Hannah Montana
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Hannah Montana is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March 2006 and January 2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus), a teenage girl living a double life as famous pop singer Hannah Montana, an alter ego she adopted so she could maintain her anonymity and live a normal life as a typical teenager. Episodes deal with Miley's everyday struggles to cope with the social and personal issues of adolescence while maintaining the added complexities of her secret identity, which she sustains by wearing a blonde wig. Miley has strong relationships with her brother Jackson (Jason Earles) and father Robby Ray (Billy Ray Cyrus), as well as her best friends Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment) and Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso), who become aware of her secret. Overarching themes include a focus on family and friendships as well as the importance of music and discovering one's identity.
The Walt Disney Company commissioned the series after the success of Disney Channel's previous music-based franchises, such as the made-for-television film High School Musical (2006). Hannah Montana was produced by It's a Laugh Productions in association with Poryes's production company, and premiered on Disney Channel on March 24, 2006. A concert film, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, in which Miley Cyrus performs as Hannah Montana and herself, was released in 2008. The following year, the feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie was released. The series concluded on January 16, 2011, as a result of Cyrus's growing popularity and music career, and her desire to move into more mature acting roles.
Hannah Montana is one of Disney Channel's most commercially successful franchises. It received consistently high viewership in the United States on cable television and influenced the development of merchandise, soundtrack albums, and concert tours; however, television critics disliked the writing and depiction of gender roles and stereotypes. Hannah Montana helped launch Cyrus's musical career and established her as a teen idol; after Cyrus began developing an increasingly provocative public image, commentators criticized Hannah Montana as having a negative influence on its audience. The series was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children's Program between 2007 and 2010; Cyrus won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series, Leading Young Actress in 2008.
Plot
The series centers on Miley Stewart, portrayed by Miley Cyrus, a teenage girl living a double life, as famous pop singer Hannah Montana, an alter-ego she adopted, to be able to maintain the anonymity of living a "normal life" as a typical teenager. Stories deal with Miley's everyday struggles in coping with the social and personal issues of adolescence, while maintaining the added struggle of her concealed identity, which she sustains by wearing a blonde wig. Miley shares strong relationships with her brother, Jackson, and best friends, Lilly Truscott, and Oliver Oken, who also become aware of her secret. Cyrus's father, singer-songwriter, Billy Ray Cyrus, plays the fictional character's father Robby Ray, who works as the singer's manager. Overarching themes include the focus on family, friendships, the importance of music and discovering one's identity.
Why It's the Best of Both Worlds
- Memorable characters, good or bad, like Miley, Lilly, Oliver, Rico, Jackson, Robby Ray, etc.
- The songs are awesome, especially "Nobody's Perfect" and the theme song, "Best of Both Worlds". Also, the talent in Miley Cyrus voice is amazing.
- The theme song is also amazing.
- Talented actors and actresses, such as Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment. They did amazing jobs portraying their roles as Miley/Hannah Montana, and Lilly.
- Also, everyone did a great performance.
- Jon Cryer from Two and a Half Men guest-starred in episodes, “The Wheel Near My Bed (Keeps on Turnin')” and “I Am Mamaw, Hear Me Roar!”, as Ken Truscott. In fact, both Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment both guest starred on that show.
- Unfortunately, they both guest-starred in the bad seasons of Two and a Half Men.
- It launched a major singing career for Miley Cyrus. After the show ended, she started focusing on her singing career, and kept releasing awesome music.
- Miley Stewart is a great protagonist. As she is a very great friend, and most of the time being there for someone, when they need her.
- The supporting characters, Lilly, Jackson and Oliver are also likable.
- Noah Cyrus, Miley Cyrus’ little sister, made 6 guest appearances, including:
- "It's a Mannequin’s World"
- "O Say, Can You Remember The Words?"
- "Torn Between Two Hannahs"
- "Achy Jakey Heart (Part 2)"
- "Everybody Was Best Friend Fighting"
- "Love That Lets Go"
- It has two crossovers, with the first being with The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and That's So Raven, called, “That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana”, and the second, being with Wizards of Waverly Place, and The Suite Life on Deck, called “Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana”.
- Speaking of The Suite Life on Deck, the cast from that show guest appeared in “Super Girl”.
- Appropriate use of the laugh track.
- The series shows how hard it is to be a huge influencer, and trying to live a normal life.
- Lots of memorable episodes such as:
- "You Are So Sue-Able to Me"
- "Promma Mia";
- "He Could Be the One";
- "Super(stitious) Girl" (part of the awesome crossover special with Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life on Deck, "Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana");
- "Judge Me Tender";
- "The Wheel Near My Bed (Keeps on Turnin')";
- "Miley Says Goodbye?"; (which ended season 3 on a high note)
- "It's the End of the Jake as We Know It";
- "Love That Lets Go";
- "I'll Always Remember You";
- Great premise.
