I decided to watch one of her latest interviews and there are some interesting insights here I think.
First the guy asks her how making the movies affected her on a personal level (he says…”what has it done for you not as a performer, not professionally, but Ariana”). And she says “It’s done so much for Ariana” (2.00 - 2.05). While it’s true that the interviewer used her name in 3rd person (like they were talking about someone who’s not in the room), it’s still weird when a grown person talks about themselves like that.
At 5.40 she admits that concert tours “wear on her soul” because the artist on stage is not really her but rather “the caricaturized version” of her. I’m not sure if this this is something from the MK ultra vocabulary, but I found it interesting because I don’t think artists often admit that their public image is merely a caricature. And this is a very important addmission, if we think about it. Does she think her teen fans realize that the Ariana Grande that they love is a caricature? Do young women who want to copy her style and behavior realize that? I’m actually surprised that she chose such a fitting word here – because pop culture/music industry really does turn women into cartoon characters – overly sexualized, not motherly in any normal sense of the word, not grounded in reality. Marlyn Monroe was the ultimate caricature – a woman who is supposed to be a loving wife and mother turned into a sex doll. Big breasts, revealing dresses, clown make up on.