In episodes 8 and 9 of The Get Down, Mylene is subject to the control of her father and her studio managers. Instead of doing what she wants to do with her body, her voice, and her career, she’s given contradictory messages by the authority figures in her life that not only represent but are her security, as well as the only ones that ensure her success. This is an extremely difficult position for a young, upcoming star to be in. She’s caught between being a “sexy” star and being a part of the church, as well as between her family and her career. Mylene suffers because of this – the virgin/whore complex that is so interwoven in how a young woman is allowed to express herself and what the world “wants” from her is all consuming.

In the reading “Hip-Hop is Not Responsible For Sexism”, Tricia Rose writes “rap’s stars and the corporations that distribute their songs get away with and have profited handsomely from highly vulgar and explicit forms of sexism specifically targeting black women—a fact that only encourages other up-and-coming artists to follow in their misogynist footsteps to get famous and rich” (151). I see this as being entwined with Mylene’s issues, for at the end of episode 9, Mylene has to choose to act in a part that her manager got for her that involves her “sexing herself up” and acting in accordance to the objectification of her youthful womanhood, or choosing to comply with her father’s vision. Her father wants to control her, which is part of sexism, into being subservient and absolutely “holy” – aka she is caught in the virgin/whore complex that the music business, and society, functions on. During Mylene’s interview on TV, she is asked if she has a boyfriend, which would likely never happen to a male star. If she had responded yes, perhaps the interviewer would have even made a point to speak about how sad that is for everyone else – enforcing again, the control interlinked with desire when it comes to young female stars like Mylene that represent both virgin/whore.

This also reminds me of what we discussed in terms of the “Rumor Has It” article by Riley Snorton. We discussed how who celebrities sleep with is always discussed. Although we mainly discussed queerness in the hip-hop community, this also relates to Mylene and Zek’s relationships and how publicized it is in their crew/circle of people. Everyone in the show is discussing if they are or are not together. Really though, whose business is it? Her and Zek’s on/off tension is a big source of tension in the show, inherently part of the sex sells culture that even a more conscious show like this plays into. But I won’t go that metta/existential and critique the show’s plot as a whole right now 🙂

At the same time, Mylene accuses Shaolin of having the hots for Zek, an insult that frustrated me yet also relates to the Snorton article – suspected queerness in the hip-hop/rap world has always been a source of rumors and gossip, as well as a source of pain and degradation. Homophobic remarks and toxic masculinity is exemplified in how Shaolin and Mylene interact during this potent scene. For “rumor has it”, Shaolin couldn’t “get it up”, therefore he must be gay? Hmm…