Aug. 25, 2013 will forever be remembered as a day when a young woman performed a provocative dance on television. More than a month after the incident, everyone is still talking about how Miley Cyrus “twerked” on Robin Thicke, and every possible viewpoint and opinion has been expressed. Whether it be feminists crying out against slut shaming, conservatives outraged with her “lewd” behaviour, or people claiming to not care at all, everyone has something to say about Cyrus’ appearance on the Video Music Awards.
But how many people are still talking about Hyon Song-wol?
People are obsessed with talking about Cyrus’ twerking, yet have forgotten about this woman, who was allegedly gunned down with her fellow band-mates in North Korea at the request of President Kim Jong-un the very same week the former Hannah Montana star showed off her goodies. South Korean sources say that the singer, part of the Unhasu Orchestra, was publicly executed with several of her fellow band-mates, while two other music groups and their friends and family were forced to watch – all by the order of Kim.
How many students at the University of Guelph can tell you what Cyrus did at the VMAs this year, and how many can tell you that an innocent group of people was murdered in cold blood on the streets of North Korea? A Google search result for “Miley Cyrus VMA” will return over 83 million results, while a search for “Hyon Song-wol killed” yields only 600,000. The Western media bias is alive and well – that much is obvious. But when did it become OK for these injustices to take the backseat to a pop star’s desperate cry for 15 minutes of fame?
Many could claim that the murder of Song-wol is not proven, which is a valid argument. However, when was the last time the average person knew more about three women by the names of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekatenna Samutsevich, than they did about Cyrus? This trio of women belongs to a pop-punk group in Russia called Pussy Riot, and they speak out in favour of feminism, freedom, and opposition to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. They have been in prison for more than a full year for speaking out against their government, and have begun hunger strikes to protest their imprisonment. Where is the recognition for them on television and on the Internet? How is it that Western pop culture “icons” are more important than freedom fighters and political revolt?
So, why is it that horrible atrocities and truly unforgivable crimes can be committed around the world and even in our own backyards, but we are none the wiser? Well, we’re apparently too busy hearing about Miley Cyrus.