the male audience find visually pleasurable. More and more female artists are filming videos where the men are the target audience. Miley Cyrus is best recognised for her role as Hannah Montana on Disney Channel, and a majority of her fans are young girls. Due to this her changeover into adulthood has been the talk of the town. Cyrus has defiantly outgrown out her Hannah Montana image but people still seem to think she has a image to uphold as she is seen as a role model to her younger Hannah Montana fans. It is believed that she is tired of people thinking she is the young girl who played the innocent Hannah Montana. She has been compared to previous Disney child stars that have hit rock bottom such as Amanda Bynes who is currently seeking psychiatric treatment and Lindsay Lohan who went to serve time behind bars and visited rehab constantly. Because of her new image she is receiving attention from the media institutions and us the viewers. We follow her movements to see the next outrageous thing she tries to pull off. But most of the attention she is getting is negative from viewers on YouTube who are mocking her in regards to her video Wrecking Ball and her 2013 VMA performance where she wore a close to bare outfit where she was exposed for everyone to see and she twerked on stage while performing with Robin Thicke.

Kia Gangadeen

Media A2

In an interview Cyrus said that Irish singer Sinead OConnors video Nothing Compares 2 U (1990) was her video inspiration for Wrecking Ball. In response to what Cyrus had said OConnor addressed an open letter on her blog to Miley clearly making it clear what she was about to say was in the spirit of motherliness and with love. OConnor alarmed her about the music industrys intentions with female artists. In this letter goes on to talk about females being molded into something they never were and repeatedly tells her not to let them prostitute her. OConnor goes on to talks about her not being valued and appreciated as an artist for her obvious talent but more for her sexual appeal. The music business doesn't give a s*** about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think its what YOU wanted and when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, 'they' will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone wrote OConnor. She has also blamed Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh for killing the music industry because in her eyes theyre only there for the money and they dont mind if they exploit artists for it. It seems as though OConnor has strong opinions about the music industry as she has seen it transformed into something scary. Although the two videos share similar lyrical themes, and the close up shots share a similar aesthetic we dont see OConnor swinging naked on a metal demolition ball and neither do we see her licking a sledgehammer. Recognise that Cyrus is wearing make up and but OConnor has a natural face clear of make up. She stated in her first open letter to Miley that I would rather be judged on my talent and not my looks. She didnt want the record company she was signed with at the time to have control over her image, which she has never once regretted.

Similar? Miley is seen crying while starring into the camera just like Sineads video

Kia Gangadeen

Media A2

In the start of Wrecking Ball Cyrus is directly addressing the audience, particularly drawing heterosexual to her because she looks venerable. Focusing more on her look in the close up shots I think the white backdrop and her blue eyes represents purity and innocence, which are words we know longer use to describe Miley. We also see a tear falling down her left cheek, which makes her look vulnerable and emotional. The red lipstick connotes love, lust, matureness, romance, danger and rebelling, which are all terms used to describe Cyrus in her current state. The first time we see a full body shot of her we can see she is wearing a white crop top white briefs and Dr. Martins, which symbolise being tough and rebellion. This again links back to Mulveys theory, men will instaneously look at her in a sexual way because so much skin is on show which will trigger a mens fantasies. In OConnors letter she talks about Cyrus exploiting her body. Real empowerment of yourself as a woman would be to in future refuse to exploit your body or your sexuality in order for men to make money from you. This again supports Mulveys theory about men being the ones in charge. OConnor also warns that its not sending positive signals to young women as they will copy her thinking its okay to be seen as a object of desire and those who dont know any better will exploit themselves because theyre role model is doing the same. The scene where she is sitting on the wrecking ball naked straight away connotes sexual references. But if you look further there is a clear contrast as she is sitting on a object, which destroys and her being naked while on it signifies that she is unprotected. The expression on her face is seductive which is enough for a man to have sexual desires about her due to her being naked it makes her easy on the eyes. It also gives any male looking at her video the power as he can witness her in this state for free. I would say 99.8% of this video is based on sexual seduction and suggests to men that she is a sexual object who is there for the sole purpose to pleasure the male audience.

Kia Gangadeen

Media A2

But Cyrus choosing to show her bare skin tells us that she is not scared of what people may think about her because she feels confident and free in her own skin. Media Institutions like MTV, Vimeo and Youtube seem to not have a problem with showing this video, allowing million of viewers to watch it. I am very surprised they havent asked for a cleaner version. I guess that proves that a cleaner version wouldnt get as many views, again it all comes down to money. Cyrus took to twitter and posted a tweet of OConnors twitter feed 2 years ago when she was experiencing mental health issues asking for help from her fellow followers. Cyrus made it seem as though she was still facing these issues. She compared OConnor to Amanda Bynes who is currently seeking psychiatric help, OConnor has warned Cyrus that if she does not remove the tweets immediately and apolgise for making false allegations and mocking her, Amanda Bynes and any other person who is suffering with a mental illness she will have to take legal action and inform her lawyers. Miley Cyrus has more than 14,000,000 followers on twitter and she is aware that it is a fast way to get people talking about her, which is what she wants. In conclusion, this row between both artists proves that artists can use each other to gain a great deal of publicity. It has made OConnor more recognisable to the younger generation but for all the bad reasons as most of Cyruss fans disagree with OConnors opinions. Miley Cyrus has gained attention, which means more publicity. Relationships between artists and audience are extremely important as a audiences perspective can change if they dont agree with the artists opinions. Some people didnt like the fact Cyrus brought up OConnors mental illness as it was unacceptable and insulting, even though OConnor was simply trying to alarm her to not let the music industry make a prostitute of her and share her viewpoint on the music industries covered up intentions. Miley Cyrus has been doing inappropriate performances for a while now and the media havent got bored because she keeps on doing crazier things to keep the buzz going encourages discussions on media institutions such as YouTube. Women in the music industry are portrayed as the gender below men as more female artist are deciding to exploit theyre bodies and sexuality in order to get more views, which will make them more money. In OConnors eyes it proves that you value your worth and therefore are willing to sell yourself exploit yourself just to make a living (like a prostitute). Furthermore, women have been altered drastically to suit a mans needs rather than be an individual who is a part of the industry because they simply love music. Although theyre videos share similarities both artists clearly have very separate opinions about how women in the music industry should be represented.