Britney Against the World

Upon Britney’s new release of “Me Against The Music,” we now saw Britney had changed, for the better for worse; it is up to you to decide. The music video from “I’m a Slave for You” shocked the world. One thing was for sure, Britney had changed. Her suductive cover from rolling stones in late 2003 (shown to the left) make mother's quite nervous, and there was certainly reason for their uneasyness. her illegid "virginity" was contemplated as her hubby at the time, Justin Timberlake, left her. He had made it clear that Britney had done something wrong in his song "Cry Me a River." Rumors had flown around that Brintey had slept with one of Justin's best friends Wade Robson; of course he denied any such rumor, what a shock! Post breakup, spears became the socialite at nightclubs, parties, and fashion shows. She had eyes turning when she started dating Collin Farril in 2003, this was certainly not the britney who did a few dance moves and showed us and flashed us that innocent smile. You could see the name "Britney Spears" on tabloid across the world. Britney at fast food restuarants became the subject for discussion.

In responce to Melanie Lowe's artice about tweens views on the Britney matter, we can now corelate their reactions to what was happening to Britney, at that time. Once upon a time, these girls could relate to this pop princess, and now she is turning into a "Slore" (slut and whore), on of the girls quoted. Their mutual feelings of betrayal was shared with the public as well. Magazines started criticizing the star, instead of the innocent praise that once rained down upon the pop princess. Along with Britney, the media started to change, and young girls were running around nighclubs and bar hoping, hardly the thing mothers want to rub off on their children. Nearly naked marketing for the star cost her her young fan base that she once thrived upon. In return, Brintey gained the eye of everyone in the world, waiting for her to fall. It was 2003 when the world noticed the change of Britney spears, but after that year, its really when we started to see her downfall.

Colliding Feminisms

Before we go further in Britney's timeline, i wanted to take a break from my regular posting, and explore some reactions to Britney's whirlwind of fame. After exploring some of the criticism that Brit got from her risque media portrayal, she was almost assured she would get criticism, ans some wasn't constructive. In a magazine article in Popular Music and Society magazine Britney is not only questioned for her behavior, but is said to contribute to the changing feministic views of the youth today.

Melanie Lowe, the author of the article, is an assistant professor of musicology at Vanderbilt University. One of her research and teaching concentrate on music in the media. In “Colliding Feminisms: Britney Spears, “Tweens,” and the Politics of Reception,” Published by Popular Music and Society magazine, Melanie Lowe poses a question: how much is the media contributing to our post-feminist culture? In this article, Lowe conducts two focus groups made up of five to six “tweens,” or an advertising-industry term for those people between childhood and adolescence (127), and questions the groups on their opinions of the “pop queen” Britney Spears. First, Lowe examines the accounts of how girls and boys are treated differently in the world of “tweens,” and how women, like Britney, are making it seem like all women are “sluts.” Lowe noted that the focus group participants “complain about sexism, recognize the objectification of women’s bodies, and worry about the impact media images and messages might be having on younger girls.” Second, Lowe questions the correlation between the underlying theme in Spears’s songs, and what the “tweens” perceive the meaning to be. Lowe draws the conclusion that Spears’s songs can be innocent and provocative at the same time by explaining that “she (Spears) has had the ability to suggest or assume an alternative identity, manipulate men, and get what she wants: the top-selling pop album of 1999.” Finally, Lowe sparked discussion as she showed her focus group the 1999 Rolling Stones cover and the “…Hit me Baby One More Time” album cover, which had the focus study participants shouting angrily and hurtling all sorts of invective at Spears (137). Lowe explains the girls’ frustration was not rooted in the good girl/bad girl image but rather by the projection of two such opposite images concurrently; Lowe states: its fine to wear a mask, but please, wear only one at a time. Ultimately Lowe concludes their (the tweens) social practice of being teen pop’s target audience allows them to maintain strong feminist convictions and still enjoy songs, videos, and any other texts that don’t jibe with their politics (140). Lowe explains that there is a constant flex in today’s media influence, and feministic ideas. she explains there is no telling if today’s youth will succumb to the passivity and submission mainstream effects research argues they are taught by mass media. Lowe ends with a statement “Today’s girl is the women not yet determined.

Works Cited
Lowe, Melanie. “Colliding Feminisms: Britney Spears, “Tweens,” and the Politics of Reception.” Popular Music and Society, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2003: 123-40.

The cover that caused quite a stir:

And the Winner Is...Britney!

Upon the release of her album “Oops…I did it again,” Brit’s image was starting to be questioned. With risqué performances and sexual music videos, Britney’s image began to change. For example, in the music video for “Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know,” Britney is practically having sex with a really cute guy, and climbing up trees in a bikini and daisy duke shorts. It was moves like this that made the mothers of young adolescent girls question Britney’s prerogative (no pun intended). Although Brit denied trying to change her image, her managers and producers of shows were constantly pushing her to bring more sexuality into her image; after all, sex sells, right? This goes back to the root of Britney’s troubles in the present day; in a world where you don’t even have control over how you portrait yourself in public, how do you find yourself? How do you grow up?

As everyone around her was selling her body for money, Britney was sending us more and more warning signs. “Lucky” was a song about the troubles of stardom, and how lonely it can be. With the words “If there’s nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night,” Britney was obviously trying to call out to someone. Rolling Stone magazine reported that Britney used to get offstage from performing, and cry afterward because she thought everyone hated her. Naturally, her managers pushed her to go on with the show. I also found it ironic that she almost foreshadows her own downfall: “The world keeps spinning and she (Lucky) keeps on winning, but tell me, what happens when it stop?” The sad this is, we all now know the answer to that question.

On another subject of foreshadowing, back in 2000, when Rolling Stone critiqued the album, they were quoted: “Britney’s need for Satisfaction is complex, fierce, and downright scary,” Ironically tying in to the song “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” As our beloved Brit set off for her first world tour, we all knew something was changing in her. She finished the year with two more Billboard Music Awards, and two Grammy nominations for "Oops!... I Did It Again" in the categories of Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Our beloved pop princess had became a sex object around the globe.

Oops...Britney Does It Again

In April of 2000 the most anticipated album of Britney's career was released, "....Oops I Did It Again." This upbeat song raced top of the chart, as did her first single.  I know, it was right about this time that Britney was entering that stage that made us all question: is she trying to be innocent or just provocative? The lyrics in the song, "I'm not that innocent," gave us an ironic foreshadow into the pop star's future, which is anything but innocent. Accompanying the song, Nigel Dick directed a stunning music video. Im sure we can all remember the famous mars scene with Brit in a red, patent leather body suit.  The song was #1 in many countries worldwide, and sold over one million copies within the first week of its release. Spear's first live performance of the band new hit was performed on the 2000 VMA awards; where she stirred up controversy after stripping her cloths to a flesh colored diamond suit. Britney had inevitably 'done it again.'