Why do I hate Hanna Montana? It has nothing to do with the semi-nude pictures of her, trashy as they were.
The other day, I was in the store looking for a night light. My eldest daughter has an intense fear of the dark and what I really wanted was a regular off-white night light that has an on/off switch; not one of those flicker-in-the-near-darkness jobs. Naturally, the kind I wanted was sold out however long ago and no one knew when a new order for them would go in. But they did have the Hannah Montana night light.
They also had the Hannah Montana flashlight. And stool. And three different beach towels. And MP3 player. The Hannah Montana pajamas. The tote bag with accessories and blond wig. The charm bracelet. A Hannah Montana leather watch (in pink, purple, and black). The beauty set. Guitar. Cell phone case. Anti-static pink hairbrush. The sheet set. Umbrella. The Hannah Montana birthday cake edible image. Tatoos. Wii and DS games. Thank you notes. Drapes. Tooth-tunes (those tooth brushes that let you hear music through your teeth while brushing). 166 different books (no lie). Pencils, car decals, purses, nightgowns, panties.
All of them with the girl's face on them.
Strike that. She's not a girl; she's a product. She's Barbie. She's Pepsi. She's Coke. She's a living nightmare.
Who wants their face on a stool? Who wants a stool with someone's face on it? Why do all these products claim to have anything to do with "girl power" when all they are doing is packaging what it is to be a girl and selling the image, thus stereotyping and perpetuating what marketers feel it should be like to be a girl?
The show is about how great it is to be a "regular girl" and a "star." Yet all it does is reinforce the privilege and wonderment of what it is to be rich and famous. Hanna has a desirable life not because she is a regular girl, but because she can choose to be a regular girl or a superstar. Yet the reality is that she and her parents have let her become such an over-exposed product that there is nothing left about her that is human. She is an icon of an image and she is what every girl wants to be.
I think there's a problem when we all start dreaming the same dream. Especially when that dream is unchecked by any sort of ethics or limitations. Hannah shows children that selling out is awesome, that having your face on a bar of soap is cool, that you should put your image on every available product, that shopping provides meaning to your life. Is this what we want our daughters to grow up thinking?
Do we want our daughters to see us all clamoring for $100+ tickets to see a fifteen year old lip sync?
I'm glad that I don't have TV. I can't imagine going to WalMart or Target and having my kids beg for the bananas with her face on the sticker or the phone with her face on it, ad infinitum. We live in a world where ads and product licensing has gone insane.
The Buddha said that life is suffering and that it is such because of misplaced desires. Hannah Montana gives our daughters a lot of misplaced desires--not just toys in her image, but every imaginable product--and this trains them to be forever in the indentured servitude of the corporate machine.
Call me alarmist. But I'm sick of it.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Why I hate Hannah Montana
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10 comments:
Ahhh! This post reminds me of when I lived in Portland and was a retail worker. I probably heard a similar rant every other day. I love Portland. :D
The kids have admittedly watched HM at least once. Mostly for my own curiosity. After only seeing her one time though-my 4 yr old boy who isn't a regular "talker" is at the store shouting "Haka!" I'm like wha... *look down* Ooohh... HM sleeping bag. Time to turn the TV off. :/
i couldn't agree with you more. people at disney should be ashamed of themselves for indoctrinating another generation of young girls with the idea that they must be skinny, famous, rich, blonde, popular rock stars. Sure, they've got sales goals, but why not put that marketing machine behind a positive role model? Sally LaValley, mountain biking extraordinaire? Tina Katrina, sculptress and problem-solving prodigy? Whatever. Disney is smart enough to figure out something that is both positive and marketable.
Their minds are sponges. Tell them it's cool, and --magic-- suddenly mountain biking, painting, math, soccer, can all be cool. Our girls need real role models. Today.
Best of both worlds, right?
i couldn't agree with you more. people at disney should be ashamed of themselves for indoctrinating another generation of young girls with the idea that they must be skinny, famous, rich, blonde, popular rock stars. Sure, they've got sales goals, but why not put that marketing machine behind a positive role model? Sally LaValley, mountain biking extraordinaire? Tina Katrina, sculptress and problem-solving prodigy? Whatever. Disney is smart enough to figure out something that is both positive and marketable.
Their minds are sponges. Tell them it's cool, and --magic-- suddenly mountain biking, painting, math, soccer, can all be cool. Our girls need real role models. Today.
Best of both worlds, right?
It the free enterprise system and people make what they can make money on. I have no doubt that if someone wanted to put your kids face on a stool and you stood to make a million bucks, you would be all for it. She hit the jackpot and striking while the iron is hot. Hey, here's some advice, don't buy the crap if you don't like it, but don't deny a beautiful young girl and her family an what they can get in this democracy. Kobe Bryant makes $20,000,000 for shooting a basketball, what the difference?
Well, Anonymous, there's a big difference. First off, making 20m for shooting baskets is silly, but it is a skill and it's a skill that can land big money into the pockets of rich people. Kobe is old enough to understand the ramifications of his actions.
No, by the way. No way in hell would I take a million dollars to put my daughter's head on a stool that is going to be sold to young girls all over the country. Some people have standards of humanity. Money doesn't rule everything.
And money doesn't justify everything, either. Saying "Well, they're making money, so it's okay" is a universal justification of the weak-minded who believe that anything that makes money is somehow a sanctioned act. To "strike while the iron is hot" in selling your daughter to the highest bidder--well, there's lots of ways we can sell our daughters aren't there?
Money may be the god who rules your world. Some of us don't put a god ahead of our families.
Besides, there's a difference between being famous and being a product. Famous people get that way because they have done something that has either inspired or horrified people. Products are molded and marketed to look like famous people for the expressed intent of making money.
I tottaly agree she is horrible and a lipsinger she is a bad rolemodel
Ah, this is a good post and pretty much sums up the points in my Miley Cyrus angst hate list.
I mean come on, what's next? Hannah Montana pregnancy tests? Hannah Montana condoms? Hannah Montana ecstacy tablets? All with her face on them of course.
If anyone is interested in viewing my Miley Cyrus (Aka. Hannah Montana hate list) check it out: http://probablysucks.com/10-reasons-why-miley-cyrus-sucks/
Nice post, I'll be back for sure.
I would love to buy my granddaughter clothes without that saccharine face or somebody else's name on them! What is the deal with these guys? If I wanted to advertise for some lame character (product), I would require THEM to pay ME for it.
I also can't stand Hannah Montana. I work at a major toy store and every other product designed for girls has her face on it. Either that or High School Musical. After a year and a half of it, I really don't think I can take it anymore. My daughter is five and until last Saturday, was unable to watch it because we didn't have satellite or cable. Now I'm afraid that I'm going to have to deal with Hannah at home, too. Ughh...
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