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Miss American Dream: Britney Spears Goes "On The Record"
New York, 6:36 AM
Mon Nov 30
18 posts in the last 24 hours
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Miss American Dream: Britney Spears Goes "On The Record" |
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11/30/08
11/30/08
I guaran-fucking-tee you that if she just recorded an album (her, apparently, only favorite part of it all) and released it....people would buy it. She wouldn't have to tour nor give interviews and could move to Iceland and reside in some ice castle and be left alone. Problem is, she's neither able to be without attention nor is she intelligent (never has been) nor has she any common sense. Otherwise, she would have pulled an Ani Difranco a long time ago, got her own record label and released her OWN music under her OWN label and rules.
gah, I could go on but what is the point. Regardless of the fact that she did go off the deep end this GIRL never found any of her power whether internally or the power handed to her on a silver platter and for that I cannot respect her.
I'll leave with a quote much more applicable than the Einstein quote (no disrespect to your well written column, Hortense).....
"Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame." - Erica Jong
11/30/08
I think if any of us grew up in the environment she did, with assistants, stylists, make up artists, hair stylists, trainers, managers, record producers, PR people and a host of whoever else around to make sure she was heading in the "right" direction for her career, making all of her decisions for her, we'd be headed toward the same mess she went through/is going through. I'm not saying this to be all "Poor Britney, she's rich and famous," but to say I think there's a lot behind all this trouble she's gone through, and I think she deserves a pretty freaking big break with it all.
When Britney became famous, I was in the 9th grade and I loved her music, her dancing, everything and I wanted to do my hair like hers and wear clothes like hers and everything else. Now that about 10 years have gone by and I've grown up, just as she has, I can look back on all this and think... she and I were nearly the same age when she became famous. When I was 17, I was in high school, going to work after school at a daycare to pay for my car and then doing homework when I got home. When she was 17, she was in her world of handlers and everything that comes with being one of the most famous people in the world. Eventually all of those people who had surrounded her earlier in her career left, right about when she got married I'd guess, and it seems like she had a hard time getting herself together, which makes sense to me. If you spend your teenage/early 20s years never having to make a decision for yourself, being managed and all that, once that network leaves and you're on your own, you're bound to have trouble.
Plus, she's doing all this with people watching literally every single move she makes. That can't make anything any easier. With TMZ and YouTube and whatever else, we can see every bite of food she eats, every outfit she wears, every time she has a knot in her hair or gets in a car. We can repeatedly watch the videos, or stare at the pictures for hours on blogs. People can see every time she struggles in her life and can make fun of her and put videos of her crying on the side of the road on the internet and everyone can laugh and say mean things in comment boxes and then we all go back to our lives.
Now, I don't know squat about mental illness. I have no clue what she might be going through or how hard it is to deal with. The only mental illness I've ever been around was once in 2002 when my mom went into a deep depression. Whatever is going on with Britney, I really hope she's getting help and she's getting better.
11/30/08
I think that would help her more than anything else. Privacy and cookies.
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@georgina: well said as well but I dont think it is a trap necessarily. People need to raise their daughters properly. I dont blame those that set the trap - there will always be those that try to capitalize off of our insecurities for their own financial gain.
As long as we continue with this lame celebrity worship culture where little girls are allowed to watch little made up Hannah Montanas and play with Bratz dolls we will have this issues I believe. Parents: celebrities are not role models for kids. You and leaders in your community are.
11/30/08
A perfect world is one where little girls care more about the kind of person they are than how attractive they are to others. And keep in mind I was one of those little "pageant freaks" and i didnt fall into these traps. Its all about the parenting.
11/30/08
And I don't know that you can really compare "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" to "High School Musical" one is about selling sex the other is selling cutesy romance a parent can feel comfortable about.
And I think it's probably okay to dress up a child like Hannah Montana she dresses pretty age-appropriate from what I've seen.
11/30/08
11/30/08
Maybe you cannot compare those two but also you can compare the recent Disney stars who have had their asses and coochies out in their "candid and stolen" pictures? What about naked Miley in a bed sheet in Vogue? What exactly was she selling?
Miley/Hannah is not age appropriate. If I walked out of the house looking like that my mom wouldve smacked the makeup off my face. Its all in the parenting.
11/30/08
Wont someone please think of the children!
11/30/08
11/30/08
Hate to be the old grump who says things were better in the good ol' days, but in a lot of ways, they were. The pressure to be perfect just seems so relentless now. My heart goes out to Britney and to all the girls today who are feeling like Hortense did when they turn on the TV.
