The Stereotypes of Parks and Recreation Blog 2

Chelsea Banco
Mass Com Theory
Blog 2

The Stereotypes of Parks and Recreation

In most humor related television theories, stereotypes of characters are used to be an advantage of comedic relief for their audiences. I found that the series, The Office and Parks and Recreation are great examples of this stereotype usage. There are many examples and statements that depict the type of stereotypes being described by characters.

Parks and Recreation is similar to the television series, The Office. The setup of scenes throughout episodes is similar in the way of scenes of interviews of characters, discussing people and issues in that particular context. Then there are actual scenes of characters in action, which back up other character’s statements in interviews. In both Parks and Recreation and The Office, the characters have a general stereotype, and role within the show. The first episode, where most of the characters are introduced depict immediate stereotypes of characters.

Season 1, Episode 1

This episode starts of immediately with a scene in the park where main character (Leslie Knope) is interviewing a young girl playing in a sand box and attempting to remove a drunk/ homeless man from a children’s slide. Her attempts of getting the man out of the slide already represents that this television series provides comic relief for audiences.

The first impression Leslie Knope gives off is a serious, hardworking citizen, in the Parks and recreation department of the town of Pawnee. She goes on to explain her position in the (government) and how important her work is to the citizens living in the town. She is well dressed, proper and gives off an impression she made only surround herself with work related things in her life and has little time for anything else.

Leslie Knope in this television series is depicted as essentially the “teacher’s pet” to the town of Pawnee. She even relates herself to very important women figures in politics, Hilary Clinton was a figure mentioned.

The next scene is when the employees in the Parks and Recreation department are in a meeting discussing the Community Outreach Forum, which Leslie is leading with Tom. Ron Swanson is the head position within the department and has a very dry and bland type of personality.

Leslie Knope obviously is taking this outreach forum to the community very seriously. The members of the community who participate in this forum are obviously there because they are angered enough with something in the community where they need certain thing taken care of or resolved.

Ann Perkins is introduced in the community outreach forum. She is complaining about an empty lot in the town of Pawnee that her (unemployed, in a band, boyfriend) was injured from. Ann is complaining because her boyfriend Any Dwyer falling into a hole in the empty lot in Pawnee.

Ann Perkins, is conservative, down to earth, and successful. She is a registered nurse and she ends up becoming deeply involved with handling the pit in the empty lot through the parks and recreation department. Her boyfriend, Andy is now injured, helpless, and needy. He broke both his legs, basically handicapping him. He takes full advantage of Ann and her kindness, seeing as she is a nurse.

Leslie Knope wanted to solve the complained issue of the pit by making a children’s park where the empty lot is positioned.

Leslie then bring this idea up to Mark. Mark’s position is higher than Leslie, in which he can pass policies and so forth by talking to governmental officials. Mark is depicted my Leslie as a “god”. She idolizes him and has a delusionary idea that he is interested in her. However, he has no romantic interest in Leslie, and sees her as a fellow employee and nothing more.

Leslie’s desire to create a park is depicted as unrealistic because there are too many requirements to have this park passed by governmental approving it.

Leslie, Ann and Tom work together throughout the rest of the episode to figure ways to make this park happen.

Ron Swanson thinks that the idea of building a park is a silly, unrealistic goal. He doesn’t even believe in government. He basically is working for the department against his will. He seems annoyed most of the time by Leslie.

Tom Haverford is the stereotypical wannabe “ladiesman” he is always trying to pick up attractive women he comes across. He although, is not the ideal “ladiesman” He tries to hit on Ann and the new intern, April. He of course does so unsuccessfully.

April is a stereotypical bland, young intern, who is rather emo. She has little to no personality that makes her stand out. She seems bored with the position.

“What I hear when I am being yelled at is people caring, loudly at me.” (Leslie Knope) this is what Leslie states when being interviewed about the community forum participants yelling at her about issues within the community. This shows that Leslie always sees the positive aspects in every possible situation. Provides audience with some comical relief.

The Critical Role in Changing the Way we Game

Moriah Goldblatt

Advanced Mass Communication

Blog 2

The Critical Role in Changing the Way We Game

Media and technology are always changing, and due to this our consumption of media so constantly evolving. Gaming is a form of media that is vastly popular with many people across the world. Gaming and media are constantly evolving, but how we consume media and who is gaming are trends changing very rapidly and very recently. One show epitomizes these changes. That show is Critical Role. Critical Role is a show produced by Geek and Sundry. It shows voice actors playing their game of Dungeons and Dragons. It is as simple as that, but it shows the inclusion of women into the gaming industry, and the new ways in which we watch and absorb games/media.

