Miley Cyrus has always used her fame as a musician and actress to talk about a wide variety of topics, and this week she decided to talk a little bit about her ideas on gender and how gender relates to inequality in Hollywood. However, she may have bit off more than she can chew when she tried to explain why Supergirl shouldn't be called Supergirl. Here's what Miley Cyrus had to say.
For example, there's a show called Supergirl. I think having a show with a gender attached to it is weird. One, it's a woman on that fucking billboard - it's not a little girl. Two, what if you're a little boy who wants to be a girl so bad that this makes you feel bad? I think having a title like Supergirl doesn't give the power that people think it does.
Supergirl has faced some challenges ever since it first started airing last season. The drama is the only female-led superhero series on television right now, and it has faced criticism from some audiences because it has told stories from a female perspective. Its first season also faced challenges when it didn't do quite well enough on CBS to justify its large budget, and it was subsequently shipped off to the CW, whereupon Supergirl was forced to switch locations and downsize. The fact that Supergirl's gender is mentioned in its title is the least of the show's problems, as it is working to rebuilt its universe on a brand new network. But Miley Cyrus is entitled to her opinion, and she spent a considerable amount of time sharing it in an interview with Variety. Miley being Miley, amiright?
The producers of Supergirl have already come out to address Miley Cyrus' comments, noting at a screening (via comicbook.com) that they stand by the works they have produced. Here is what executive producer Andrew Kreisberg had to say:
It's based on a pre-existing property that's called Supergirl, so we never had any intention of calling it something other than that. I think we worked hard, especially in the early part of season 1 to address the discrepancy. We actually had a scene about Kara herself lamenting, 'Why aren't I called Superwoman?' and had Cat with her great rejoinder about how the word 'girl' in and of itself is not offensive. We continue to be proud of this show, we continue to be proud of Melissa and the character she represents and the hero that she represents. We stand by the show.
We live in a world filled with remakes, revivals and programs based on works that have been produced for other mediums, first. Superhero shows have done well because they have a lot of brand recognition and that brand recognition is tied to characters that already have a history in the comics. Sure, there's some leeway with that. Gotham goes by Gotham because it's looking at a pre-Batman world. Some new heroes and heroines have also been introduced within these shows. But Supergirl gets a recognition boost just because it is called Supergirl. The same things is true of The Flash or Preacher or American Gods or Outlander or Lethal Weapon or even MacGyver. We could keep name-dropping projects that already have brand recognition all day. There's a reason these sorts of projects work and will continue to work, even if their titles ruffle a few feathers here or there. To find out which shows have yet to hit the schedule, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
