The spectacularization of love revenge

January is the time of new beginnings for many, but apparently there are some in the upper echelons of the entertainment industry who have waited until 2023 to resolve unresolved issues. Shakira, Miley Cyrus, Lana del Rey, and Sarah Jessica Parker as her iconic character Carrie Bradshaw have recently demonstrated that there are different ways to handle the end of a relationship, either by ranting at the ex, dedicating a song to him or her to self-affirm themselves, or getting back together, amplifying the issue of the spectacle of love breakups in pop-culture, between tear-jerking music albums and slightly trashy moments.

The media scene today is dominated by Shakira, the queen of revenge, who has set to music her resentment toward ex-partner Gerard Piqué after his betrayal with BZRP Music #53, a song that is now topping the charts. The song's success is due to the strong words the singer uses against girl who helped break the bond with her partner.  Involving products from brands such as Rolex and Casio, Renault, and the Ferrari horse, the singer emphasizes her superiority over her ex's new partner, giving the audience an entertainment based on confrontation and embodying what many would have wanted to do at the end of a relationship, strive without filters. Shakira is portrayed as a heroine for all women who have been betrayed and devalued, but publicly disrespecting a person by making her the scapegoat for one's own anger places the singer's figure in the crosshairs of criticism about "bad taste," especially then if the same person places a toy witch on her balcony in the direction of her mother-in-law's house, who lives in her own neighborhood. Everyone involved in the affair will come out richer and more popular from this affair, including Casio and Renault who gained two marketing campaigns from the querelle. Shakira's is a type of grudge with a cultural matrix, because in Catholic cultures the end of a relationship is experienced as a form of failure that leaves the individual in loneliness, often with the guilt of not having fulfilled the duty of creating a family, and thus leads to the need to claim one's ego in defiance of the motto "girls support girls."

Miley Cyrus also wanted to leave room for her ego, but in a different way. The video for the new single Flowers released on January 13, sees Miley go from wearing a gold hooded dress from the YSL archives belonging to FW '91 to black lingerie while the refrain repeats "I can buy my own flowers, write my name in the sand, and love myself better than you would have." These are words that the Wrecking Ball singer decides to dedicate to herself in order to get revenge on the pain she experienced after the painful end of her relationship with the actor, while freeing herself from the trauma by singing at the top of her lungs on the roof of her house.  The song refers to a real turning point, a time to move on and cut ties, except that there is a hint of resentment underneath, as the single's release date corresponds to Hemsworth's date of birth. Lana del Rey also sparked the public by taking a jab at her ex Sean Larkins with her decision to have the only promotional billboard for the launch of her new album Did You Know There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd appear in Tulsa, her ex's hometown. 

What makes the resentment of the end of a love affair so shareable in reality and on social is the simplicity of human feeling, which makes it difficult to accept changes and life circumstances that test relationships. Aidan's return to Carrie Bradshaw's life in the And Just Like That 2 series shows that beyond resentment (and a few years of time), it is possible to move beyond conflict in a relationship, perhaps. The series' official Instagram account shared a snap in which Sarah Jessica Parker holds hands with John Corbett, hinting to fans of the return of the fashionista's historical ex, parked for Mr.Big despite the seriousness of the relationship between the two. Given that the star's great love died at the beginning of the Sex and The City sequel, will the two characters' story be reheated soup or proof that there is a future after a relationship ends? Meanwhile, the snapshot has collected 1.3 million likes, proving that Aidan's revenge interests many.