Britney Part 1

The Exile of Britney Spears
Christopher R. Smit

The book is not so much about Britney Spears as it is about our consumption of her and what role we played in her creation.  The book starts out by explaining the creation of Britney.  It looks at her origins, from a Baptist church and The South.  Her Christian origins gave her her first taste for the spotlight through singing in church as well as gave her a named purpose, that she was to influence people for Christ--both of which made her special.  The chapter of the South is less to do with Britney's origins and more about how we used it to construct her.  We did not let it ground her, but we attached stereotypes that we did not understand only to find we didn't like them and later reject her because of them.  Then the book moves to talk about her family and her time with Disney with themes of Americanism, fantasy, escapism, and consumption.  Then the book moves to the second part: Consumption.  It explores the dichotomy of the universal woman (saint/whore or Virgin Mary/ Evil Eve) and the currency of Britney.

I liked the parts in the book where there were tangible things used as evidence.  I never followed Britney Spears so I didn't  know a lot of the things and wanted tangible examples to go along with the themes discussed rather than just concepts that are assumed that we experienced that relate to what the Britney experience is. So I appreciated the detail about Britney's first music video because then I could experience and reflect upon what the book was talking about whereas all that I knew about Britney's family was that her sister got pregnant.  I could relate the information to other celebrities in the tabloids but not to Britney's experience.

Example of the type of consumption and knowledge we knew about Britney's family.

This is a video of an interview with Britney early on in her career. Notice what she says about the "Baby One More Time Video" and relate it to the themes talked about in the chapter.  Was it our construction?  Did Britney really not think about how her dress would affect viewers? She claims she didn't mean it to be as sexy as it was taken and her shirts tied up was a just an effect of them dancing...is this true or do you think she was manipulated into thinking this?  (Discussion Question)

Discussion Question 2:  How can we compare the Disney started star Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus to Britney Spears? They both became famous through Disney, and got launched into their own music careers afterwards.  What are their differences/similarities and how does it tie into the theme of consumption?