11/30/08
11/30/08
I was never a fan of Britney, her musical style was not something I was ever into, and as I watched her trash it up, get married, get anulled, get married to Kfed I laughed along with most of my peers. Then as she started to unravel it was too sad to watch. It was about that time, that my own family member started to unravel and was finally diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. The comparison was uncanny and watching the 2 of them go parallel down the same slope, I started to care about what was happening to her in a 'big sister' or maternal kind of way. Now, everytime I see her with it together I am so proud and happy.
My own family member has gotten himself together too. He has his own apartment, is working, and flourshing. I always feel like it is a slippery slope though, and I keep a close eye. I think it may always be like that, becuase the visions of him in a hospital bed talking about colors I couldn't see and spiritual things that made no sense scared me to my core. I think it will always be like that with Britney too. She looks great, she seems to be on a good path, and I only pray she has the kind of healthy support system my family member has.
I always thought it had a lot to do with being a creative personality. My family member is an artist and many many other celebrites have been diagnosed with bi polar disporder from Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Alvin Ailey and Vivian Leigh to Sting, Axl Rose, Ben Stiller, and even DMX. There was even a cnn article about it (which I believe was a post here on Jezebel)
[www.cnn.com]
So, I will totally watch the Britney special - holding my breath and hoping she will make it. I can't say I want to see her continue in her career. I want to see her taking care of her kids and becoming the kind of parent thats hers were not; NOT in the spotlight.
11/30/08
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11/30/08
A snippet:
"Britney rifles the racks as the Cure's "Pictures of You" blasts into the airless pink boutique, grabbing a pink lace dress, a few tight black numbers and a frilly red crop top, the kind of shirt that Britney used to wear all the time at seventeen but isn't really appropriate for anyone over that age. Then she ducks into the dressing room with Ghalib. He emerges with her black Am Ex.
The card won't go through, but they keep trying it.
"Please," begs Ghalib, "get this done quickly."
One of the girls runs to Britney's dressing room, explaining the situation through a pink gauze curtain.
A wail emerges from the cubby - guttural, vile, the kind of base animalistic shriek only heard at a family member's deathbed. "Fuck these bitches," screams Britney, each word ringing out between sobs. "These idiots can't do anything right!"
Ghalib dashes over to console her, but she's already spitting, growling, throwing a big bottle of soda on the floor so that it begins to spill underneath the curtain, and then she's got a box of tissues and is throwing them on top of the wet floor along with piles of discarded merchandise. A new card finally goes through, but by then Britney is out the door, leaving her shirt on the ground and replacing it with the red top. "Fuck you, fuck people, fuck, fuck, fuck," she keeps screaming, her face splotchy and red as she crosses the interminable mall floor..."
Later in the article...
"the crowd running after Britney gets larger, and now the shopgirls have started to catch up to her, one of them slipping spectacularly in her platform shoes, grazing her elbow. She pulls herself up, mustering the strength to tap Britney's shoulder. "Um, I'm from the South too," she mumbles, "and I was wondering if I could get a picture with you for my little sister."
Britney turns to Ghalib and grabs his arm. "I don't want her talking to me!" she screams. She whirls around and stares the girl deep in the eyes, her lips almost vibrating with anger. "I don't know who you think I am, bitch," she snarls, "but I'm not that person."
[www.rollingstone.com]
I don't know about anyone else but once I digested this article, I felt really disgusted with her. I will say I don't know the depths of her mental illness and this could very well be an instance of a "manic episode". If that's the case, my disgust takes the turn toward empathy because I have depression issues myself and have been on several different medications.
However ill she may be though, I am appalled by her behavior and feel a great deal of sympathy for any of her earnest fans who encountered her at a time like this. I can't help but think it is a scary, unsettling experience for any stranger to come across her when she's like this.
Whatever turn her road to recovery takes, I hope she becomes more aware of how she interacts people and makes a sincere effort to treat people with respect and kindness. I honestly don't see any evidence she's there yet. I still get the impression that Britney is not a person who cares about people. When have we ever observed her being thoughtful, sincere, considerate, or compassionate in any real capacity?
I didn't enjoy reading this story and I don't again wish to hear about her brutal tirades on innocent store employees working for minimum wage, and unsuspecting young fans.
Question for anyone who may know...has it been confirmed by anyone that Britney is Bi-polar or is that just a theory?
11/30/08
I'm not going to go deeply into that excerpt you posted, but I hardly think that Britney's propensity for "insane outbursts" is something separable from her very real mental illness. Who gives a flying fuck (other than you) what the illness is named? It's obviously there.
