Third Time’s a Kairos

Do you believe in fate or destiny? Well, everything in life does happen for a reason. I simply believe that everyone makes their own destiny by their actions and that if they don’t display the truth from the beginning that it will show itself through the actions they make every day of their lives. If someone doesn’t deserve a second chance they will “hang themselves” and destroy their chance for those opportune moments. It’s all just a matter of timing.

According to Ancient Rhetorics: Chapter Two, kairos is a term used to suggest an advantageous time or an “exact or critical time.” Kairos comes from a bas-relief in Turin, Italy which displays the importance of anticipating opportunities and seizing them before they pass by. Gorgia’s rhetorical theory accounts for the timely simulation of issues with an audience. Kairos draws attention to arguments that can be found in connection with particular issues in society, all the way to visual rhetoric used in memes on social media.

If you haven’t heard already then most would say you’re living under a rock but I’ll say that you just have better things to do then worry about celebrity drama… Anyway, Miley Cyrus vs. Nicki Minaj at the VMA’s?! I fell out laughing when I found out.

[If you have no idea who either of these women are: Miley Cyrus is the actress from Tennessee who played Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel show several years and Nicki Minaj is a female rapper from New York who is signed to Young Money Entertainment & Cash Money Records.]

Here is a short video of what happened between the two at the MTV Video Music Awards:

Nicki Minaj vs Miley Cyrus on VMA 2015 (Legendado), Hunter Estranho, August 31, 2015

The streets have taken to social media via Twitter and Instagram feeds. There are so many memes representing the argument between the two that display the funniest visual rhetoric based on facial expression and conceptualization.

MAMA

Most people have had a moment like this during their teenage years where their mom says something that they don’t agree with and they mumble under their breath but when she hears you like, “What did you say?” You just stare blankly like a deer in headlights and say, “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” So the fearful face Miley has shows the same rhetoric of a child who is afraid of their mother. It is also funny because Nicki Minaj is actually older than Miley Cyrus so it presents a certain level of authority to make a joke.

RITA

The concept for this meme comes from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Harry is the youngest wizard entered into the triwizard tournament and the woman Rita is a witch journalist for The Daily Prophet who makes false accusations about Harry Potter and is constantly reporting the wrong information about him. So related to the Miley vs Nicki situation the meme maker used Nicki’s words from the VMA’s to make a Harry Potter moment hilarious.

miley cyrus vs nicki minaj

This meme maker on Twitter is displaying the reason that Miley didn’t respond foul towards Nicki’s comments because she has more money and that’s what’s good with her so she doesn’t care.

miley whats good

This last meme illustrates Nicki Minaj’s temper and unprofessional with the gun that has been Photoshopped into the image. This is similar to a gun prop that Nicki Minaj held almost a year ago in her video, Lookin A** N****, that caused a lot of controversy and displays how once again Nicki Minaj 1. causes drama with other celebrities in the industry and 2. displays controversy within her music videos.

Meme making has become it’s own category of rhetoric based on cultural and societal factors related to the social media. This situation between Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus has gotten a lot of attention in celebrity news reports like TMZ, MTV News, ABC News, Worldwide Media, HipHop Hollywood and many more. The real question on the table for discussion is if this brief argument on stage was real or fake. Entertainment Tonight, argues that because of Miley’s reaction with the timing after what Nicki Minaj said to her was too real and natural looking to have been fake.

We even have other celebrities who have gotten involved with the situation after press has come to them asking which side they would choose: Team Nicki or Team Miley? Team Nicki is surprisingly enough, Taylor Swift. According to Clevver News, Taylor Swift thinks that Nicki Minaj has a big heart and is often misunderstood, also that Nicki wasn’t bullying Miley. Team Miley on the other hand is someone who has been close to Nicki for years and is also a rapper for the Young Money Entertainment record label. According to Hollywood Life, Drake is Team Miley. He agrees with the way she handled the situation on stage with her response and that he might even do a diss track with Miley against Nicki. Nicki Minaj says that she feels completely betrayed by Drake. What a disaster.

I guess it’s all a matter of timing. Nicki Minaj is a Sagittarius (born Dec. 8th) and so are Miley Cyrus (born Nov. 23rd) and Taylor Swift (born Dec. 13th). First she went off on Taylor Swift about VMA nominations, then on Miley Cyrus at the VMA’s, but what people really want to know is who might be next? Which artist in the industry is going to be the next competition that Nicki is truly threatened by? Another Sagittarius in the industry? Another female? Or maybe it’s all just been a coincidence. We’ll find out soon enough though because third time’s a kairos.

Thank you again for reading my weekly blog post and feel free to leave a comment below about your opinion(s) on the whole situation.

 

Sources:

Crowley, Sharon. Ancient Rhetoric. Massachusetts: A Viacom Company, 1999. Print.

Hunter O Estranho. “Nicki Minaj vs Miley Cyrus on VMA 2015 (Legendado)” Online video clip. YouTube, 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015.

Entertainment Tonight. “Watch Miley Cyrus’ Priceless Reaction To Nicki Minaj Throwing Shade at Her” Online video clip. YouTube, 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015.

Clevver News. “Taylor Swift Takes Whose Side In Nicki Minaj/Miley Cyrus VMA Feud?” Online video clip. YouTube, 4 Sept. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015.

Hollywood Life. “Nicki Minaj & Miley Cyrus VMAs Feud: Drake Chooses Sides” Online video clip. YouTube, 3 Sept. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015.

“Nicki Minaj Responds To ‘Lookin Ass’ Artwork Controversy” News: Vibe. VIBE, 13 Feb 2014. Web. 8 Sept. 2015.

 

Updates in the life of Nicki Minaj:

2 thoughts on “Third Time’s a Kairos”

  1. Brittany, I love that you chose this topic for your analysis. I personally don’t care much of anything for pop culture drama, but I have heard about this. I thought your post was comical and the whole drama between Miley and Nicki is just crazy. The memes that you found for this were very entertaining, especially the Harry Potter one. Your comment about how Nicki has jumped on people who both happen to be Sagittariuses was an interesting take on it. I know conflicts tend to happen between people with similar personality types, and it’s often true that people with the same zodiac sign have similar personality traits. Perhaps she’s feeling a bit of competition!

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