Some Thoughts on Rebecca Black

Last Friday, City High students were split into two very clear groups: those singing Rebecca Black’s youtube sensation “Friday” like an anthem, and those with hands over their ears and murder in their eyes.I found myself in the second category.

It wasn’t the whiny voice, the annoying chorus, or the fact that 13-year-olds cannot drive that sent me over the edge. It was the interview she gave to ABC that convinced me that something was desperately wrong.

I have two large problems with the interview. First, Rebecca claims she has accomplished something by creating a song no one can get out of their heads. Has music descended to this level? If I come up with a tune irritating enough to get stuck in people’s heads, can I too become an overnight celebrity?

My second problem is with Andrea Canning, who conducted the ABC interview. In her words the song has made Rebecca “a target for extreme hatred and cyberbullying.”

Rebecca has not been cyberbullied. The definition of bullying is a habitual action meant to abuse or intimidate a weaker person. “Friday” was released only a week ago so these comments are not habitual. They may be meant to abuse and intimidate, but these are not people she knows, masking their identity with the Internet, waiting to strike out at her. They are critics.

She has created a piece of art (I use the term loosely) and sent it out into the world. She has made the transition from ordinary girl to a chart-topping artist, and more than 40 million people have watched her music video. She is living the dream, on top of the world. But that does not exempt her in any way from the critics of this world. Every other celebrity deals with negativity, so she cannot expect anything different.

It is true that she is young, and negative attention at that age hurts deeply. But she chose this, even if she didn’t know how far it was going to go. If she can’t take the pressure, she doesn’t deserve the spotlight. If she can’t play with the big kids, it’s time for her to go home.

Source: http://thelittlehawk.com/