Explaining Melanie Martinez’s Cry Baby era and discussing rumors/misconceptions surrounding it for people to stop misinterpreting it & her intentions with it. (a thread 🧵)
Before starting, my only goal towards this thread is help people understand and debunk misinformation spread about Melanie which is extremely harmful and false. Of course, a lot of people will choose to ignore this thread and still say those things. so if youre here to learn, hey
Who is Cry Baby?
Crybaby is a fictional character played by Melanie Martinez. She has never shied away from the fact that she does not personally relate to some of the songs.
However, Melanie has made it clear she is NOT crybaby. Just like actors aren’t their characters.
The character shares some experience she does such as the ones related to her past relationships, anxiety/struggles with confidence. This includes songs: Cry Baby, Carousel, Alphabet Boy, Soap, Training Wheels, Pity Party, Pacify Her, Mrs. Potato Head, Mad Hatter, Play Date, Cake
But, a lot of her songs have double meanings. Such as the song “Dollhouse” which talks about a dysfunctional family on surface level but is also about everyone not being perfect & having their own problems buried deep.
A huge recent misconception is that Melanie doesn’t relate to any of the songs. With what I’ve just informed you, we could say she doesn’t directly relate to 4-5 songs out of 16. (Sippy Cup, Tag You’re It, Milk And Cookies, Teddy Bear, Dollhouse could be included too)
Melanie has stated SEVERAL times that she thinks it’s important to talk and raise awareness abt taboo subjects that no one mentions in music but that a lot of ppl go through every day. A lot of people claim she “glamorizes” those issues and is trying to profit off of them.
Using this logic, then every director, actor, bookwriter & etc who talks about those issues in art is “glamorizing them & wants to profit off of them”.. obviously not. Especially not in music, people aren’t going to listen FOR the meaning if it doesn’t sound good.
What I mean by my earlier tweet is that people are going to listen to music if they think it sounds good, no matter what the lyrics/ the meaning behind the song is most of the time. Keep in mind, this was her debut album; It could’ve made 0$ as far as she knew.
Misinterpreted songs:
1. Mrs Potato Head: a lot of people seem to think Melanie is shaming people who get plastic surgery. Which is not the case, she has addressed this song specifically on multiple occasions to insure nobody gets the wrong idea. But they still do.
2. Mad Hatter: People claim this song “glamorizes mental issues and psychosis” meanwhile what it’s really about is accepting yourself for being different than the people around you and being okay with that because everyone who IS different is seen badly in society.
To back up everything i’ve said so far, I’m going to include the sources and the statements by Melanie.
Watch in order:
For more factual information about Melanie: melanie-martinez.fandom.com/wiki/Melanie_M…
This next part of the thread includes sensitive topics.
If you are triggered by subjects such as SA & p€d0philia, now is the time to click off.
3. Tag You’re It: A lot of people seem to think this song is about SA. Which is not the case. Cry Baby gets kidnapped in this song but it’s not done in a way to “romanticize” it. This was also released as a double feature with Milk & Cookies, where she k words the kidnapper.
As you can see in the vid, there is absolutely NOTHING $exual or related to THAT in any way. It’s not glamorizing it in any way. It’s portrayed as a scary and unsettling situation. They don’t even have an actual interaction except for when she buys ice cream and offs him.
To also keep in mind, people like to claim she built her career off of “pretending to have” those issues. Yet, the most streamed songs on Cry Baby are the ones unrelated to them.
(#1 - Play Date
#2 - Pacify Her
#3 - Pity Party)
Comment before moving on to another part:
I can’t shake off the fact that this is all related to misogyny. The second a woman wants to talk about very REAL issues in today’s world, she is directly accused of wanting to glamorize and profit off of them. It’s odd.
“$exualizing babies” accusations
Where did this come from?
An ACTUAL p€d0phile.
Onision was a well known YouTuber back in 2015, until he & his partner were caught having a $exual relationship with a 15 year old girl and making that girl move in with them.
This is where this rumor started. I think that alone speaks for itself.
Crybaby’s trilogy is based off of Melanie’s 3 albums. And the first album is about her childhood. (hence, the character being a baby)
It’s all a big metaphor.
Cry Baby: Birth
K-12: Life
PORTALS: Death
Melanie has stated multiple times she is inspired by “Pop Surrealism”
“The typical and a bit subversive characteristic of the movement and its artists was to use pop icons, such as Marilyn Monroe or Disney's characters in order to pass their political or social messages”
“Lowbrow Pop Surrealism was a style of art that was heavily inspired by the popular culture of the 1960s and 1970s in America. Commonly referred to as a “retro” style, this movement was most commonly seen in the form of paintings, digital art, sculpture, collage, and even toys.”
There is nothing “disturbing” or “dark” as some people call it about this movement. Which as you can see in the photos above, probably remind you of some of Melanie’s own work. This “aesthetic” doesn’t boil down to Melanie only. Hundreds of artists have used it for 50 years now.
Some people wonder why she went out with pacifiers & baby bottles and I think that question can be answered pretty easily ESPECIALLY today.
It’s clear Melanie takes her characters EXTREMELY seriously, She posts as them on her social media. Crybaby era lasted about 2 years.
At the end of the day, if you don’t understand pop surrealism, if you only look at visual art for its surface; That’s obviously why you believe that this whole era has to do w “$exualizing babies”
Melanie has explained this already & the photo is included in the thread.
End of thread 🧵.
I made this because I kept seeing people calling Melanie a p phile on my tl for a while now when that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
If you read this properly & is still spreading those kind of rumors, don’t claim to be an advocate for anything afterwards.
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