- It is considered one of Disney Channel's best shows due to its popularity, quality writing and effort put into this show. It also spawned a very nice fan base.
- It has a movie called "Hannah Montana: The Movie". Which is also decent.
- The show ended greatly with the finale, “Wherever I Go”, being touching!
Bad Qualities
- Miley acted more of a Mary-sue in some episodes, which shows how stereotypical the show is to females.
- The show may have aged badly and feel like a very bad influence to children after Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball music video in 2013 as well as her twerking video.
- Some bad episodes such as:
- "We're All on This Date Together" (which ended season 2 on a sour note)
- "Killing Me Softly With His Height";
- "Papa's Got a Brand New Friend";
- "Knock Knock Knockin' on Jackson's Head";
- "You Give Lunch a Bad Name";
- "Once, Twice, Three Times Afraidy";
- "B-B-B-Bad to the Chrome";
- "Uptight (Oliver's All Right)";
- "Come Fail Away";
- "California Screamin'";
- All of Miley's friends, especially Lilly, can be extremely selfish and never have Miley's back, when she needs them. Even Jackson sometimes has Miley's back, and that is saying SO MUCH.
- The laugh track is overused sometimes.
- The acting can sometimes be over the top.
- Some unlikable characters, especially Jackson and Rico.
- Some of the jokes are not funny, and they can sometimes come off as very mean-spirited.
- Oliver is no longer a main character in season 4, although he does have 2 special cameos.
- Miley can sometimes be a horrible friend.
- The show didn't translate to HD till the final season.
Videos
Reception
Bickford said Hannah Montana helped Disney return to a level of commercial success that had been absent since its musical films of the 1990s, and built on the success of the network's programs Lizzie McGuire and That's So Raven. He explained that Hannah Montana adopted a business model of combining celebrity acts with film, television, and popular music for a pre-adolescent audience and compared this model to 1990s teen pop artists such as Britney Spears and NSYNC, who were also marketed to children. Heather Phares of AllMusic described the melodies of the featured songs as strong and Cyrus's vocals as charismatic. Ruthann Mayes-Elma said in a journal article Hannah Montana is a wholesome, "bubble-gum" television show, and that the use of Miley's catchphrase "sweet nibblets" in the place of profanity in the scripts helped solidify the show's family-friendly appeal. The A.V. Club's Marah Eakin found fault with the writing of Hannah Montana, criticizing its "oppressive" laugh track, and its use of stereotypes.
The series has been examined for its depiction of gender roles and stereotypes. Blue said the series establishes stereotypical femininity as part of girlhood. She explained that the primary female characters, Miley and her alter ego—Hannah, are positioned as post-feminist subjects in a way their representation is confined to notions of celebrity and consumerism. Bickford interpreted the theme song "The Best of Both Worlds" as an expression of Miley's choice between her contradictory identities, saying the choice is "as simple as choosing a pair of shoes" and that the character is privileged because she has multiple shoes and identities. Blue noted the contradiction of Miley's "normal life" being directly influenced by her celebrity status in ways such as financial security and a spacious home; she suggested Miley supports the family financially. Mayes-Elma criticized the portrayal of Miley as an "airhead" rather than as a "strong, agentic girl", and Blue said Lilly is depicted as a tomboy who does not uphold the femininity Miley represents.
In the book The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom, Tison Pugh analyzed the subtle sexualization present within the characters of Hannah Montana, such as Jackson's girlfriend Siena, who works as a bikini model. In a journal article, Shirley Steinberg cites Miley as a character who maintains chastity but wears objectifying clothing. Mayes-Elma said guest stars such as the Jonas Brothers were incorporated by Disney to encourage the viewership of young teenage girls. Pugh stated that the program obscures the divergence between fiction and reality, due to the character of Miley Stewart sharing similarities to Miley Cyrus, Robby Ray Stewart being difficult to distinguish from Billy Ray Cyrus, and guest actors such as Parton and the Jonas Brothers playing fictional versions of themselves. Kennedy added that featuring celebrity guests, such as Leno and his real talk-show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, contributed to Miley being placed in the "real world" and thus becoming easily confusable with Cyrus. Pugh explained that displaying Miley as an authentic and likable character was a key marketing strategy, which led to Cyrus becoming closely associated with the Hannah Montana branding; Mayes-Elma explicated that Disney was selling Cyrus—a then-sixteen-year-old girl—to consumers as a "form of pop cultural prostitution". Blue also took note of the intersection between the world of the fictional characters and that of Cyrus.