When Britney Spears Was Released blackout, an album that many critics and fans alike claim to be the superstar’s finest record, the music arrived shortly after the turmoil. Less than a year later, Spears was photographed shaving his own head, and the incident sparked millions of forum comments, media harassment, and fan concern. Despite all the hype, Spears still manages to craft an album full of self-referential, robotic electropop. Unsurprisingly, nearly every review, good or bad, mentioned Spears’ public struggles with mental health.
of rolling stone Open review Referring to Spears’ visitation rights with her children, she later quipped, “She’s going to keep making the best pop jams until social workers cut off her supply of hits.” Guardian‘s review Said Her song about getting lost in “fucking ecstasy” evokes memories of Spears attacking a paparazzi’s car with an umbrella. pitchforkWorks by compared Pop star for Laura Palmer, one of TV’s great lost souls.
whether blackout Whether or not Spears is more appealing to audiences is debatable, but the album definitely made her brand more approachable. Spears may have complained in her public life, but her music was doing well and her money kept coming in. Her team had enough money to pay back the bloodthirsty guys who went to great lengths to ensure Spears adhered to her contractual obligations, even though the artist needed more than just a job. was there. Encouragement to return to the vocal booth.
I can’t help but think of this Britney era while watching the opening scene of . IdolIn , fictional pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) shoots the cover of her latest album. Jocelyn writhes on a wooden coffee table, empty pill bottles and uncorked tequila handles spread around her. On her wrist is a dainty hospital bracelet, implying that Jocelyn was recently hospitalized with an as-yet-unexplained mental breakdown.
When Xander (Troy Sivan), a member of Jocelyn’s visual team, asks one of her managers, Nicky (Jane Adams), about bracelets, he wonders if the inclusion glorifies mental illness. I wondered if there was. “Of course,” Nicky replies. Xander tries to object, but Nikki interrupts Xander. “You guys are so out of line. College-educated internet people… Mental illness is sexy.” Before Nicky can explain her reasoning, Xander tries to interject again, All the while watching the photographer’s flash reflect off Jocelyn’s hospital bracelet.
“If you live in Sioux City, Iowa, you’ll never meet a girl like Jocelyn,” says Nicky. “She didn’t walk the streets, didn’t go to your high school, didn’t work in a bar or diner, didn’t marry your best friend. Even she’s never going to fuck you yet. otherwise She has very serious mental problems. ”
Here are her conclusions: “And that’s exactly what makes mental illness so appealing.”
When Nikki says this, we’re instructed to ponder what she’s claiming and whether it carries any weight. She’s confident in her declaration that portraying stars as “young, beautiful and bruised” is good for their image. After all, she couldn’t be the manager of the world’s hottest pop star if she couldn’t do her job a little better. But Nicky’s real job isn’t to take care of Jocelyn. It’s to rake in the money for the label and collect a portion of the contractual profits.
Later in the episode, after Jocelyn’s hospitalization, her team postponed her world tour and refunded the tickets that had been sold, only to return the tickets to Jocelyn the moment she realized she had enough to perform again. It turns out that I changed it back to . The team of artists, made up of masters of the spin, decided it was best for her image for Jocelyn to own her inner battle in public.
Even though anyone with half a brain in 2023 understands mental illness is a disease, no Innately sexy, it doesn’t always stop Experts refrain from making claims Pop stars still try to glorify psychological conflict. Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish have unwittingly become poster women for depression in their music. Both stars developed large fanbases who looked upon their early lyrics with envy. glorify abuse and suicidal ideationNot because they idealized pain, but because they could empathize in some way. Is the portrayal of a music industry manager using the same success to boost sales for a flimsy pop star really go too far? Spears’ struggles kept the music relevant. Wouldn’t the same work for Jocelyn?
IdolThe excitement about glorifying mental illness is meant to be seen as a product of the shallowness and toxicness of the industry, not as an attack on those battling their own mental health problems. (It should be noted, however, that the show deliberately frames it that way in order to provoke controversy.) No evil people should shudder and laugh off. Don’t take their emptiness, everything they say as gospel.
A direct reference to Spears a little later in the episode highlights this obligation best. “I think what Britney and Jocelyn went through is really unique,” says Benjamin (Dan Levy), another member of Jocelyn’s team. vanity fair Reporter (Harri Nef). “But… it’s also really universal.” Really unique, but really universal? If I’ve ever heard of it, this is the classic case of a manager spinning nonsensical words.
Nearly a year after the shaving incident, Ms. Spears was involuntarily placed in psychiatric detention. Her mental illness was sexy, aka marketable, and “pop booty jamming” until it wasn’t.It’s obviously impossible to know everything that was going on behind the scenes, but it’s not hard to understand who were the players It held her up and benefited from her fall. Idol This shows that despite living in a more socially advanced age where the media is trying to show repentance for its treatment of icons like Spears, the pop music industry has always put revenue before stars. It’s just trying to warn us that It is not impossible that an event like the history of pop music could be repeated. Especially if a manager finds a way to twist the ephemeral into a glowing, sexy platinum record.
