My Harsh Opinion on Miley Cyrus

A name that all of us are far too familar with is Miley Cyrus. Cyrus has followed the typical Disney star stereotype by trying her hand at dancing, singing and acting although many would dispute that she can't successfully do any of the three. Cyrus started her fame by playing the main role of a pop-singing teenage diva, Hannah Montana, on the hit TV series Hannah Montana. This role jump started her career as many little girls have become obsessed with the blonde superstar character she has portrayed. Since this role, Cyrus has tried to shed the her link to Hannah Montana by releasing several new albums and movies not involving the Hannah character

One of the new movies not linked to Hannah Montana is titled "The Last Song" which is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks (author of "The Notebook"). I researched reviews on this movie and became skeptical to spend nearly $13 to go and watch it in theatres. One line in a review that stands out strongly to me is "death can not come quickly enough." After reading this review I expected to by more interested in my popcorn than the movie, but with my immature and girly taste in film the movie review proved wrong. I was actually pleasently surprised with this film and enjoyed the storyline of the film. Although I liked the film, I feel that Miley Cyrus became an early contender for worst actress of the decade. I would reccomend she sticks with Disney gigs and I only wish she could apply the title "The Last Song" to her singing career.

Acting was not enough for Cyrus and she decided that she needed to grace the world with her "musical talent" releasing several inspirational tracks including "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", and "Party in the USA" (note the sarcasm). But really, I have no right to beak Cyrus' music as I'm sure a couple of her songs are in the "most played" category on my iPod.

Perhaps I have been too hard on Cyrus in this review, it is possible that I'm speaking out of jealousy because I secretly wish that I could have become the next Disney starlet. Cyrus has released some music that is actually pretty good and to be perfectly honest Hannah Montana isn't the absolute worst show on television- that award goes to Paris Hilton's British Best Friend. But do I think she has earned her fame? No. Personally, I feel Cyrus had the right connections and knew the right people which allowed her to reach her super stardom. Her father, Billy-Ray Cyrus, likes to think of himself as a country singer with the unfortunate hit "Achy Breaky Heart." Because her father had links to the right people, Miley Cyrus had a smoothly paved highway to stardom rather than a rough dirt road that most other stars are familiar with.

I think that the main reason so many people dislike Miley Cyrus is because Disney over-brands every character they have ever invented! It is hard not to get annoyed when you can buy virtually anything with the Hannah Montanna brand on it. Miley Cyrus has accomplished great feets in her career and is only at the young age of 17. But not to worry, you won't have to hear about her for much longer- if history repeats itself Cyrus will drug overdose in due time like most other Disney stars.

Charlie Chaplin's The Kid

Recently, I was forced to watch the movie The Kid starring Charlie Chaplin in my Media Studies 20 course at school. This movie was released in 1921 and is a silent film which, to me, sounded extremely boring. For those of you who are like me, you probably have no idea what a "silent film" exactly entails. Well, a silent film is a film that has no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. Instead dialogue is commuted through exaggerated gestures, and title cards.

The story opens with a mother wandering around aimlessly after leaving the hospital with her infant child. Soon after, the mother writes a note reading something along the lines of "love and care for this orphan child". She sets the baby into an expensive looking vehicle along with the hastily scribbled note. Now the owners of this vehicle I assume are thieves, but to be honest they look more like clowns. These men do not even notice the child until it begins to cry in the back seat, and instead of caring for the infant they dump it carelessly in a dirty back alley. Charlie Chaplin finds the child and the story takes off from here.

Now, when my teacher told us we would be watching this old, silent film I was as happy as a fish out of water- but to my surprise the movie was a lot better than I had expected. I'm not saying that I would recommend picking this movie up at Blockbuster for your next Friday night movie but it is better than I had originally predicted. This film is described as "a picture with a smile & perhaps a tear", and I think this quote accurately portrays the emotions I felt while watching it. Charlie Chaplin is able to be create a very light comedic mood but also portrays more sad and deep emotions at the appropriate time.

It it's fun to watch Chaplin because he is unique in his appearance and is very absurd in the way he moves and walks. Because there is no dialogue, all the comedy must be through actions. He does a very good job of exaggerating his motions so that the viewer understand what is occurring- he does such a good job that dialogue isn't even needed to understand the film. In order for a silent film to be successful I think that it is necessary to have a talented actor, such as Chaplin, so that the viewer follow the film with some enjoyment.

It is slightly amusing to see how far the film industry has come in technology since 1921. Fading in and out must have been new technology at the time because the producer definitely overused this feature to the point where it actually become annoying. Music was used well in this film and helped to set the appropriate mood for the scene. Other features such as title cards also help describe what was going on.

I would never watch this movie by choice, but all things considered, I felt that it was a decent movie. It's not a movie I would watch again, or recommend to a friend but it was educational in that I learned about the old ways of film. Before watching this movie I was completely unaware that silent films existed and that they were the first form of movies produced. So I suppose if you are feeling ambitious, you could spend 50 minutes watching this informative yet comedic silent film.