Miley Cyrus, Ben Affleck and the Rorschach test of popular culture.

• Position: Living

It was the twerk heard 'round the world.

Miley Cyrus' hypersexualized performance of her hit song, "We Can't Stop,'' followed by an even raunchier duet with Robin Thicke of his summer smash, "Blurred Lines,'' on Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards was a Twitter phenomenon. The Internet hasn't seen so much shock, awe and outrage since days previously, when Warner Bros. announced Ben Affleck would be playing Batman in the forthcoming movie, "Superman Vs. Batman.''

Seriously: Someone posted a petition on Change.org to convince Warner Bros. to rescind Affleck's casting. What's next? Imploring the president to begin drone strikes on Hollywood. (Shush, Internet commenters. I already know what you're going to say.)

With Cyrus, there were any number of serious issues being discussed. Some critics decried the lowering standards of popular culture ... although there was always this sense that if we weren't talking about a young star whose previous image wasn't, well, "Hannah Montana,'' that maybe things would have blown over quickly. Still, although we've been having this discussion in one form or another since Elvis was on "The Ed Sullivan Show,'' one has to concede they might have a point. On the other hand, a different chorus rose up to chide the moralistic crowd for "slut shaming'' Cyrus, and they have some pretty good points, too.

And then there are the critics who've been criticizing Cyrus since the video for "We Can't Stop'' first aired, accusing her of cultural appropriation and "accessorizing with black people,'' as the feminist blog Jezebel and others phrased it. And really, I'm not the best guy to comment on twerking or rachet culture, but at a glance, I can see where a lot of folks might take offense to the image of Cyrus surrounded by black backup dancers dressed up as toys, and being -- ahem -- manhandled by the onetime Disney starlet. There are definitely some questionable semiotics at play there. And even still, I'm struck by a black friend on Facebook, noting that twerking isn't any part of his culture that he's aware of, and that he's not sure what exactly is being appropriated.

It's enough to make you yearn for the days of Kanye West interrupting people. And you know what? Everybody has a point. Every last commenter -- save perhaps those who are spending a bit too much time feeling self-righteous or drooling over a 20-year-old singer -- has had something serious and important to say.

But the thing of it is, almost none of it has been...