What is Critical Role

Critical Role is a live stream television show about a bunch of voice actors playing Dungeons and Dragons- or D&D. The show is broadcast every Thursday night on Geek and Sundry’s Twitch channel, and every episode is about 3-5 hours long, depending on what happens. The show’s 50th episode is Thursday, April 21st. The current cast of the show are Matthew Mercer (Dungeon Master),

Marisha Ray (Keyleth), Liam O’Brien (Vax), Laura Bailey (Vex), Travis Willingham (Grog), Taliesin Jaffe (Percy), and Ashley Johnson (Pike). The success of Critical Role comes from its ability to bring a relatively unknown game into the lives of people that otherwise wouldn’t play it. Critical Role brings D&D into the realm of television shows- complete with romance, action and compelling characters. Ryan Teitman says it best in his article for Slate, “Critical Role... has elevated this old-school game into something else entirely: compelling television, even for those who wouldn’t know a vorpal sword from a Volkswagen” (Teitman). Critical Role is becoming an avenue for people to be exposed to the gaming world in a way that is familiar, yet different. Comforting, yet exciting.

How it’s changing

Critical Role is not your average piece of media. It combines RPGs, live stream television and the binge-watching phenomenon to form its own media definition. This show defines the always changing way with which we watch and take in media. Media is becoming increasingly more cross-platform and traditional media outlets (like television) are decreasing in popularity and profitability. It’s morphing from short episodes to long ones, thanks to the introduction of binge watching. And it’s becoming more and more audience involved. Audiences are opting out of traditional cable media for online shows and streaming services. According to Will McGauran, “As online video streaming services have proliferated, there have been many references made to the idea of ‘cord cutting,’ in which customers cancel their expensive cable subscriptions in favor of watching their shows online for free ( McGauran, 8). All of these changes in media are present in Critical Role. Critical Role is episodic, in the sense that every episode has a mini storyline within the larger storyline of the game. This appeals to the more traditional television viewers. However, each episode in 3-5 hours long, which appeals to the audiences that love to binge watch. Critical Role is live streamed every

Thursday night, which appeals to those audiences that like to watch things live. Every episode is then uploaded onto Geek and Sundry’s website, and can be watched at anytime through this platform. This appeals to those audiences that can’t always watch things live. According to an article from RichMedia, “Every day more people are joining in on the TV cable-cutting trend. According to Deloitte, the stats for millennials, TV is no longer their dominant media and it won’t take long for the rest of us to join in” (RichMedia, 1). As television decreases in popularity, show like Critical Role flourish, because they relate back to aspects of television while also giving us a new media experience. Critical Role also is very heavy in it’s audience interaction. There is a live stream comment section/chat during the live broadcast, and often times the players will answer questions or comment off of the live chat. There is a heavy involvement on Twitter- audiences with create fan art that the players will then retweet or Tweet about. We see this “multiscreen” media trend happening in mainstream culture (RichMedia). There is even a special episode every couple of weeks called “Critmas” where the players open all the gifts that fans have sent them in. This interaction and involvement with the audience creates a dedicated fan base that makes the show even more successful. We are seeing a trend in all of these directions in media engagement and consumption, and Critical Role shows us how successful a program can be when it combines all of these media forms and strategies. Critical Role gives us a guide as media consumption changes and evolves for a program style that is effective. As media consumption changes, it will take the form of programs like Critical Role that are cross-platform and heavy on audience engagement.

Who is Gaming

For years, the mantra was that gaming is a man’s world. While it's true that some women are still being harassed and prohibited from gaming, the general feeling in the gaming world is becoming

more inclusive. This is evidenced in the show Critical Role. Vex, Keyleth and Pike are the badass characters played by Laura Bailey, Marisha Rey and Ashley Johnson, respectively. They often have storylines and adventures based on their characters, and are often the focus of many episodes. While they show is definitely an ensemble show with no real lead, the ladies are hugely important to the show, and this parallels the trend of women in gaming. The ladies of Critical Role were recently interviewed by Carolyn Cox for The Mary Sue, an online feminist geek culture

