I have a confession to make: I watched the VMAs last week. At the time it actually aired. It’s been many years of distancing myself from anything MTV-related, but for a variety of random reasons – mostly due to stumbling upon east-coast reactions before it came on out here – I found myself seated in front of the television as famous teenagers I had never heard of walked the red carpet a few blocks from my wife’s former apartment (side note: does the fact that the VMAs took place in Brooklyn mean it isn’t cool to live there anymore?). I knew three vague things from snippets of headlines and brief, dissociated comments I had read as the event began: Lady Gaga performed, Miley Cyrus did something crazy, and Justin Timberlake made sure sexy stayed right where it was. These all came to fruition, but as I’m sure you’re well aware, Miley’s on-stage outfit and antics blew up the internet for the next several days with outraged reaction pieces written by people from all walks of life, scathing in their tone and disapproving in their content. [My take, not that you care: She’s twenty years old. Tell me you’ve never danced around at a college party less than fully-clothed while acting in ways you’d prefer your mother didn’t know about. Chill out, prudes.]
What all this hyperbole over the loss of our previously-moral universe did, however, was to completely obscure an analysis of something far more noteworthy from the awards show. I’m referring to neither the Mother Monster nor the newly-elected President of Pop; for me, the most important sequence of the night came in relation to one of Seattle’s finest. Their video having won an earlier award, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, and Mary Lambert took to the stage to play their hit “Same Love”. They were preceded by the obligatory-titled, first-openly-gay-athlete-in-
You could argue that moments like these – that is, open demonstrations of pro-gay marriage sentiments – have been almost a dime a dozen in recent months as we march towards progress, but this one was decidedly different. The viewership for this year’s VMAs was reportedly well over ten million people, a large share of whom are under the age of eighteen. With this demographic, we find an entire generation of future voters and policymakers, nearly all of whom can be easily categorized as “impressionable”. Their beliefs are still evolving, their attitudes and actions yet to be determined. So to recap: a clear, strong, and obvious social message of equality was delivered by a group of famous, relatable adults to a vast audience of young people whose minds and opinions are still very much up for grabs. Yeah, I’d probably call that an important moment.
What’s that Whitney Houston lyric? “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” A little less T-Swift, a little more Mary Lambert, and I think we’ll be just fine.
We now return to your regularly-scheduled Miley-bashing.
About Andrew Rose
Andrew Rose is a writer and editor for Rookerville. He also manages a travel blog for his friends and family. His book, “Seizure Salad”, is a work of fiction - not in that it is a tale of fantasy, but in that it does not actually exist.