"Do I know my life is weird?"
"... It's all I've ever known"
-Britney Spears
The image above is a familiar one, as it recognized by many as the most infamous scandal within a series of erratic behavior and tabloid-worthy incidents labeled by the media as the “Britney Spears Meltdown”. Once known as music’s pop princess, Britney Spears’ personal life became something of a spectacle with a divorce from husband Kevin Federline, party binges with notorious socialites Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, pantyless paparazzi photos, trips to hospitals and rehabilitation centers and of course, the shaving of her head (CBC News, 2008). Between the years of 2006 and 2008, no tabloid was short of a juicy Britney Spears scandal.
In Understanding Celebrity, one explanation of celebrity that arises explains that a celebrity is one whose private life becomes of more interest to the media and general public than their public role (Turner 2004). This certainly was (and possibly still is) the case for Spears, as her music career sat on the back burner while her personal life became the target of multiple gossip magazines, blogs, columns, etc. According to Turner, celebrities are produced, distributed and consumed for the generation of profit (2004). Although the highly publicized “meltdown” was good for selling magazines, it ultimately became damaging to the Britney brand (which encompasses not only her music, but an accessories brand called Candies, a line of perfume and multiple endorsement deals). Understanding Celebrity explains that a persona can be used as a commercial asset (Turner 34), and the bald-headed, paparazzi attacking, vomiting image of Britney Spears was not exactly what you would call “marketable”.
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| Britney the night she attacked a member of the paparazzi with an umbrella |
Hence, from a public relations stand point, one understands the importance of “Britney: For the Record”, a documentary that includes footage of the pop star’s everyday life as well as multiple interview segments. This behind the scenes, intimate look at Spears aims to rescue the damaged image of the once legendary pop princess and becomes a date on a new timeline of events (and stroke of marketing genius), “The Britney Spears Comeback”.
The interview begins with the question, “Why did you want to make this film” in which Spears replies by explaining that recently, she has not been seen in the light that she has wanted to be seen in. This already sets the stage for the product that we, the audience, are about to be sold. Unlike a movie star, making their rounds on a PR circuit promoting their latest film (Turner 2004) , this interview is attempting to sell us something far more complicated; an image. The interview and film take a “come clean” approach, in which the pop star attempts to explain and own up to her behaviour. Lines like “what the hell was I thinking?” and “I’ve grown up…big time” lend themselves to the ultimate goal of rehabilitating the star’s image (I use the word STAR strategically, as it is one of James Monaco’s Celebrity Taxonomies that describes a person who is more famous for their public persona than their professional profile). The interview also attempts to induce a certain amount of sympathy for Britney, painting the picture of a “broken pop star” as opposed to “crazed celebrity”. The interviewer asks, “How does somebody go from being a celebrated entertainer to being a victim of that success?" Even the interviewer is in on the act, placing the word “victim” in our heads as a means of making the audience feel a certain level of empathy and compassion. This consequently aids in the alteration of the media’s representation of the pop star. In response, Spears claims that the media are partly responsible for her dwindling reputation. She states, “I used to be a cool chick you know, and I feel like paparazzi has taken my whole cool slang away from me” which is later complimented by her claim; “I think there is a perception that is not even really me… I think people um…believe what they hear and what they read and that’s not even the truth”. Pinning the responsibility on the media helps Spears and “her people” sell the audience on the idea that half of the antics they saw or read about were fabricated and that perhaps their initial perception of Britney’s meltdown was false. Despite Britney’s apparent sincerity in wanting to “be cool” and have people think nice thoughts about her, one must not forget that the main purpose of this interview is to rescue her image and to save the Britney brand so that she may restore her profit-generating value. Wasn’t it convenient that this made-for-TV documentary aired a few weeks before the debut of her sixth studio album, “Circus”?
A powerful tool within the interview is the appearance of pop icon, Madonna, whose segment acts as a sort of testimonial for the new Britney Spears image product. Graeme Turner introduces the concept of "celebrity as a commodity" (2004), and in this particular case Spears and her team have the help of pop royalty in the attempt to market the Britney Spears reinvention. Using Madonna, who is such a powerful influence within the music industry, as a means of promoting the message of the documentary makes the "quality" and "authenticity" of the product all the more believable and easier to subscribe to.
A powerful tool within the interview is the appearance of pop icon, Madonna, whose segment acts as a sort of testimonial for the new Britney Spears image product. Graeme Turner introduces the concept of "celebrity as a commodity" (2004), and in this particular case Spears and her team have the help of pop royalty in the attempt to market the Britney Spears reinvention. Using Madonna, who is such a powerful influence within the music industry, as a means of promoting the message of the documentary makes the "quality" and "authenticity" of the product all the more believable and easier to subscribe to.
In a review of the documentary, Andy Dehnert of msnbc.com claims that Spears’ answers were extremely vague despite the film’s opening moniker “No question was off limits. No question went unanswered”. Dehnert claims that Britney does very little to change the fact that people “don’t know a lot about [her]”, and provides little insight into the strange behavior following her divorce (2008). Although this may be true, Spears’ non-committal answers are a good PR move because she acknowledges the undeniable strangeness of her behaviour, without sparing the details. Discussing each of the scandals in detail puts those popular media images back into the audience’s head, and ultimately damages the new set of qualities Spears and her people are trying to attribute to her reinvented image. As Turner describes it, the star is attempting to practice "image control", not expose her deepest personal stories and secrets.
So was Britney successful in her attempt? With her ability to come across as down to earth, funny and somewhat misunderstood, yes, I believe she was. You genuinely feel sorry for her when she breaks down into tears, explaining that her life is “too controlled” and “lacks excitement and passion”. In a sense, we begin to understand why such a beautiful young woman would shave her head (an event she describes as a “form of rebellion”). As a passive audience member, you buy into the idea that Britney has been a misunderstood, victim of the media who just simply lost her way after the heartbreak of her divorce. Most importantly the film successfully conveys that Britney is ready to get back to work, and produce the same type of music that once launched her into super stardom. Knowing that Britney is “on her way back” is a much more promising message for her fans, and an extremely marketable tagline for the launch of her new cd, music video, perfume, accessory line, magazine covers, etc. This interview is successful on selling us on Britney’s new image, so that she may continue to sell us other products.
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| The Britney Comeback in full swing |
SOURCES
CBS News. (2008). Timeline: Britney's meltdown. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/20/entertainment/main2495238.shtml
Dehnert, A. (2008, December 4). 'For the record', Britney reveals very little. Retrieved from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27931958/ns/today-entertainment/
Turner, G.T. (2004). Understanding celebrity. London: Sage Publishing Lt.
WATCH PART ONE OF “BRITNEY: FOR THE RECORD” here:
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