It's A Girl Thing: Tween Queens and the Commodification of the Girl's Tween Market

A few years of research, thoughts and adjustments that all led to a completed film which, framed by the structure of a faux interactive website for tween girls, looks closely, and critically, at the tween market's evolution and the role of Disney and Nickelodeon's tween queens (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Miley Cryus, Miranda Cosgrove, Kiki Palmer, Selena Gomez, and more) in the market's explosion.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Girls Gotta Point



(Mary Kate Quotes from E!Online...)

''I don't want my picture taken. The only time I think it's okay is at a red carpet event or a photo shoot. So, every time I see paparazzi, I cover my face so they don't get a picture, and I'm just 'the mean person who doesn't smile.”

“I would love to be able to swim in the ocean in Malibu. But that is asking for a bikini shot. That's inviting something that I don't want to happen. I don't need to be on a 'Who's Skinny, Who's Fat, Who's Looking Healthy, Who's Not Eating?' list.''

"'There's definitely been times in my life when I just turned to people and said, 'I'm done, this is too much for me, this is too overwhelming.’ "

3 Comments:

At 11:25 PM, Blogger Luke Bruehlman said...

Being famous must suck. My friend Nate contends that celebrities bring it on themselves - that they've elected to enter the spotlight despite the obvious personal consequences and their protests are therefore invalid. I argue that its our cultural obsession with these people that's the true root of the problem. Child stars like MKA are a different story. Your thoughts?

 
At 3:43 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I will give you that our culture is obsessive, but at the same time if she really wanted to be out of the spot light she could have been. there are a multitude of child stars who have elected to fade away and do their own thing. if she wanted to quit she could, but it seems to me... and i dont know... that at least in the teen years when the twins stopped acting for a while it was about money. but hey i could be way wrong

 
At 4:40 PM, Blogger silvashan said...

Yeah, I can see the point, but I can't totally by it. When you become a star at 9 months and a product by age 2 you've got to have a difficult time adjusting to many things. And as far as getting out...I don't think that's her point. They provide product and access (as she suggest the red carpet), but to not be able to go outside without being literally stalked by hordes of cameras...I just don't buy that that's an acceptable part of the game. Ive seen the paparazzi go after stars and its scary. Wouldn't want to be on that end. And from a totally human perspective, to have her weight monitored and commented on in the way it is is actually dangerous. She's a young woman with an eating disorder. To put her under that sort of spotlight can be fatal.

 

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