When I started writing this, we were in the late afternoon hours of the first day of Miley Cyrus #RatchetGate (thanks ?uestlove), and the first hours of this media/social media meltdown have been one for the books. We had the outrage of the public scolds, talk about the death of Hannah Montana, and the impact on the children, a media firestorm that enabled the media to show clips of the offending performance repeatedly, the feminist critique, and vital discussions about race and white appropriation of black culture on Twitter. My initial reaction was amusement because the whole thing was remarkably skeevy and unsexy for a pale imitation of what Britney and Christina had done a decade prior, but my second reaction was "whoa Nellie, that's pretty racist."
Blame Public Enemy, Ralph Ellison, City Honors, AP English teacher Mr. LaChiusa lending me The Autobiography Of Malcolm X, or #BlackTwitter, but my racist radar went off during Miley's Twerkfest. The stereotypes, the sight of Miley playing ringmaster to a circus of black women, the minstrel show put on and officiated by the former Hannah Montana, and the outright appropriation of "hood" (her word) culture for the former child star's coming out as a sexualized pop diva... the whole thing was rigoddamndiculous. But predictably white folks like Mika Brzynzski got their Tipper Gore on, leaving the more outrageous offense and timely issue to the folks on #BlackTwitter, while other white folks thought Miley's performance was A-OK.
I'm not suggesting that those white folks are racist, but shit, this isn't helping. This hasn't been a banner year for race relations in this country, and for white feminists, the Tipper Gore set, and the rest to be frankly oblivious to flagrant racism (in the form of a spectacle no less) presents further proof that we've got a looooong way to go before it's Kumbaya time. Thankfully New York Times critic Jody Rosen stepped up early to give Miley shit for her racism for Vulture (The 2013 VMA's Were Dominated By Miley's Minstrel Show), but otherwise it seemed like most white folks missed it. Jeff Meirs almost touched on the racial issues at work at the VMA's... in MTV's Justin Timberlake hagiography, but otherwise didn't go there in favor of a larger critique of pop culture.
But here's the kicker, near the end of Rosen's piece:
Cyrus’s twerk act gives minstrelsy a postmodern careerist spin. Cyrus is annexing working-class black “ ratchet” culture, the potent sexual symbolism of black female bodies, to the cause of her reinvention: her transformation from squeaky-clean Disney-pop poster girl to grown-up hipster-provocateur.
Now Miley Cyrus's hipster bonafides are certainly up for debate, but the concept of hipster racism is distressing and depressing. Yes. Congratulations white folks, you're killing hip. It was bound to happen, really, anytime you get that many white people together, that something fundamentally uncool would happen, and killing the concept of hip appears to be it. Because racism isn't cool and it certainly isn't hip; in fact racism is the exact opposite of the concept of "hip." Shit, what is hip if it isn't being hip in the original sense... as in down with black folks and black culture? Whether as an expression of rebellion to the "square" status quo, a show of solidarity with the oppressed, honest appreciation of another's culture, or Talking Heads doing a cover of Al Green's "Take Me To The River" on More Songs About Buildings And Food, hip was about communication, secret communication, and building bridges. It wasn't about being an ironic racist, or being casually blind to outright racism, which is definitely not as bad as outright racism but again, it's not helping.
Because that's the thing, while there has indeed been progress made, there's also been some significant backsliding, and not just on matters of race. Ask a feminist about rape culture in the United States. Things aren't trending in the right direction in a lot of departments, and it's starting to look like "not helping" matters. Maybe it's time to put the HIP back into hipster and attempt to show some awareness about race and gender issues beyond our own individual purviews if not doing so already (cuz white folks aren't all bad).
Otherwise fellow white folks, we're doing it wrong.
White dude on one of the whitest blogs on the entire internet summarizes some old Jezebel & Vulture posts, identifies racism as a bad thing: film at 11.
Maybe I'm dumb, but I don't really understand what's racist about her singing black styles, doing black dances, and dancing with black performers. Do you honestly think that, with that performance, she was trying to say "hey everybody, all this stuff that black people like is stupid"? Or do you think she actually likes that stuff and likes doing it? If it's the latter, how "black" are you saying she should be allowed to act when expressing that before it becomes "too black" for a white person to do and, in your thinking, racist? What ratio of 'white' dance moves to 'black' dance moves is acceptable for a white person to do? What, exactly, makes Miley Cyrus' song racist but Talking Heads doing "Take Me To The River" isn't? Is it that Talking Heads kept it 'white enough'? Is it even possible for dancing, in and of itself, to be racist? I don't really see how you can call her racist without the implicit subtext being: "that white girl was acting too black, she should stick to her own race more". Which is never a good look.
I think a lot of this boils down to armchair media studies critics like yourself throwing around a lot of loaded, au courant language like "minstrelsy" without really thinking critically about what those words mean and if they apply.
Anonymous sounds like a racist! Get him!
Agreed. His racism has no limits
Are you trying to claim the intellectual theft of Miley's twerking from the entire black race? Really?
At most, Miley Cyrus may be judiciously accused of the theft and bastardization of a few aspects of HIP-HOP music and dance. Now, unless twerking and bad pop music is the summation of the whole of black culture, as you seem to believe (this line of thought is ACTUALLY racist, Cliff), then Miley's performance - though hackneyed, ignorant, and unfortunate - is simply not racist.
Can it be enough for now that we don't like Miley because she is untalented? Because she garners her fame from having been born into extreme wealth? Because she sings songs that she did not write? Because she might be setting a bad example for children and for all of humanity? Because she now unwittingly perpetuates sexist dogmas about the expectations of female entertainers?
...Racism? -Now you're chasing a ghost. And you're clearly confused.
Cliff, I suggest you reread the various definitions of "racism".
rac·ism
ˈrāˌsizəm/Submit
noun
noun: racism
1.
the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
-prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
"[...}Yes. Congratulations white folks, you're killing hip. It was bound to happen, really, anytime you get that many white people together, that something fundamentally uncool would happen, and killing the concept of hip appears to be it.[...]" This is another example of racism.
Cliff, did you READ the "hipster racism" article you linked? I suggest you go back and re-read that as well.
http://jezebel.com/5905291/a-complete-guide-to-hipster-racism
I also suggest that you cut Miley some slack for lifting most of her act from artists that came before her, as you've lifted your entire act from Jody Rosen.
It's ok though, original ideas are overrated. I suggest you watch:
http://everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/
Seriously, did I miss something?
intellectual property theft*
Thank you Cliff.
Damn you, Anonymous! Always trying to bring our blog down! One day we'll get you (smacking fist into palm), you are on my Dead Guy List.
No way! Anonymous is our most passionate reader!