CAPS 3 Labels and Language

The first person that comes to my mind when i think of 'Labels' that is in the news currently is Miley Cyrus. I have never been a big fan of Miley Cyrus, even dating back to her days of Hannah Montana, but i have found the controversy surrounding her after her VMA performance very interesting. After watching her live VMA performance I thought to myself, "what happened to Hannah Montana?" and "why is she so desperate for attention?" I'll admit that I immediately put a label on her. Although i still think that her performance was disgusting to watch i now realize that there's reasoning behind it, besides just being desperate for attention.
  As i was reading articles about Miley in the news, i came across an E news article that was just released on October 11 about her recent breakup with former fiance Liam Hemsworth. The article outlined her visit to the Ellen DeGeneres show where she opened up about the breakup for the first time. She talks about how her new album tells a story about her past relationship with Hemsworth. She says "It's not awkward talking about the breakup, because I'm living it." (www.eonline.com), I think that her current image is her own way of moving on from the past and doing her own thing. Doing things that are "socially unacceptable" to most people might be her way of coping and expressing her feelings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH3HQg5UoC0. This youtube video is of Miley on the Ellen DeGeneres show briefly discussing her past relationship with Hemsworth and how she is moving on from it.
 Miley is expressing elaborate style of communication which involves the use of rich, expressive language (Martin and Nakayama). Visible differences in communication styles can contribute to misperceptions and misunderstandings (Martin and Nakayama). Since Miley is a female she is part of the non-dominant group as far as power level. To relate to the groups that posses more power such she uses an aggressive form of communication. As well as language she uses a lot of non-verbal communication to get her point across. These non-verbal signs include change in physical appearance, facial expressions, and sexual gestures. Non-verbal communication is often more effective than verbal communication. Which is why i think we have seen such a dramatic change in Miley's outward appearance.

It is important to be aware of social positions and different cultures when it comes to communication. Different cultures have unique styles of communication, and things can be easily misinterpreted if we are not aware of these differences. In Miley's case she is ignoring these communication differences and just doing what feels "right" for her, which is why so many people are getting offended. At the same time i think Miley is taking a lot of heat from people because she will always be viewed as Hannah Montana the child star. Her peers such as Lady Gaga have gotten away with much crazier things with no backlash what so ever.

Lady Gaga

References

Martin, J.N. & Nakayama T.K.(2013). Intercultural Communication In Contexts (6th ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. 

Miley Discusses Her Relationship with Liam Hensworth. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH3HQg5UoC0

Zach Johnson (Oct 11, 2013). Miley Breaks her Silence on Liam Hensworth Split: "Im Obsessed with Being Alone." Retrieved from: http://www.eonline.com/news/469141/miley-cyrus-breaks-her-silence-on-liam-hemsworth-split-i-m-obsessed-with-being-alone