Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” – Die Mad
Miley Cyrus’ new video for her song “Mother’s Daughter” embodies the type of bravery our parents always hoped and feared for us, the bravery to fight for a better world where people of differing orientations and embodiments could be free in the only way that truly exists: openly. Music has always been at the forefront of the culture wars, and Cyrus, rather than criticizing the bigotry in a zero-sum game of who can shout louder, uses her platform to amplify people who would otherwise be at best overlooked and at worst killed so as to sidestep the question as to their right to exist by proclaiming that they do.
In our media-saturated world, the name of the game is exposure. And in one so divided by emotionally fueled partisan politics disguised as reason, there is no space for a trial, for there is no agreement on the premises. However much I am sure Cyrus will be dragged for appropriation (an accusation she has faced before), I can at least take a moment to feel grateful to see an anti-ableist and pro-LGBTQ+ finger raised against those who thrive by denying our shared humanity. Humanity dies in the dark, and so long as we keep a lens focused on the plight of those who only nominally have rights despite decades of struggle we may still have a chance.
At one point in the visually stunning video, we see the words “heroism of the flesh” in French run across the screen. Those silent words speak as loudly as the representations of Lacey Baker and Aaron Philip. Whether you like it or not these people exist, and no amount of sublimated moralizing or bland rage will change the fact that these people exist each and every day in a world that works so hard against them. No amount of rhetoric will ever remove them, and Cyrus’ representation is powerfully done. So, please, die mad about it. Maybe then we will finally have some peace.