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Forbes.com, Bobby Owsinski

The Brilliance Of Miley Cyrus

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Singer Miley Cyrus (Image credit: Getty Images for EJAF via @daylife)

Miley Cyrus is brilliant. I know you’re probably thinking “Bobby has lost his mind” right about now but hear me out. We’ve just witnessed one of the most complete marketing makeovers in show business history when it comes to Miley. Let me explain why.

A little more than a month ago, Ms Cyrus was a former teen star struggling to be taken seriously in her new world of adulthood. The efforts to distance herself from her Disney past just made her look like another child star floundering in a grown-up world on the edge of another celebrity burn-out. A month later, near record time, the media world’s perception of her is totally different.

I say this as neither a fan of her or her music (I’m way past the demographic to care about either), but I have to say that over that short period I went from “Not her again” in my newsfeed to admiration of the campaign that she and her handlers created to kill the old Miley Cyrus and invent a new one. Let’s look at a rough chronology of events.

Early August Miley is still perceived as a grown Hannah Montana by a disdainful public, with many of her former fans having moved on to a new set of age-appropriate celebrities. Then came the famous “twerking” incident on the Video Music Awards in late August and she seemed more like a bratty young women willing to do anything for attention. But in quick succession, her provocative “Wrecking Ball BLL +0.15%” video dropped, she’s topless on the cover of The Rolling Stone and photos of the new Miley flood the news and the web, she feeds the controversy with interviews, then gets the cover of Fashion Magazine and photos and interviews flood the web and social media again, and what do we have? Complete reinvention.

That includes a number one hit atop the Billboard Hot 100 (for a second week) with “Wrecking Ball,” a song that might’ve gotten a few days of play then dropped like a stone hadn’t the “new Miley” emerged. The downloads are now over half a million and the YouTube views of the song are up over 150 million, and you can bet the farm that she wouldn’t have had anywhere near the numbers like this in her previous persona. Of course, the current lifespan of any pop star is short-lived and her latest 15 minutes might be up soon, but the fact of the matter is that she managed to get an extra half-hour that has the possibility of extending even a bit longer as a result of this transformation.

In almost the blink of a show-business eye she’s managed to completely erase the image of Miley as Hannah Montana and become Miley the adult pop singer. This just goes to show that you can change public perception and do it fast with the right guidance and PR campaign.

Take notice that nowhere so far have I mentioned her talent. Decide for yourself whether what she offers speaks to you (or your kids). For that matter, take talent completely out of the picture. What we’re talking about here is more a case study on how to change public opinion quickly in three simple steps.

1. Bury the old image and perception. Don’t acknowledge the past because from this point forward it’s dead.

2. Appear in the most public situation possible, then wear the new perception like a comfortable overcoat, only outrageously so. Make people gasp. Make them talk, tweet and share.

3. Begin a barrage media campaign on multiple formats completely in the new perception. Be prepared to act upon every situation presented, and then execute robustly.

That, my friends, is how to recreate your image overnight. The brilliance of Miley Cyrus is that she was willing to do it with vigor.

Painting Before Photography

Ancient Cave Paintings, Patagonia

Ancient Cave Paintings, France.

Link here to see images, maps and read.  

Egyptian Painting, Approx. 5000 BCE to 300 AD

The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490 - 1510, Bosch.

Approx. 12' x 7'

Sistine Chapel, 1508-1512, Michelangelo
Article from Smithsonian.com.  Link here.

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, 1600, Caravaggio.  

At the age of 24 Caravaggio commissioned to paint for the church. 

Read and see more here.

King Henry VIII, about 1537

Oath of the Horatii, 1784, Jacques-Louis David

The Death of General Wolfe, 1770, Benjamin West

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Crafton, 1773, Benjamin West

Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam, 1755, John Greenwood

Homework: Diagram A Movie

Select a movie. Diagram the content. Size of diagram up to you - work on a large piece of craft paper or tape pieces of paper together as your diagram grows. You may also produce a diagram using the computer. Keep in mind, if on computer, you will have to print out to turn in a hard copy. Your diagram should primarily consist of text, but feel free to include imagery (think semiotics!). Draw your own imagery or cut up mags/newspapers for imagery. Below are a few examples of diagrams to get your ideas flowing. There are no rules as to the the type of diagram you should use - feel free to combine different diagram formats.

FLOWCHART
A flowchart is a diagram that shows the breakdown of a task or system into all the necessary steps.
Each step is represented by a symbol and connecting lines show the step-by-step progression
through the task.  The above examples is very simple.
The flowchart can be very complex and detailed. Source link here.

DATA FLOW DIAGRAM
Data flow diagrams are often used to show how an organization
handles incoming data such as a customer order.Source link here.

Source link here.

Source link here.

Source link here. 

Photography Homework

Image #1
Breadline During Louisville Flood, 1937, Margaret Bourke-White

Image #2
The First Murder (detail), 1941,Weegee (Arthur Fellig)

Image #3
Saigon Execution, 1968, Eddie Adams

Miss America Pageant 2013

The Miss America pageant has crowned its first winner from an Indian background – an aspiring doctor who plans to use the $50,000 (£31,000) prize money to fund her studies – sparking a flood of racist criticism on social media.

"I'm so happy this organisation has embraced diversity," 24-year-old Nina Davuluri said in her first press conference, moments after winning the crown in Atlantic City. "I'm thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America."

But within minutes of winning the title, Davuluri, whose talent routine was a Bollywood fusion dance, was the target of racist social media comments.

If you're #Miss America you should have to be American," said one on Twitter.

"WHEN WILL A WHITE WOMAN WIN #MISSAMERICA? Ever??!!" asked another.

Davuluri, however, brushed aside the negative comments.

"I have to rise above that," she said. "I always viewed myself as first and foremost American."

Her grandmother told the Associated Press that she cried when she saw the news on television.

"I am very, very, happy for the girl. It was her dream and it was fulfilled," 89-year-old V Koteshwaramma said by phone from her home in the city of Vijaywada, in southern India.

In the run-up to the pageant, much attention was given to Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, an army sergeant believed to have been the first contestant ever to openly display tattoos. She has the Serenity Prayeron her rib cage, and a smaller military insignia on the back of one shoulder.

Vail won a nationwide "America's choice" vote to advance as a semi-finalist, but failed to make it into the top 10.

In a Twitter message on Sunday before the finals began, Vail wrote: "Win or not tonight, I have accomplished what I set out to do. I have empowered women. I have opened eyes."

The pageant pitted 53 contestants – one from each state, plus Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands – in swimming wear, evening gown, talent and interview competitions.

Image and text source The Guardian.  Link here. 

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Person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something.

Symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else.

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Attribute

A quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

Convention
A way in which something is usually done.

Culture
The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.