haven. The ladies revealed their experience with gaming and pushback from men. When asked “Do you deal with any pushback as a woman working and playing in traditionally male arenas?” the ladies had very similar answers. Laura Bailey, who play Vex, stated, “Y’know I think that stigma is changing. I haven’t really experienced a lot of prejudices in the gaming arenas I’m involved in lately. I used to a lot more, when I would game online, but I don’t know – I feel like

more male gamers are becoming aware that video games, and tabletop gaming as well, is open to everyone” (Cox). All the ladies said relatively the same thing- that they had experienced some push-back or harassment at some point in their gaming careers, but that recently they’ve seen a trend in the right direction. There will always be people who want to bash or harass successful and happy women- we call them haters. And while haters often talk the loudest, they can’t stop the progress we see in women in gaming. According to Big Fish Games, a leading game developing company, 48% of all gamers are women and 22% of the video game workforce is female, which is double what it was in 2009. The gaming industry is becoming more and more diverse, and this positive trend is heavily needed in this area. Critical Role is a great example of both the changing media consumption trends, and the inclusion of women in gaming. It emphasizes all the great aspects of cross platform media and the gaming industry. It is a hugely successful and important show because of this. Critical Role can help us to better understand the changing media environment and the changing gaming identity.

Works Cited

"Critical Role." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

"How We Consume Media Is Changing." RichMedia. RichMedia, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

"The Ladies of Geek & Sundry’s Critical Role Explain How D&D Changed Their Lives." Interview by Carolyn Cox. Gaming. The Mary Sue, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Lofgren, Krista. "2015 Video Game Statistics & Trends Who's Playing What & Why? | Big Fish Blog." Video Game Statistics & Trends- Whos Playing What and Why. Big Fish, 3 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

McGauran, Will. Lights, Camera, Action: A Proposed Strategic Plan for Netflix in a Changing Media Landscape. Thesis. American University, 2012. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Washington Research Library Consortium. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Mercer, Matt. "Critical Role Episodes." Critical Role. Geek and Sundry, 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Teitman, Ryan. "The Dungeons & Dragons Web Series Critical Role Is Flat-Out Great TV." Browbeat. Slate Magazine, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

How Netflix is ‘Chillin’ It

            Since the 1950s, television has been a staple in American households. For more than half a century, it has pervaded itself into basically every single living room, often with multiple TVs in a single household. But new technology allows for media to constantly be upgraded and replaced - originally storytelling was exclusively an oral tradition. Books eventually replaced oral storytelling, and then succeeded by radio, which was replaced by TV. But in 2016, for nearly two decades, purely digital media threatens Cable television: instant on-demand streaming from Netflix has revolutionized watching shows and movies. With its innovative streaming business model, Netflix has set the stage for the (eventual) demise of Cable TV.

            For more than half a century, and likely for a long time ahead, TV has been integral to American culture.  The average American spends four-and-a-half hours each day watching TV (Hu, 2013). That’s 20% of our 24-hour day, so it’s even more of a substantial chunk of our waking hours. But with Netflix, a subscription-based instant streaming service for television shows and movies, more and more viewers are turning away from expensive, monopolizing, traditional Cable TV services. CNET - a media journal - has found that more and more people have been ‘cutting the cord’ with Cable. These ‘cord cutters,’ viewers who abandon Cable for purely Internet content, have more than doubled the amount of ‘Zero TV’ households since 2007 (as cited in Hu, 2013). In fact, a survey conducted by FBR Capital Markets, a Wall St. investment management company, found that consumers preferred Netflix to Cable 57% to 43% (as cited in Haq, 2015). This is the “first major disruption of television” (Investopedia, n.d.). But why are people choosing Netflix over traditional Cable services? Well, Netflix has been doing more than converting viewers: Sandvine, a Canadian networking equipment company, found that nearly 37% of North American primetime bandwidth is used for Netflix (as cited in Fung, 2015). Netflix currently holds 60-plus million subscribers (Haq, 2015) and for good reason. With high-profile originals, instant streaming access, and at a fraction of the cost of Cable, Netflix certainly is causing concern among traditional Cable TV networks, and digital streaming (whether it be Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, or any of the newly emerging services) will replace traditional television.

