Miley Cyrus- "Can't Be Tamed"
Miley Cyrus started her career as
an actress/singer on the Disney channel.
She has changed a lot since her younger days on the kid-friendly
show. Miley is now 19 years old and wants
to be seen as an adult so she rebels so she is not seen as a child anymore. In this music video “Can’t be tamed” Cyrus
clearly expresses her rebel side. When this music video first came out people
were making a lot of comments about how Miley Cyrus was presenting herself and
what came off as "slutty" to a lot of viewers, however it reveals
more than just skin.
She's on
display depicted as a rare bird, she's in a cage, and people are watching her
closely. It seems like the audience is all rich people watching her as if they
paid to see her. There are many different kinds of feathers; the group of
dancers are also birds, the glass shatters when she walks past. Also, that she
can fit through the bars of the cage so easily. Once she's out of the cage her
wings/feather disappear and it's like she's a human outside the cage but a bird
on the inside. There's also a scene where she's laying on peacock feathers and
it looks like her outfit resembles a snake skin. Maybe she feels like she has
the characteristics of many different animals. Also, this ability to switch
between skins reveals her ability to be free and to not be restricted by what
it is that she is depicted to be. The most obvious binary in the video is the human and exotic animal comparison. We see the people in the 'audience' viewing the exotic animals in the cage. There is also a binary of men and women and Miley is shown dancing with both. The use of light and dark is also shown throughout the video. Another example are the lyrics “I can't be tamed” while she is in a cage.
One of the common themes that happens repetitively in the video, with help from the lyrics "I can't be tamed" is Miley Cyrus's intent to be rebellious against and unrestricted by anyone who tells her what to do or what is acceptable of her. By being rebellious she refuses to be controlled by rules that are set by individuals (the majority of men), but also by society in general. She shows this by dancing semi-provocatively on men and women which can signify that anything goes with her and that she does not want to follow the rules that are set forth for her to follow. She also says she’s a rarity like the bird on display. She’s one of a kind and she can’t be changed and this also seems to be what the video is arguing,” She “can’t be tamed” for anyone.
Another analysis of this video can be found here:
Wow, Miley definitely grew up that's for sure. This kind of reminds me of Britney Spears in a way, when she first started singing the media created this image of her as a cute, innocent girl that was on Disney. And to break away from that title and show that she is grown up, she expressed herself not only lyrically ("I'm not that innocent") but also showing off her body and dancing very provocatively in nearly all of her music videos. So is this where Miley is heading next?
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that a man introduced her to the crowd is a significant point. It could depict that men like to show off rare women, or even that men like to show women off in general. I thought it was interesting that after all of this "I can't be tamed" stuff that she ends up back in the cage at the end of the video. I think the cage could be symbolizing society as a whole or maybe even a looking glass. It is almost like an animal at the zoo.
ReplyDeleteYikes Miley, well aren't you a woman now. Miley Cyrus is definitely craving for attention in this video here. She absolutely wants to be seen as older, maybe slightly promiscuis, and mature. There is no doubt she achieves that as she wears a provocative leotard in the video. The whole bird concept is definitely interesting. Maybe she thinks she is one of a kind, but hey Miley did you forget where you came from... Disney channel star. You are not the first, nor the last. But then again, "THAT'S WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL."
ReplyDeleteI think Miley is just using this song and song to rebel against what the world thinks she is. Up until this point, everyone saw her as cute little Hannah Montana on Disney Channel. I think she just wants people to take her more seriously and treat her as an adult in society instead of a little kid.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm not sure of what to think about this new Miley. I completely understand how she doesn't want to be seen as a young girl anymore and how she wants to be taken seriously. I don't know if this "sexy", promiscuous look is right for her. She comes of to me as more of a sex-crazed teenager looking for attention than an adult. It's hard to tell if Miley really wants to be left untamed by a man or by society in general. This is definitely her rebellious stage and I'm curious as to what we'll see next. Very interesting.
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ReplyDeleteShe seems to be taking the same route as the "innocent" girls before her, Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, etc. I would agree that she just wants to be seen differently and wants to fit in with the rest of the young female celebrities, which is quite the opposite of not being tamed. I think she is being tamed to the rest of the celebrity world by conforming to the norm due to the way she is dressing and acting. I also find it interesting that she is saying that she can't be tamed and directing it to men yet she seems to be putting on a performance for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Evan. She's acting like other the other former teen pop sensations. She "cannot be tamed", yet thats exactly what she is letting the music industry do to her. Her lyrics are contradicting to the video.
