catapult magazine

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discussion

Britney Spears

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joelspace
Feb 18 2007
04:56 pm

The media is spinning the Britney Spears story in a lot of different ways. I thought this was a quote that summed things up.

When a Body & Soul employee looked at the pop star in disbelief and asked why she shaved her head, Spears said, "I don’t want anyone touching me. I’m tired of everybody touching me," Us Weekly reports.

Seems like she’s talking about lust, pop star idolization, gossip. Are these actions and words prophetic?

The Catapult website will probably get some more traffic now.

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dan
Feb 19 2007
12:45 pm

yeah, she’s hot

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kirstin
Feb 19 2007
04:31 pm

interesting quote. makes me think of [i:ebb2949e2e]The Queen[/i:ebb2949e2e]‘s exploration of celebrity and the recent crass headline in Calvin College’s student newspaper: ‘Anna Nicole kicks the bucket’. what’s the relationship between our responsibility as consumers and Britney’s responsibility as the crafter of an invitingly "touchable" image? was Aimee Mann writing to Britney and Paris and Anna Nicole and…?

It’s not
What you thought
When you first began it
You got
What you want
Now you can hardly stand it though,
By now you know
It’s not going to stop
It’s not going to stop
It’s not going to stop
’Til you wise up

You’re sure
There’s a cure
And you have finally found it
You think
One drink
Will shrink you ‘til you’re underground
And living down
But it’s not going to stop
It’s not going to stop
It’s not going to stop
’Til you wise up

Prepare a list of what you need
Before you sign away the deed
‘Cause it’s not going to stop
It’s not going to stop
It’s not going to stop
‘Til you wise up
No, it’s not going to stop
‘Til you wise up
No, it’s not going to stop
So just…give up

a friend says that any time these women are tired of the charade, they can just pack up and leave, "just…give up". can they? if this is really a crisis of identity for Britney, why live out that crisis in such a dramatic, public way? are we seeing the human being behind the image emerging or is this just another facet of the image? it seems like a silly celebrity story and I’m not really all that interested in Britney Spears, but it also seems like there are some powerful symbols here, whether she intends it or not.

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Norbert
Feb 19 2007
07:01 pm

And how long do you think it will take for this huge, nearly violent change to become merely one more sad cliche in a life full of them. Though she’s created them herself, do they trump her existence now in pop culture? Surely she’s still a child of God, but it becomes increasingly difficult to see her that way, no?

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Anonymous
Jul 18 2007
06:39 am

Just let her be, people! Everybody is guilty whit what’s happening to her.

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geoff3
Oct 19 2007
10:44 am

Hi Gordman,

Everybody’s guilty? How come? Don’t like her music, don’t like her lifestyle. Don’t feel much sympathy either, sad to say. Get rich and then complain how life is so distressing? Maybe she ought to live where Grant lives, or in one of England’s inner city areas and she’d know how life can be distressing!

Never bought any of her records. Never lusted after her body. So how would I be culpible of crimes against Britney?

I think Ezekiel 18 is probably closer to the truth – we are all responsible for our own sin?

Over to Britney…

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grant
Oct 30 2007
12:21 pm

I’d rather live where I’m living right now than where Britney’s living. It’s much "safer" in alot of ways. But it was her "choice" so to speak. There’s plenty of evidence that people who use their fame to further their career often get burned. Instead of using her currency to help others, as Bono’s model suggests, she put herself in these positions. A very risky thing to do. And I believe she over-worked herself. This pattern of self-destruction is common in the 20th Century as stars are encouraged to destroy themselves for money. Check out "The Filth and the Fury" about the Sex Pistols. Sid Vicious is still perplexed about the way their failed band continued to sell-out shows and make headlines. We love to watch human failure. It’s cathartic for us in a deep way. "Thank God I’m not as bad as them".