            After spending about fifteen years solely providing streaming of previously aired content, Netflix won the bidding war to produce House of Cards (Dupont, 2014). This was the service’s first original show, which Netflix picked up for two complete seasons without ever seeing a pilot episode (Stenovec, 2015). This is very different from how shows are usually picked up. Traditionally, producers make a pilot show to send to a network, which, depending on ratings, may or may not be picked up fully. Netflix, in addition to allowing the showrunners to complete at least one season without fear of cancellation (Plaugic & Miller, 2015), has also afforded creators full creativity without micromanaging (Stenovec, 2015). With this innovative business model, creators now can see streaming services such as Netflix as a viable top option, rather than a last resort (Plaugic & Miller, 2015) (think Community and Yahoo Screen, which Yahoo shut down after two years for losing $42 million; Wallenstein, 2016). In doing so, they garner top quality television that rivals HBO and Showtime. And Netflix knows, “people only need to watch one or two shows to be hooked as subscribers” (Dupont, 2014). With as many originals as Netflix has, as well as a vast previously aired collection, subscribers have endless options, and new membership is enticed.

            With a large millennial viewership - 37% of new users are between the ages of 16 and 25 (Civic Science, 2015) - digital streaming is perfect for the company. According to John Baick, a popular culture history professor at Western New England University, “Millennials value Internet access above Cable access” (as cited in Haq, 2015). The instant accessibility and convenience makes Netflix popular, especially with people who are always online. As well, Netflix adopted a unique release system for its content, which works especially well for its originals: a season is released entirely at once (Hoyle, 2014; Dupont, 2014), which allowed for a binge-watching culture to emerge among viewers (Plaugic & Miller, 2015). And when viewers are hooked after binge watching top-notch television, they are likely to stay for the year-or-so until the release of the next season. But by that time, they’re likely hooked to a slew of other shows. By encouraging bingeing, Netflix doesn’t have to use each episode as a hook - the season can be the hook (Plaugic & Miller, 2015). This allows for episodic season story arcs instead of the traditional similarly structured episodes with an underlying seasonal arc, thus ensuring a second season viewer.

            Netflix also treats its employees spectacularly who in turn produce great work. With superb treatment and high expectations, Netflix HQ is highly efficient and highly retentive, with employees staying for a decade plus (Stenovec, 2015). As well, Netflix tracks subscribers’ preferences to personalize the viewing experience, likely increasing satisfaction and loyalty (Haq, 2015). Netflix certainly has its viewers’ trust, with subscriptions topping 75 million (La Monica, 2016). But it’s not just the excellent engineering keeping viewers happy, it’s also a fraction the cost of Cable.

            Netflix is a surprisingly inexpensive service. With no Cable box, lawn-digging for fiber optics, or dish satellite from Cable Providers necessary, the service has no need to charge so much. According to the FBR survey, Cable TV can cost on average $80 per month or more, with on-demand content prices being “quite substantial” (Younker, 2015), costing about four dollars per movie.  Netflix, on the other hand, ranges from $8 to $14 per month. That’s vital for “cash-strapped younger generations who have come of age in an on-demand world,” and not to mention that it is all ad free (Haq, 2015). The mass departure of millennials of traditional television to convert to less expensive digital streaming has been a product of the company’s outstanding service and inexpensive prices. Though, even with top quality service and inexpensive prices, Netflix can’t do everything. Traditional television still has one advantage: appointment viewing.

            Appointment viewing affords Cable networks the upper hand, especially networks such as CBS, Fox, and NBC, who host everything from the Olympics to American Idol to the NFL (Haq, 2015). With this advantage, until Netflix can compete to bid for live events (Yahoo hosted the first ever live-streamed NFL game in 2015; Barsanti, 2015), Cable networks will survive. As well, even with 75 million subscribers, Netflix only just surpassed HBO’s revenue for the first time, with $1.146 billion (Post Wire Report, 2014). Netflix still has a long way to go until it completely takes over traditional television, although with other companies such as Amazon, Google, Hulu, and Apple creating their own instant streaming platforms, Cable could be eradicated within years. It’s already common for Cable networks to provide instant streaming content (Plaugic & Miller, 2015), but Netflix is still beating CBS and Viacom combined on Wall St. with $44.5 billion (La Monica, 2016), and whose shares hit an all-time high at $546.80 in 2015 (Picchi, 2015). So, although likely a long time out, Netflix can certainly surpass and then replace traditional Cable TV.

