I didn't think very often of Miley Cyrus prior to her big show at the 2013 VMAs. What I saw that night on TV was incredibly crass, and at the same time, brilliant.Only one member of this duo walked out of the VMAs with career intact and it wasn't the guy dressed as Beetlejuice. Not because Miley is ever going to be a world class musician. The woman can't even twerk all that well. Compare her to the real professionals and you'll see she's sorely lacking in grace, coordination, and gluteal pulchritude.Seriously, these women are athletes. They should have twerking in the Olympics.
But the transition to adulthood is difficult for any child star, and I think Miley's message "I'm not Hannah Fucking Montana" came through loud and clear. She's writing her own story now, and it's fun to be an audience to it. I don't answer to Hannah Montana anymore, fools. And in 2013, her VMA performance made her career, and was the first nail in the coffin for Robin Thicke's. She was the clear winner of that event, in terms of her life trajectory.We're getting used to seeing her in more and more risque outfits.It's aluminum foil and chandeliers from here on out, y'all!But she still isn't nearly as daring as Josephine Baker was, at the Folies Bergere, back in the day. (And Josephine was a much better twerker too...)This is the censored version--in real life, she performed topless.So in a historical context I don't see anything particularly lewd or alarming about Miley's dancing or style of dress. If anything, it's kind of nostalgic stuff.And don't forget Miley's famous smackdown/friendly advice for the seriously unhinged Justin Bieber: "Pay people to make sure you don't get in trouble and party at your house...I don't see a Miley Mugshot yet..Everything I do is legal in California" (3:07-3:52)