10 Questions and Image Analysis

I chose to write about this photograph of young pop star Miley Cyrus from the June 2008 edition of Vanity Fair Magazine. This photo was printed along side an article entitled "Miley Knows Best" by Bruce Handy. The photograph was taken by Annie Leibowitz and styled by Michael Roberts. I would guess the demographic for this magazine to be 20-40 year-old men and women. This isn't a teen magazine and not a celebrity tabloid.

This image reflects the politics of the image maker by showing a young actress in an artistic and provocative pose. This was an artistic choice made by Leibowitz and Roberts to create a beautiful image while causing attention. The actress herself liked the photoshoot, and in the interview she said that it was "artsy" and the Leibowitz was very talented.

This image represents a shared understanding because it glamourizes youth, beauty, fame, and sexuality. It falls into the Western habit of hypersexualizing young female celebrities. This picture was meant to highlight her maturity. The way this picture was recieved by the media was very different from the intended effect. There was widespread shock and anger across America. Many people were upset by the sexual content of the picture, since she is employed by Disney and is a big role model for young girls. The outrage was so much that Miley had to appologize for the picture, saying she was now "embarassed" of it. Ironically, because of the all of the media attention this photograph got, it was actually shown to a lot more people younger than the intended demographic.

This picture was lifted from the Vanity Fair website at

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/06/miley200806

10 Questions

1 In your opinion has the influence of culture jamming weakened now a days, or is the medium still alive and well?

2 Your work is all about free speech and public use, but do you believe that there can never be any ownership to something intangible? Does your contempt for copyright laws only include media? Or do you see everything as belonging to everyone?

3 How do you think the advent of the internet and file sharing has affected the way we view copyrights as a society?

4 Do you see culture jamming as an acceptable media artform or is it somewhat marginalized?

5 Do you think that your work is comparable to audio samplers like DJ Girltalk and Plunderphonics creator John Oswald? How do you see the similarities/differences?

6 Since we live in an increasingly electronic world, do you think that culture jamming has become more accesable and/or less of a challenge than it used to be?

7 Do you ever listen to U2? Or have they hurt you too badly?

8 If media copyright laws were thrown out, do you believe that culture jamming would become more prevelent? Would that be a good thing for the medium if everything were accessable and non taboo? What would the long-term affects be from total lack of consequence for using the intellectual/artistic property of artists? Would they lose too much money from it, or do you believe they are overpaid in the first place?

9 What advice would you give to someone looking to be involved with culture jamming?

10 Have your opinions expressed in the documentary changed since the film was released? In what way?