            In order to replace traditional television, Netflix must obtain the rights to live broadcast, or, really, have to just want to live broadcast, which could be easily won. Otherwise, Netflix and other streaming services have the potential to completely oust traditional Cable broadcasting (though not premium content such as HBO), and have paved the way for full conversion to digital streaming content. With top quality content, superior service, and inexpensive prices, Netflix seriously is ‘chillin’ it.

Edited April 18 at 12:48am 

References

Barsanti, S. (2015, June 3). Yahoo will host the first live-streamed regular season NFL game. Retrieved from A.V. Club website: http://www.avclub.com/article/yahoo-will-host-first-live-streamed-regular-season-220343

Dupont, V. (2014, September 12). Netflix has revolutionized the TV industry several times in just 17 years. Retrieved from Business Insider website: http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-netflix-the-revolution-that-changed-the-us-tv-landscape-2014-9

Fung, B. (2015, May 28). Netflix now accounts for almost 37 percent of our Internet traffic. Retrieved from The Washington Post website: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/05/28/netflix-now-accounts-for-almost-37-percent-of-our-internet-traffic/

Haq, H. (2015, June 25). Most popular 'TV network' in 2016? Netflix. Retrieved from The Christian Science Monitor website: http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2015/0625/Most-popular-TV-network-in-2016-Netflix

How Netflix is changing the TV industry. (n.d.). Retrieved from Investopedia website: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/060815/how-netflix-changing-tv-industry.asp

Hoyle, A. (2014, February 18). How Netflix is reinventing television. Retrieved from The Massachusetts Daily Collegian website: http://dailycollegian.com/2014/02/18/how-netflix-is-reinventing-television/

Hu, E. (2013, August 4). Digital seen surpassing TV in capturing our time. Retrieved from NPR website: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2013/08/04/208353200/digital-seen-surpassing-tv-in-capturing-our-time

La Monica, P. R. (2016, January 18). Will Netflix top 75 million subscribers? It better. Retrieved from CNN Money website: http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/18/investing/netflix-earnings-preview-subscribers/

Netflix's new users (May 2015 insight report). (2015, May). Retrieved from Civic Science website: https://civicscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CivicScience-Netflixs-New-Users-May-2015-Final.pdf

Pelagic, L., & Miller, R. (2015, December 30). How Netflix and Amazon have changed the rules of TV. Retrieved from The Verge website: http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/30/10647736/netflix-hulu-amazon-original-shows-streaming-tv-2015

Picchi, A. (2015, April 16). Is Netflix more popular than TV? Retrieved from CBS News website: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-netflix-more-popular-than-tv/

Post Wire Report. (2014, August 7). Netflix subscriber revenue surpasses HBO. Retrieved from New York Post website: http://nypost.com/2014/08/07/netflix-subscriber-revenue-surpasses-hbo/

Stenovec, T. (2015, February 27). One reason for Netflix’s success — It treats employees like grownups. Retrieved from Huffington Post website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/netflix-culture-deck-success_n_6763716.html

Wallenstein, A. (2016, January 4). Yahoo shutters video service Yahoo Screen (exclusive). Retrieved from Variety website: http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/yahoo-shutters-video-service-yahoo-screen-exclusive-1201671374/

Younker, N. (2015, May 20). Netflix vs. Hulu vs. cable TV: Online streaming services surpassing cable providers but users sharing accounts. Retrieved from Latin Post website: http://www.latinpost.com/articles/54581/20150520/streaming-news-netflix-and-hulu-users-sharing-accounts.htm

The Sexualization of Adolescent Celebrities

Angela Dunn

April 3, 2016

Blog 2

The Sexualization of Adolescent Celebrities

    During the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, Disney pop singer and actress Miley Cyrus put on an unforgettable performance to her new hit song ‘Party in the USA’. Being only 16 years -old at the time, Miley received a lot of negative feedback on her ‘provocative’ and ‘sexual’ performance from the public and the media. Wearing short shorts and black leather boots, Miley entered the stage to perform her new song. Halfway through the performance, Cyrus climbed on top of what appeared to be an ice cream cart and began to dance while holding onto a pole that was attached to the cart. Many people were offended and believed that the dance with the pole was meant to represent a stripper pole and stripper dance moves. Cyrus received a lot of negative feedback and criticism immediately after the performance. According to Newsday.com, a spokesperson for the network said in a statement: “Disney Channel won’t be commenting on that performance, although parents can rest assured that all content presented on the Disney Channel is age-appropriate for our audience — kids 6-14 — and consistent with what our brand values are.” Cyrus told MTV that her performance was to represent where she was from and she wanted it to be fun. Due to what society believes and tells us what is and what is not appropriate, Miley was unable to freely express herself the way she wanted without being criticized and shamed by the public.