11/30/08
I think she is curious because maybe its just a case of another celebrity being an asshole. It isnt that far fetched
11/30/08
Anyway, if she doesn't have a "real illness", it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE for me to feel a great deal of sympathy for anyone who feels so compelled to treat random people like such shit. Without the illness, she's just a nasty, hateful monster who doesn't give a fuck about anyone...including her children, who are the biggest casualty here. I have tons more sympathy for the people who are chewed up and spit out by the monster, than the monster herself.
I truly hope she has an illness and isn't the monster in all this. I think all of us hope that's the case...wouldn't we rather assume she's mentally sick than just a shitty human being?
11/30/08
Again, I am interpreting the events described in the excerpt in a very different way than you.
11/30/08
In any case, I don't believe I said anything about celebrities being public property but anyone can make the observation that Britney has had a large role in the paparazzi circus that surrounds her. Befriending and dating papparazzi, having them chaufer her around town, engaging with them, letting them pump her gas/having them pay for items at various gas stations, etc. She has let them into her life more than any other celebrity I've ever witnessed. Maybe all of this is part of the reason why they devour her the way they do...?
However sympathetic we may be, we can't negate her own responsibility in what her life has become.
11/30/08
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I'm pulling for her too, I'm just a disturbed by all that I've read about her and trying to gain insight as to what brought her to this point.
11/30/08
And I agree that she has both contributed to and benefitted from the paparazzi attention. And she of course bears some responsibility for her adult life. But at this point she seems to have some significant problems that go far beyond the "asshole celebrity" behavior we all hear about all the time. I just really feel for her and think the whole papparzzi thing has gotten completely out of hand.
11/30/08
I, too, read this article and actually did love it because I'm a crazy voyeur. But I did think, not necessarily in order:
1. What an asshole.
2. How embarrassing for her.
3. Where the fuck are the people who give a shit about her?????
While I do believe that she has a mental illness, I also believe that there comes a time where you have to say, "I am a grown ass fucking woman and have a problem and need to get help." I understand that someone with a mental illness may not recognize that they have a problem, and that the ill person needs to want help before they can actually get it...which is also why I wonder why the hell there hasn't been an intervention...where is Jeff Van Voderen when you need him?? But many people who commit various crimes have mental illnesses and we still hold them responsible for their actions. Britney needs to be held responsible for her actions. I really do hope that this MTV special answers some questions about her behavior, but who knows.
P.S. Sorry for the ellipsis diatribe.
11/30/08
11/30/08
I guess reading the article in it's entirety left me with a little bit of heartache for not just the (airheaded but probably very young and well meaning) shopgirl, but to anyone else who's come in contact with Britney in such a way. That's not to say that I don't have some sympathy for the girl either. I'm just bothered by any person who treats other people poorly and with such seemingly hateful disdain...I mean she called the girl a bitch for chrissakes! That, to me, is really sad and was probably a bit of a heart breaking experience for the dtore clerk.
I am sure it sucks to have people chasing you for autographs and treating you like a piece of meat, but for me it's not entirely excusable to be a complete asshole to the people who are SOLELY responsible for your wealth and success...your fans. Ignoring one or even saying "Look, not right now" is one thing, but curling up your face in rage and calling someone a bitch is another.
11/30/08
I have to say, I had all of the same impressions as you after reading that article. especially the "WHAT AN ASSHOLE!" reaction. My immediate thought was "come on Britney, if you're ever in a mood where the last fucking thing you wanna do is deal with the little people out in the world and you know you're in danger of not being able to restrain yourself from calling some young fan a bitch, stay your goddamn ass home."
My problem is that my imagination runs positively WILD and I'm very mentally dramatic so my next thought was for the poor retail girl who asked for the autograph. I imagined her as a starstruck 18-year old kid who, after being snarled at and called a bitch by Britney, spends the next several days at home in uncontrollable sobs, (even suicidal) thinking "OMG BRITNEY SPEARS HATES ME AND THINKS I'M A BITCH!!! I'M BETTER OF DEAD!" and then proceeds to take a handful of pills.
Disclaimer-Don't give me flack anyone, I just owned up to having a dramatic imagination. OK?
And then I went from mad at the "asshole" to almost unreasonably sad for anyone who's had to encounter her that way.
11/30/08
I hope no one is offended by my asking whether it's a "confirmed fact" that she's bipolar. It's just that as far as I've read, this bipolar thing is all tabloid speculation by the press. They may be diagnosing Britney with something different than what she really has so I just wondered if anyone close to her has confirmed or denied this.
11/30/08
11/30/08
Oooh Britney is trying a bold new no top of her head look (rarrf rarrf rarrf)
11/30/08
Trey are so right it's wrong. That's why I love them.
