Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz Tour Might Need Ratings, & That’s Okay

Okay, close your eyes and try to imagine what Miley Cyrus' Bangerz tour consists of. If you pictured marijuana imagery, wagging tongues, and simulated fellatio on a former president then you're about a quarter of the way there. Cyrus straddles a 15-foot-long hot dog, gives a few lap dances, comes centimeters away from flashing her lady bits, and twerks upon nearly everything in her path. If this material showed up in a movie, it would definitely come with an R-rating. But, this isn't a movie. Nor is it a video game sporting an "M for mature." It's a concert open to anyone willing to shell out the cost of a ticket.

The Daily Beast reports that parents who've attended — and subsequently walked out of — a Bangerz show with their pre-teen children are calling for the tour to be canceled, or, at the very least, slapped with a rating of some sort. TDB's Jesse Lawrence writes that the tour, while not likely being called off, could "be the catalyst for a concert-rating system, similar to what exists for albums, movies, and video games." It's an interesting thought, and a move that might be necessary despite the post-pics-everywhere cultural moment we're living in.

Most pop-culture consumers are aware that Miley Cyrus is not Hannah Montana, anymore. She twerked off those Disney chains a year ago. But, there is a chance that some of her young fans (or their parents) may not understand the extent to which Miley has changed. So, when her tour comes to town, the material could shock those families that still have pajama dance parties to "Best of Both Worlds." A rating system similar to the record industry's parental-advisory label could be enough caution for concert-goers in that camp.

Lawrence brings up the valid counterpoint that such warnings are just as likely to increase the allure of the content they're placed upon as they are to detract from it. Block it and they will come, right? Maybe, but not without fair warning for the concerned parents out there. If concerts are another venue for impressionable youth to mainline inappropriate content, they may just be another media outlet in need of censorship. And, if imitation is the danger here, we'd have to agree with the mad moms that one Miley is enough. (The Daily Beast)