Miley Cyrus Twerk Takeoff

by mmattia | September 12, 2013 2:37 pm

By MICHELE MATTIA

Pop star Miley Cyrus[1]’ recent animated performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards alongside singer Robin Thicke[2] has spawned endless amounts of jokes[3], from the way her outfit fit appearing like a chicken butt, to her hair style comparison to the mayor of the fictional Whoville.

[4]

The act that featured the popular dance move known as pelvic thrusting move known as “twerking,” has been gaining loads of attention, not only from viewers and fans, but also from celebrities in attendance at the event. And while Cyrus’ provocative performance raised eyebrows, and for better or for worse, it kept her name in the public eye.

So is the infamous “twerk,” signature dance move to blame for all of this Miley Cyrus buzz?  There isn’t a definite answer, but the “twerk” has started a revolution of sorts.

According to Oxford Dictionary, the “proper” way to define the move that began this revolution is “Twerk, v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.”

Cyrus may be the queen of twerking today, but Huffington Post Canada found that the dance sensation dates all the way back to 1993 with DJ Jubilee’s “Do The Jubilee All[5],” in which the rapper chants “Twerk baby, twerk baby, twerk, twerk, twerk.”

Today’s culture may not think back to DJ Jubilee’s reference to “twerk” since Cyrus has transformed the twerking of today, and put a fresh face on the move that has become so popular.

Cyrus has gone through an image transformation[6], portrayed in a slideshow on ABC News’ site,  since the years she participated on the illustrious Disney Channel series, “Hannah Montana[7].”  But her rebellious ways reached an all time high at the latest MTV VMAs when she was seen on stage with married, Thicke, twerking a little too close for comfort for many.

Although controversial, the performance helped the ratings of MTV’s main event of the year skyrocket in comparison to those of the past.

According to E!Online, “the 2013 VMA’s were up 66 percent from last year’s telecast and the ratings jumped 47 percent,” and 10.1 million viewers tuned in making the show “the most-watched entertainment telecast of the year in the 12-34 demographic.”

College students, such as junior student Nicole Evangelista, are around the same age as Cyrus and understand the element of change that comes with finding one’s identity, but do not agree with the way she represented herself.

“I think a lot of child stars try to do that as they get older to be taken more seriously.  But, I think she’s forgetting she has young girls that look up to her still and are probably upset at the way she’s acting and not really understanding what she’s doing.  I understand why she’s acting like this but I don’t agree with her actions for trying to lose her Hannah Montana identity,” said junior student Nicole Evangelista.

Cyrus may be soaking up the attention, but it hasn’t proved to be all that good in some aspects.  According to JustJaredJr.com, the 20-year-old singer/actress was dropped from the cover of December’s issue of Vogue, for being “distasteful.”

Professor Anne Barretta, who teaches public relations at Ramapo College, said the publicity of her performance has been getting Cyrus the buzzing attention she’s been after.

“Often celebrities seek negative attention which the feel must be better than no attention at all.  Think of how that duet with Robin Thicke would have turned out had Miley not twerked?.” Barretta said. “Miley seems to have been struggling with her Hannah Montana rep and continues to push the envelope.”

Barretta added:  “But, it has been effective—how many millions of hits did her video[8] get on YouTube?”

 

 

Source URL: https://class1.ramaporecord.org/?p=13819

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