The document discusses the issue of using people as "props" or objects to promote political or entertainment agendas. It provides several examples, including Miley Cyrus using little people as props in performances, Macklemore using marriage equality as a prop, and President Obama using veterans as props in speeches. While some argue this brings needed attention, others see it as exploiting people. The practice of using people to make political points is also discussed. The document examines debates around when such uses of people cross into objectification versus bringing awareness.

1. Arts and Entertainment • 5
Swirling media coverage and frenzied social justice bloggers alike have been given many an addition these
past few months to their crusade of questioning and critiquing using people of a specific group as a prop
in performance art. While some artists are intending on helping communities, others are alleged to be ex-
ploiting them just for the purpose of gaining coverage and notoriety. Whatever the reason, this practice
has been used in politics for years, and has now just resurfaced and become the forefront of discussion.
Miley Cyrus is possibly the most notable for the use of people as props. Many groups have said she is exploiting black cul-
tureonherrisetothetop.However,anotherdemographicfeelsslightedaswell.LittlepeoplethatCyrushiredtoperformas
bearsinhernowinfamousVideoMusicAwardsperformance,andalsoinherNewYearsEveperformance,havespokenout.
HollisJane,a24-year-oldbackupdancerfortheVMAs,postedonherbloganopenlettertothepopstar.Janewrote,“Iwill
neverforgetthatperformancebecauseitiswhatforcedmetodrawmypersonallineinthesand.Afterourfirstdressrehearsal
in the costumes with the crew, publicists, performers etc watching us, I walked out of the Barclay Center shaking and cry-
ing… I was be- ingstaredandlaughedatforallofthewrongreasons.Iwasbeinglookedatasaprop…assomethingless
than human.”
She contin- ued on a sobering note, “If the little person community continues to do performances
like this, it is my belief that we will continue to only receive maybe 2 percent of the auditions
and oppor- tunities of our average-sized friends. Society will think we’re OK with being laughed
at because we still continue to do things that allow them to laugh at us or look at us as props.”
A s stated previously, the 20-year-old popstar is accused of appropriating black culture to gar-
ner attention in the media. In an interview with E Online, Cyrus was quick to dispel such
a n idea,saying“I'mfromoneofthewealthiestcountiesinAmerica.IknowwhatIam.
But I also know what I like to listen to...I would never think about the
color of my dancers, like, 'Ooh, that might be controversial.'"
H o w - ever, many do not agree with her statement. One out-
s p o k e n advocate against Cyrus, Jodi Rosen, said on Vulture
that “Cyrus is annexing working-class black ‘ratchet’culture, the
potent sexu- al symbolism of black female bodies, to the cause of
her reinven- tion: her transformation from squeaky-clean Dis-
ney-pop poster girl to grown-up hipster-provocateur. (Want to wipe
awaythesickly- sweet scent of the Magic Kingdom? Go slumming in a
black strip club.) Cyrus may indeed feel a cosmic connection to
Lil' Kim and the music of "the hood." But the reason that these af-
finities are coming o u t now, at the VMAs and elsewhere, is because it's
good for business.”
But Cyrus isn’t the only one accused of using people and identities as props.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have earned many an opinion piece online about
their mass marriage, activists stat- ing that participants' sexuality was used as a prop.
President Obama has even caught some heat in the past week, accused of “exploiting
Americans for the po- litical fight” in his State of the Union speech. Aaron Hoddinott, writer
for Capitalist Cre- ations, a website de- signed for entrepreneurs, stated, “from a war hero,
to a gay profession- al athlete, to a pizza boy, Washington politicians used various people as
props in the 2014 State of the Union ad- dress.” Hoddinott continued, “Washington elitists
seem to think it is okay to use people who have gone through tough times or displayed brav-
ery to make a political point, or advanced their own agenda. It’s sad. It was very imperial-
istic, nothing more than showmanship.”
As part of political campaigns, several hardworking Americans are featured each round
and attached to certain issues (anyone remem- ber ‘Joe the Plumber?’). Nick Gillespie, writer
for Time magazine, wrote on this issue, ad- dressing the newest American being used as a
“politi- cal prop,” U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. First Class Cory Remsburg, injured while serv-
ing in Afghanistan. Gillespie writes, “Rems- burg’s sacrifice is plain to see: He has a long,
v i s - ible scar on his head and, the president explained, he ‘is still blind in one eye’ and ‘still
struggles on his left side.’ Regardless of political affiliation and ideological positioning, all
Americans can appreciate Remsburg’s willingness to serve while questioning whether
President Obama is right to use such a soldier as an applause line in a political speech.”
However it is spun, society is still dictating whether or not the use of people as props
is acceptable in some cases, and exploitative in others. Discussions have sprung
up, but the results are unclear; only time will tell if this trend in entertainment and politics is
any less than objectifying.
People as Props: New Fad or Old Habit?
By: Maggi Quigley ‘15
From Cuban Hillsides to the Green Bay Packers
Cuban artist Eduin Fraga
has created his own unique
style of artwork in the past
years. By superimposing
painted images over news-
paper backgrounds, Fraga
utilizes local resources and
makes them into memorable
art. However, he experi-
enced a change of scene in
the last few months. Moving
from the warm, lively city of
Havana, Cuba to chilly Green
Bay, Wisc., may have given
Fraga new subjects to paint,
but he insists the inspiration
for his art will remain the
same.
“What inspires me now is
the same that has always in-
spired me since I started with
my art,” said Fraga. “I don’t
think that a change in country
can determine my level of
Elizabeth Doll‘15
Photo Editor
@_elizabethdoll
Eduin Fraga in front of his works, which now feature the
Green Bay Packers. (Courtesy of Eduin Fraga)
inspiration.”
The faces of Fraga’s art
has undergone some changes
though; panels of daily life
in Cuba have changed to the
Green Bay Packers’ game
plays.
When I visited Cuba this
past summer I was able to see
Fraga’s artwork firsthand. I
loved the idea that he incor-
porated the newsprint into his
canvases because it provided
another layer to the art, both
literally and symbolically. A
piece with a lot of people, for
example, could have specific
adjectives taken from the
newspaper so that it could
describe them in a different
way. Other pieces focus on
specific parts of daily and
cultural life, such as Cubans
walking along the malecón
(sea wall) or images of the
guagua (bus).
While all these things were
fascinating for me to see, a
large part of that is because
I wasn’t at all used to the
Cuban way of life. Maybe
creating art based on Ameri-
can culture offers the same
new outlet for Fraga.
The new subjects may be
familiar to people from the
U.S., but they are far from
boring. Fraga manages to
keep the pieces new and in-
novative by incorporating
newspapers from the U.S.,
as well as painting American
figures. One piece features
W.E.B. Du Bois painted over
his own text. Another, called
“A Cuban in the Streets of
New York,” emphasizes how
Fraga might have felt moving
to a completely new coun-
try. Most of the figures are
dressed in more simple cloth-
ing, but one character has the
busy pattern of newspaper
words that has come to define
Fraga’s work.
This piece more than
anything defines the future
of Fraga’s art for me. While
he comes from Cuba and has
a very different history and
background from that of the
United States, I think the
blend of the two cultures will
only become more evident in
his work as he continues to
paint and create in Wisconsin.
(Courtesy of Bleff)