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Some of the criticism of the 'Hannah Montana' star is unfair,
but 'she's just a kid' is no excuse
By Martha Brockenbrough
MSN Cinemama
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They say not to confuse a performer with the role she
plays, but Miley Cyrus is sure making it hard
on us, especially now that she's starring in a movie about a young pop star
acting like a diva.
Let us count the ways reality is blurring. Miley Cyrus plays a character named Miley Stewart. Her TV dad is her real-life dad. In her new movie, "Hannah Montana: The Movie," the character is even called Smiley Miley, a reference to her father's childhood nickname for her.
If she doesn't want to be confused with her character, why's she going this route?
It wouldn't matter so much but for two things: Miley Cyrus is adored by kids; and, her off-screen behavior since her rise to fame has been appalling.
Some of her headlines would make Hannah Montana blush all the way to Tennessee. She has been caught:
- Posing in her underwear in cell phone photos;
- Posting a YouTube video in which she goes "Mean Girls" on rival Disney stars;
- Making slanted eyes in a photograph, which many people viewed as a racial slur;
- Parking in a handicap spot when buying milkshakes;
- Saying she would "ruin" the band Radiohead after they declined a special meeting with her at the Grammys.
I'm leaving out two faux scandals: the Vanity Fair photo shoot of her wrapped in a sheet, and the fact that she's dating a 20-year-old. The first is something her parents should have prevented. The second falls into the "who cares" category. It's not our business, and a four-year gap is nothing at this age, particularly for someone who already has established her career.
The rest of the things do matter, though, and I just don't buy the "she's a kid" excuse.
The idea that all kids do this sort of thing is absurd. All kids do not do these things, and to suggest otherwise is an insult to the good sense and humility that most teens have. I worked as a high school teacher and have many teenage nieces and nephews. There are plenty of sensible teens out there. I've seen them with my very own eyes.
For a teen who knows she's in the public eye to do this sort of stuff suggests she's either none too bright or views herself exempt from normal consequences.
I'm going with the latter, based on her decision to park in that handicap spot, and I don't care that she's been diagnosed with tachycardia — one of the revelations in her autobiography. Anyone who can jump around a stage like that can walk a block for her ice cream.
To take a parking spot set aside for people with actual disabilities indicates an enormous entitlement complex, a notion neatly reinforced by her Radiohead tantrum. This is one of the most unpleasant qualities a celebrity can have, and certainly one of the worst attitudes to demonstrate to children.
Miley herself has demonstrated a weak grasp on what it means to be a role model. She told Fox News, "If you look at me as a role model I agree with it, but if you look at me as an idol, I don't. An idol for me is someone you want to replicate, you want to be them and I don't wish that on anyone, to lose what they have personally."
Actually, that's what a role model is -- someone who models behavior worth emulating. An idol is someone you worship without question, and that's what Miley is asking of her fans. Worship me! But don't do what I do!
It's high time for her to actually learn from her mistakes, instead of continuing to brush them off as a sign that she's learning.
"I always say the minute you stop making mistakes is the minute you stop learning," she said to Fox News.
This is such baloney. Look, people make mistakes. We all do. But the good mistakes, the ones that have something to do with learning and not just jerkiness, come when we're trying to do something challenging. Like, for example, when we're taking on a role in which we play a character with a different first name than our own.
The kind of mistakes she keeps making show that she's not actually learning anything.
For now, Miley Cyrus continues to be a great role model for kids, but only in
unintended ways. She shows that talent, wealth and beauty are superficial
things, and are no replacement for character. She might not be learning much
from her mistakes, but our kids can.
Is Miley a role model for your
kids? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com.
Counterpoint: Why Miley is a good role
model
Read more about Mom and Pop Culture from the
Cinemama
Martha Brockenbrough is author of "Things That Make Us [Sic]," a guide to funny bad grammar, published by St. Martin's press. She also blogs about family life for Cozi.com and writes an educational humor column for Encarta.