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Maybe never because well look at Michael Jackson but then again Janet isnt doing too bad?
11/30/08
No, you're right. It can't be a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card.
11/30/08
11/30/08
She is a grown up now. Time to accept responsibility for her own actions.
11/30/08
What's more, if you are lucky enough to get rich and live the good life based soley off your looks and the barest minimum of "talent", then I don't feel sorry for you that you don't get to eat like I do, or that the paps follow you around, or that people talk smack about your appearance. These people don't do anything worthwhile, they add nothing of value to society, and yet they get rewarded to levels most of us will never see. They make that trade, fame and immense wealth in exchange for privacy and normal eating habits. I don't feel bad that Beyonce can't go to Popeyes anymore (she actually used to complain about that in interviews!) and I don't feel bad that people called Britney fat after the VMAs. She gets paid millions to be fit and gorgeous, that's part of her job duties. She has no business letting herself go if she wants to continue being paid for essentially nothing.
I realize this is harsh, but I say all this as a former dancer and actress myself. There is a dark side to show business, people who can't handle it (like myself, admittedly) should get out and find something else to do.
11/30/08
11/30/08
The Hollywood machine has been er, toxic for Spears. She's still a strange woman-child- a 27 yo mother of two, and yet I don't think she makes a single decision on her own. She was never taught to say 'no' for herself and the results are plain.
11/30/08
I also agree with your "conditioned to do as a child" but not just do, actually think and want! Stage parents are notorious for teaching their children this mantra:
"I want it, it's my dream, I've wanted it my whole life."
and after a while, the kids start to believe it.
11/30/08
11/30/08
1. She's actually a slut after all! I knew it!
2. She's so trailer trash. Look at her eating Cheetos, ew.
3. She's not really crazy, she's just doing this to get attention.
Many of these criticisms were made by people who consider themselves otherwise feminist/progressive/open-minded. In fact, #2 was a common refrain in the comment threads of this site, as I recall.
Anyway, I doubt we are doing her or ourselves any favours by now scrutinizing this latest attempt at normalcy to see if she'll fuck up again. Hortense, of course I know you meant this post nicely and I bet most people meant their comments nicely, but personally? I think it's a little weird, and feeding the machine, to stay so obsessed with this particular human being. Whatever else you want to say about her, she's pretty clearly unhappy.
11/30/08
I think Dave Chappelle did his interview with James Lipton before Britney's meltdown, or I think he would've included her in his list of people, besides himself, who were being written off as crazy.
He basically said that crazy is the worst thing you can call a person, because it's dismissive and that if the industry is able to take down people who proved to be tough enough to withstand all the things one has to suffer through to get there in the first place, maybe we should ask ourselves what's wrong with the machine that it consistently chews up and spits out so many otherwise strong and intelligent people.
11/30/08
1. Yes, but because there are people in Hollywood who haven't "snapped" why wouldn't a person think the odds were pretty good that they would survive? These are, after all, people who ignored everyone telling them their odds of being a successful performer were slim to none anyway, so they've already proven to themselves that they can beat the odds.
2. You can counter with "Well that's just how the world works," but I'm just going to counter that with, "But who makes the world work? People. So it doesn't have to work this way; it's just that everyone involved keeps absolving themselves of responsibility as though Some Great Force just possessed them and made them behave like assholes and there's nothing they can do about it because they're just fulfilling the role that was assigned to them.
11/30/08
I'm not expressing myself very well, and I haven't formed these thoughts properly yet, but you could say that in one way, this started when Britney became truly visible for the first time - the person came out from behind the persona, and snarled at the press - and now what we're seeing is the machine becoming visible for the first time - her mother's book, the very strong sense of her being "created" in front of us.
I could go with a puppet/strings analogy here, but I'm tangled enough already.
12/01/08
But "I think it's a little weird, and feeding the machine, to stay so obsessed with this particular human being. Whatever else you want to say about her, she's pretty clearly unhappy."
Is exactly it... she's somehow not a person; even her mental issues are canonized or demonized. And that what makes her saddest to me - there's not much of a person there. Her recent actions in the UK show, that once again, she is not even slightly the own engine of her once-again manufactured 'comeback'.
I feel like she is the meal ticket for many people who push push push, and she is an sad, sad creature. I want her to go away - for her. I don't think the public's relationship with her is healthy. I don't think her family's relationship with her is healthy.
And her own relationship with herself is probably the unhealthiest of all.
11/30/08
I feel so sorry for her. She's probably been told her whole life that this is what she wants, so she believes it. But who knows what she really wants?