It's always Britney bitch!
Framing Britney, Snowfall, Atlanta and Lucky Daye's skincare routine randomly.
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This week, I’m discussing takeaways from Framing Britney, things binged lately, and randomly Teena Marie.
New York Times' documentary Framing Britney aired earlier this month on FX and Hulu, and I finally got the chance to watch it over the weekend. Like many, I grew up stanning Britney Spears. She was and still is one of my favorite Pop girls (along with Christina and Mandy), and I spent my childhood going to her concerts and making faux choreographed dances to her music. I even watched her reality show, Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, years ago.
Watching Britney's rise to Pop royalty and how her life shifted due to her conservatorship and the narrative the media created of her was all captured in the documentary. I had a few leftover thoughts from the documentary:
Why the hell does Jamie get to be the baller and shot-caller?
One of the things that became clear in the documentary is how Jamie wasn't a prominent figure during her childhood. He was a bogus businessman who had failed businesses and ended up having to file for bankruptcy. Being that he didn't seem to be the best with money, why would a court grant him the power to manage her estate, control her financial decisions, as well as legal and medical decisions? It's odd. Jamie has had ownership of her estate now for 13 years and although she has managed to make some moves, she needs to be able to control herself. He treats her like a show pony because honestly, she’s his only successful business.
Justin Timberlake was annoying.
I knew the "Cry Me a River" video featured a Britney Spears doppelganger, but I didn’t remember how much he threw her under the bus. Someone who talks about what goes on behind closed doors (or potentially lies about it) in public is lame. ALSOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for him to apologize now to Britney and Janet Jackson for the Super Bowl performance makes me feel some kind of way. I won’t say I will cry a river about it but it feels very late. His actions in a way kind of created a different narrative for each woman - Britney’s good girl image was bruised and Janet was somewhat blacklisted for a while due to “Nipplegate.” Is his apology better late than never or still a little too late?
Diane Sawyer and the Governor of Maryland
The interview with Diane that aired in the documentary was pretty vile and bought Britney to tears. There's a part where Diane plays audio of the first lady of Maryland saying that she would shoot Britney because she became a bad example for girls, and I was like, WTF when watching. I understand part of journalism is bringing up things that may be hurtful or taboo to add an arc to your story (I’m a journalist baby) but this felt very misogynistic and unnecessary.
There was so much misogyny
In a way, it seemed like misogyny was a theme that ran through Britney’s career and also led to the demise of it - although I think it’s not over for Britney. From the clips that they showed, you see people asking Britney about where her boyfriend was and how people were curious about her breasts. It was very odd to see. Also in the documentary, Wesley Morris said how her career was at its height during the Monica Lewinsky scandal which could’ve somewhat led to why they over-sexualized her which I thought was a random connection.
I’m hopeful that Britney will be free eventually, and be able to live on her own terms. Did you watch it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments:
Here are a few things I consumed throughout the week that you may enjoy:
Binged watched Atlanta with my beau. Not sure how I only managed to watch one episode of this show when it was on, but I loved it. I laughed so hard in some episodes and am convinced I would be friends with Darius if he were a real person.
Also binged and finished Snowfall finally. I think Snowfall is my favorite show honestly. The writing is great, the acting is great, the music is great. The storyline is kind of sad because it’s at the height of the drug epidemic, but I love it. Also worth mentioning that Damson Idris who plays Franklin was on Jemele Hill’s podcast and it was a great conversation. The next season which starts next week is going to be epic.
Loving Lucky Daye’s new EP, Table for Two so much especially “How Much Can a Heart Take” featuring Yebba Smith. If you’re curious, this profile/review taught me some random stuff about Lucky like that he wanted to loc his hair, but it doesn’t loc which is why his hair is the way it is. Also, that he uses a DIY lemon and brown sugar scrub on his skin.
I think American Idol coming back for the 56th season (dramatic but be like Elsa) is excessive however, my grandma and I were talking about this girl and I love her. What voice honey? I followed her on Instagram to hear more covers and SO did Yebba Smith. I only know this because she shared that - I’m not a stalker going through her followers.
Very interesting article about The Wing.
To the extent that the Wing is remembered, it will be as an artifact of the Trump era. 2016–2020 was a period in which even mass-media feminism took on a new sense of urgency and anger, to say nothing of the grassroots organizing, activism, and electoral efforts the period saw. But Trump’s presidency was also the period of the self-styled “resistance,” in which pop-feminism established itself ever more firmly as a brand. Perhaps no institution embodied this volatile combination of tendencies quite like the Wing.
A long read on how everybody hates millennials: Gen Z and the TikTok Generation wars:
This intimacy may also be the reason for Gen Z’s generational allegiance. Where millennials were cloaked in mostly faceless anonymity online (on LiveJournal, Tumblr, Twitter) or highly curated photography (Facebook, Instagram), Gen Z’s digital life is dominated by the near-constant production of images and videos of themselves (Snapchat, TikTok), creating a very different relationship between them, their peers, and the rest of the world.
The last thing worth mentioning is that I would’ve really loved to be able to go out and about during Teena Marie’s rise. Imagine going to a concert and “I Need Your Lovin" came on? VIBEEESSSSSSSS. Here she is performing on Soul Train and I love how she didn’t even try to put the microphone up like she was really singing.
That’s all for this week.
I COMPLETELY agree with all of your opinions on Framing Britney. I found the entire doc difficult to watch. Something else I think is worth noting is how stalked she was by paparazzi. My jaw was on the floor watching the clips of her trying to enter and leave buildings and even drive her car while being surrounded by these absolute vultures. I wanted to throw something at my TV when that one pap who finally pushed her over the edge was like "She never said she wanted us to leave her alone." Really dude? Even now you can't admit that you were wrong? I felt the same way about the former US Weekly editor--he took no responsibility for anything. Hearing that she was also suffering from postpartum while dealing with all of the paparazzi and negative press attention made my heart hurt for her. I'm so glad she is finally getting her due.