     Days after her performance, Cyrus was still receiving hateful messages and negative comments. Fans immediately went to the Internet and debated whether or not Cyrus’ performance was appropriate or not for her age and her young fan base. Many comments wrote that Miley was a slut, white trash, and said that she needed to ‘get with it’. Although the Hannah Montana star did have a young fan base that looked up to her as a role model at the time, she should not be looked at negatively or be called those things just because she was holding onto a pole during her performance.

    Along with the hundreds of negative comments and feedback Cyrus received, some fans stuck up for her saying that she was using the pole for balance during the performance or said that her managers probably made her do it. “It has been noted that for many child stars, a career move or rebranding occurs around the age of 17 or 18 and that this transition involves an attempt to gain an adult male audience through sexualizing the star” (Lamb and Brown, 2006). All child stars grow up and transition at some point in their life, but Cyrus received a lot more negative feedback on her transition than had other child stars. For example, Brittany Spears did not receive nearly as much negative comments and criticism when she transitioned from a Disney star to a pop singer.

     Parents who made hateful comments about Cyrus’ performance were concerned because of the fact that Cyrus had such a powerful influence over their children and also expressed concern that Cyrus was exploiting her sexuality at such a young age. “My job isn’t to tell your kids how to act or how not to act because I’m still figuring that out for myself,” the 17-year old pop star says in the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Cyrus continued to say that “Your kids are going to make mistakes whether I do or not. That’s just life.” Parents were so appalled with Cyrus’ performance because they knew how much of an influence TV and media have over their children. Miley also knew how much of an influence she had on her fans being the star of Hannah Montana but as a 16-year-old, Cyrus just wanted to live her life without receiving all the negative criticism.

      Agency is a term that means doing it for yourself in spite of social structures. Agency suggests that we can still make actions no matter what society says is right and wrong. Miley decided to exploit herself how she felt comfortable and how she wanted to during her performance. “The use of the ice cream cart might have been a way to contextualize the pole dance in a set that positioned her as a kid just having fun rather than a sexual woman dancing to attract male attention. In this way, the ice cream cart references the innocence of childhood, therefore disqualifying Cyrus’s act as truly sexual” Shugart et al. (2001). Being a Disney star at the time, Miley could not escape from structural implications. Since Miley Cyrus is seen as a role model does that mean that she is not allowed to be sexual? Society says that it is inappropriate for a 16 year-old to be sexual or sexually express themselves. One comment wrote, “I’d understand is she was 20 or older for that to be okay, but it’s not at her age. I feel that she made a very bad choice here”. When is a right age that society will accept someone to be sexual? Since sex is socially constructed, Miley was shamed for her age and her ‘sexual’ acts in front of a public audience. Cyrus exemplified the term agency during her performance by doing what she wanted aside from what society tells us is the right and wrong thing to do. Another fan wrote, “She needs a new adult image to be successful in life. So… right on Miley!” Miley expressed herself how she wanted and disregarded what society had to say about her age and her ‘inappropriate’ acts.

     Miley Cyrus did not let society stop her from doing what she wanted.  At some point, child stars transition from adolescents into adults, just like everyone else in the world. Since Cyrus’ 2009 performance several years ago, her career has flourished and she has formed into the adult that she is comfortable being despite what society has to say about her. No matter what, society will always have negative things to say about public figures and will criticize their acts.  In my opinion, Miley is a role model for going against what society says is right or wrong and being herself. Miley received a great amount of criticism from her Teen Choice Award performance. As a 16 year-old Disney star, Miley could not escape structural implications and was constantly being judged for her acts. Although the media has a powerful effect on it’s viewers, people need to realize that child stars are going to grow up and make a transition from adolescent to adult at some point.

                                                        

References

   

"Miley Cyrus' 'Teen Choice' Performance Sparks Debate." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2009. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

"Miley Cyrus' Pole-dancing Sparks Criticism." Newsday. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

Lamb Sharon, Graling Kelly, and Wheeler E. Emily, “ ‘Pole-arized’ discourse: An analysis of responses to Miley Cyrus’s Teen Choice Awards Pole Dance”.  University of Massachusetts.