‘I’m not a diva. I know what I like and I know what I want…’
While I’m not rushing to add Britney Spears songs to my playlists, or ordering It’s Britney, Bitch t-shirts from Ebay, there is no denying that Britney has been a pop culture icon throughout my childhood and beyond. Embarrassing as it is to admit now, Britney was probably the first celebrity crush I ever had (complete with posters adorning my bedroom wall alongside pictures of Oasis and Nirvana… it was a confusing time) and so the Free Britney movement has seen me spring into action like some kind of weird protective uncle (this is probably a good time to mention that Britney is a good five years older than me). Anyway, as a consequence of all this, I was all over Framing Britney Spears, and it was mostly a great watch.
Following her breakdown in 2007, Britney Spears has been under a court ordered conservatorship that granted the running of her estate and her own life into the hands of her father Jamie Spears. This has created a lot of controversy in the intervening years due to the perception that Britney is unhappy with this decision, as well she would be considering that a person who has released a number of best selling albums and held down a residency in Vegas is probably capable of making decisions. Framing Britney Spears navigates these choppy waters whilst at the same time offering some context in the form of presenting Britney’s rise to stardom and the insidious hounding by the press that led to Britney’s annus horribilis in 2007. There is a long history of the talent being exploited by a friend or family member, stretching right back to Elvis and Col. Tom Parker, but something about Britney’s age when she became famous and her working class upbringing renders her case even more frustrating.
The footage of paparazzi photographers following Britney around (seemingly always with a tiny dog in tow) isn’t new, but it is still shocking and upsetting. Despite the huge sums of money involved, each and every one of those men should be utterly ashamed of their actions. They aren’t of course, and their behaviour continues unchecked today, albeit with different celebrities. The pile on that ensued that saw Britney the butt of several jokes really was despicable, and it was satirised to brutal effect in the South Park episode Britney’s New Look (well worth seeking out for any casual fans of either Britney or South Park).
Framing Britney Spears is a compelling and heartbreaking look at the nature of fame and celebrity, and how the legal system in America failed and continues to fail Britney Spears. While it’s disappointing that the New York Times journalists behind the story couldn’t come up with anything of real substance to prove that Britney wants out of her conservatorship, that is partly due to the nature of Britney’s elusive persona – at one point we hear from the co-hosts of a podcast entirely devoted to decoding Britney’s cryptic Instagram posts – and perhaps partly due to those in question not devoting enough time to the investigative elements of the story, but either way, there is no denying that on a purely cinematic level, Framing Britney Spears must be considered a success.
FREE BRITNEY.