In this weeks reading, Mercer dives into the image of Michael Jackson and how he continued to evolve throughout his career as an icon. I think one of the most interesting points in it was about his transition from child star to sexual object. Mercer goes on to explain that “Michael’s transforming image might suggest that underneath the boy-next-door image there is a “real” man waiting to break out, a man who’s masculinity is measured by a rapacious sexual appetite. (Stardom 310)”
I found this interesting for a few reasons. I think it depicts well the transition that many childhood stars have to go through publicly in order to progress as a relevant artist. If we look at stars like Bieber, who had to establish his masculinity much like Michael Jackson did, or Miley Cyrus, who had to take control of her own image as a sexual woman, both went through a very transformative period in their careers around the ages of twenty. This resulted in carefully calculated career moves that are almost jarring to the public. One could compare it to ripping off a band-aid. To say that Miley Cyrus “went off the rails” without a publicist signing off on it first would be very unlikely considering she still has a thriving career.
Each of these stars were changing, they knew it was weird because they used to be teen heartthrobs and now their becoming sexualized adults. I think this method is effective and can be recounted in many other cases and will continue to be used. Those two examples seemed much more blatant than Michael Jackson’s because I think with social media our relationship to stars is much more intimate. Michael was able to present pieces of his work which reflected his change over time, but young stars like Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber had to be much more forward.
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