Miley Cyrus's 2013 music video "We Can't Stop" created widespread controversy due to its sexually explicit imagery and references to drug use. The video features Miley wearing minimal clothing and engaging in provocative dancing. Through the use of shots that focus on and sexualize Miley's body, the video portrays her as a dominant figure who is in control and does whatever she wants. While some criticized Miley for her reckless behavior, others saw her persona in the video and song as embodying a new form of feminism in which she cannot be controlled by societal expectations.

1. Miley Cyrus/We can’t stop
MileyCyrusis an artistinthe musicindustrywhohasn’t failedtocreate wildcontroversywithinthe
media,overthe pastfewyears.“Miley hasturned intoa reckless,confusedyoungwomanwholovesto
smoke marijuanaandtake drugs (suchas MDMA/MOLLY, as saidinthissong) and she is a girl wholoves
to expose herbodytothe public”.These are onlyan example of the small amountof thingsthatpeople
fromsocietyandwithinmediahave saidaboutMileyoverthe pasttwoyears.‘We can’t stop’was
releasedontothe screensof the publicinJune 2013, in the videoMileyiswearingminimal clothingand
the lyricsreferto herbeinga typical youngwomanof societywhofeelsasif thingsshouldbe runher
way. Maybe a newroot of feminism?. “We can’tstop, we won’tstop.We run things,thingsdon’trun
we”,these lyricstie inwiththe visualsof the musicvideo(directedby Diane Martel) asMileyisthrowing
a party and here iswhere we see Andrew Goodwin’skeyfeaturestoamusicvideocommencing.
Lookingat Goodwin’stheoryandMiley’smusicvideoforthissong,ithas become apparentthatMiley
has quite ahighsex appeal,she isn’twearingmuchclothing. The use of the midshotsare usedto flaunt
herbody andgivesviewersthe impressionthatMileycando whatevershe wants,asshe pleases.This
ideacontinuestowhere she grabsthe bedsheetstowardsthe endof the videoandherwildtwerkingis
anotherreasonforher sex appeal,somethingGoodwinhasinhistheoryof what makesa musicvideo.
In the musicvideothere are variousestablishingshots,one of these iswhenMileyisonherhandsand
kneesandthe camera hoversoverher. (1:08, as mentionedbefore).WhenMileyisdancing,quite
seductively(1.28) inthe musicvideothe cameraangle changes to a longshotso the viewercansee her
body,so we can see herfriend’sbodiesandsee the surroundingareasaroundthem,mese-en-sene. This
adds tothe fact that she wantsto be seenas a sexual characterto heraudience,gainingasmuch
attentionfrompeople inashortamountof time, aswe are the ‘MTV generation’of an‘MTV based
society’.
As I’mwatchingthisvideo,becomingacritique of myownkind,analyzingMiley’smadnessand
capturingsome of the shotsusedand questioningwhytheyhave beenused?Irealizedthatthere wasa
camera shotthat had capturedmyattentiontowardsthe beginningof the videoandcontinued
throughout. A handheldshot. Thisshot givesme (asthe viewer) the feelingthatI’mat thisparty,that
I’ma part of the madness.Thatpeople inthe musicvideo(atthe party) couldn’tcare lessaboutwhat’s
goingon,as this isstatedrepeatedlythroughoutthe lyricsandvisuals,combined.
There are manyquickcuts createdduringthe editingprocessof thismusicvideo,the reasonwhyDiane
Martel mayhave wantedto dothis isto show how attentioncanbe drawnfromdifferentscenes,
situationsandissues,the quickcutsallow these thoughtstobe lookedoverinaveryshort amountof
time.Ipersonallythinkthatthe use of quickcuts hasbeena mainreasonof effecttothe musicvideo,
keepingpeople onedge,aswe see Miley’sdifferentfacial expressions anddance moves,showingus
varioussidesof her.The happyside of her,the side havingfunandnot caring aboutwhat people think
of hermusicand lyricsand of her lifestyleafterher‘extreme’ breakoutfromDisney’sHannahMontana.
Lip syncinghasbeenusedtoa minorextentof thisvideo.Lipsyncinghastobe done inthe musicvideo
to make the viewersfeelasif Mileyisactuallysayingsomethingdirectlytothem, thisisa demandof her
record label.Mileyisinfacta brand,a brandto society,abrand to herrecord label andoverall herown
brand,that people find‘hardtocontrol.’Leadingontoclose ups(anothershot),if noclose upswere
usedinthe musicvideo,Ithinkit wouldbe hardto see whothe musicvideoisdirectlytargetedatand
whoor what the premise of videois – allowingpeopletogainan ideaof whothe dominantfigure in
‘We can’t stop’is.The camera isalsovoyeuristic(KeepingGoodwin’stheoryinmind.) Midshotsand

2. wide angle shotshave once againbeenusedtoportraywhat herlifestyle islike,how herbodyneedsto
coverthe screen,the camerasneedtobe set andfocusedonher.Making hermore appealingasshe is
fillingthe screenwhenthese shotsare beingused,shotslikethiskind,bringsinattention.
Of course feminismandfemininity wouldcome intoplace whenlookingatMileyCyrus…Laura Mulvey’s
theoryhas some kindof effectonthismusicvideoanditshowsthat Mileyisnotthe ‘man-hater’she
makesherself outtobe. However,inthe ‘We Can’tStop’videoMileyisn'tdominated andlookeddown
upon,by a male figure.The videoconsistsof herhavingfunandbeingwithfriends.There aren'tany
‘lovers’introducedintothe song,butreferencingtomany.Nearthe endshe kissesa man’schest,as we
see that Mileyhas justwokenupfromthe nightprior.Hisface isnot showninthe shot,this illustrates
(tothe viewer) thathe isn'tthatimportant thathe needstobe shownand that Mileyisimportant,that
she isdominantovereveryone else inthe musicvideoandshe infact,cannotbe stopped.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/10445850/Miley-Cyrus-Im-one-of-the-
worlds-biggest-feminists.html