ReplyDeleteI think this music video is to build up a new character for Miley Cyrus, who used to be a cute girl in Disney channel. She wants to change to an adult and to show that she can’t be tamed in this video. One of the strongest evidence is that she hides her wings and walks out of the cage. She knows that as a superstar, she is like a bird showing on the stage, but she want to prove herself and be the kind of star that can’t be tamed.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the music video represents that Miley Cyrus don't want people to confine her into the "innocent image" before. The lyric " Can't be tamed" explains that she want to make a change,no matter the outer image of her, but also her inner rebellion. When she was in the cage, people admired her speciality and beautiful look. Just like people love her in Disney channel. But when she walked out, she need to face the changeable attitude towards her. What she convey is that I want to be myself and I don't care the opinion of others.
ReplyDeleteSame old story line every time. Girl grows up and wants to rebel. Totally agree with Evan about the innocent girl thing. Miley Cyrus fits perfectly into the predefined picture of young adults and old teens. Yes she goes out of her way to be dramatic and innovative but nothing ever really changes. She is using sex appeal to get her message across but instead she is simple following the norm.
ReplyDeleteSame old story line every time. Girl grows up and wants to rebel. Totally agree with Evan about the innocent girl thing. Miley Cyrus fits perfectly into the predefined picture of young adults and old teens. Yes she goes out of her way to be dramatic and innovative but nothing ever really changes. She is using sex appeal to get her message across but instead she is simple following the norm.
ReplyDeleteEvan you hit the head on the nail. I think this video is about as subtle as a gun with what it is trying to express. Obviously trying to break free of what she perceives as a child star image. Or could it be that she was being influenced by the studio to do a song such as this. I think the real question was who was truly holding the Reins.
ReplyDeleteI think having a cage that someone can easily go right through shows how easy it is to break free of the controlling manners of parents or society. I think she is trying to show that no matter what you try to do to her she will always break free. I think she goes back in the cage after realizing the chaos that can happen when she isn't under control (the breaking glass). She then realizes that being under control is probably the best thing for her. I feel like Miley and her family are going about this in the right way. Other young female celebrities who have gone downhill were strictly controlled in everything they did; they didn't have a place to be free, and when the chance finally came they crashed. Miley's family is less controlling and she also has the ability to let loose in her music as well. She is gradually becoming an adult, not to fast, not to slow. That may also be able to be seen in the video. She needs to be free from convictions but she knows how she should be acting i.e. going back into the cage on her own.
ReplyDeleteI agree that miley is using this song to break free from the innocent character she played in Disney channel's Hannah Montana. I also think that she wanted to be seen as an adult, and let everone know that people can no longer dictate what she does.
ReplyDeleteIts very ironic how the song is called I cant be tamed yet she is in a cage which is used to retain animals. i agree that this is definitely a song showing miley wanting to break free from her little kid image. But then her breaking out of the cage and dancing around the museum definitely shows that she doesnt want anyone to control here anymore, that she is growing up and cannot be tamed anymore
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the cage and the presentation in the beginning is to show that she has been tamed in the past. That can be referred to being only on the Disney Channel, her poppy innocent girl sense, or just being a minor in general. This is her version of transitioning to the world of adulthood, it is a bit revealing and sexy but isn't everything geared that way in today's music videos for young musicians? I do, however, find it very ironic that after all the hell she puts the 'watchers' through (by breaking out and whatnot) she ends back up in the cage.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the video that showed off Cyrus as an adult in the music industry, and not the Disney Icon she had been known as. This video reminds me of the scene from the remake of King Kong where King Kong was unveiled for the first tim. The outcome of this unveiling didn't go too well, as King Kong proved to be impossible to tame.
ReplyDeleteI feel this was an important move in Miley Cyrus' career to have a breaking out video like this. It makes you question though if this is what it takes to make your career serious. Is being a woman only about embracing some mad sex drive. While there are those sexual elements I think It does a great job at differentiating itself from other typical sexually driven music videos. It plays out much more like a performance art, and makes for video that has a lot more depth.
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