Like a Wrecking Ball: Miley Cyrus at Harvard

Don’t get too excited, but if Mark J. Mauriello ’15, creator and director of “Julie Cooper: Genesis Prayer,” has his way, Miley Cyrus will make be making an appearance on Harvard’s campus sometime this week.

Mauriello’s production, “Julie Cooper: Genesis Prayer,” tackles the modern dilemmas of celebrity pop culture.

“We’re not really sure where the distinctions are between person and persona..they become icons, almost in a religious sense, like Beyoncé is God,” Mauriello said.

Enter Miley #twerkprince$$. The inspiration to start a MILEY at HARVARD campaign complete with a Twitter account, came from the fact that Mauriello’s production deals with the leap from fiction to fantasy, and “people who were characters, who were caricatures,” he said. There was also “amazing inspiration from the bring Raven Symone to Harvard campaign.”

“[Miley is a] brilliant artist in the fact that she has crafted for herself this persona...this iconship,” Mauriello said. “Look at all the Mileys we had for Halloween this year...we’re all paying attention, we’re all watching her every move.”

Miley will be in Boston for her concert on April 2nd as part of the Bangerz tour. By the way, get your tickets—my seats are in section 309. Over two weeks later, “Julie Cooper: Genesis Prayer” will run from April 17th-19th. Logical conclusion: Why not invite Miley to campus?!?!

“She’s either absolutely definitely not coming or absolutely definitely coming, I’m not sure which one yet,” Mauriello said. But hey, she’s in Boston already, and what better way to spend an afternoon than chilling out on Harvard’s campus at Dean Pfister’s book club?

However, Mauriello has no plans to share Miley. If he gets his wish, Miley will be treated to pad thai, perhaps a tour of campus, and then Netflix while hanging out on Mauriello’s futon. They will definitely have plenty to talk about.

“With the exception of very few details, I think she and I are exactly the same person,” Mauriello said. “She has more money and Twitter followers than me but I’m working on it.”

Lest you think this all in jest, Mauriello is making a serious point. We are all constantly crafting our own personas, in everything that we do. Just because we’ll never know what’s going on inside Miley’s head, that doesn’t change Mauriello’s opinion that her "Wrecking Ball" video is a gift from God.

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