When you hear Britney Spears several things come to mind. Maybe you are a fan of hers and you think of her music and music videos. Or maybe you are like the thousands of others who criticize her on a day to day basis. The paparazzi have made all of this criticism possible and in fact worsened it. The “fans” that constantly gossip about her has helped to worsen her mental condition. The fact is that whether you like her or not, or whether you believe she is innocent or a contributor to her own stress with the media, her life appears to be a car wreck and few will look away.
First of all, I will start with the criticism of her figure in the MTV VMA’s. Britney’s shape then was that of an average woman, or an average teenaged girl we pass in the hall on a daily basis. Research shows that, "the average American women weighs 135.5 lbs" (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/). Therefore, I believe that it was unfair of people to criticize her figure during that time, especially when she was at a stage where she was so mentally fragile. However, her attire that night was questionable. She was not dressed in a way that would flatter her new body shape. That night Britney was dressed in a way that the old Britney would have dressed. Maybe if she had worn something that would fit her properly, and not emphasize parts that no one wants emphasized, she would not have received criticism for her outfit. Her performance on the other hand…
Imagine being followed by cameras every hour of the day, no matter where you go, no matter who you’re with, no matter what you’re doing. Sure, it seems like its all part of the fame game until you make a mistake like locking your keys in the car. It happens to people like us all the time yet if it happened to a celebrity it would be so blown out of proportion, hell, it could even make the cover of Us Weekly. How would you feel, if every mistake you made, everything you wore, and every relationship you had was criticized and exploited until there was nothing left of it. Britney’s life was being ripped apart by the paparazzi and people like us, who by the trash written about her. The fact is that sure, she had made mistakes. Who doesn’t? Sure she got divorced, but is making fun of her divorce going to change the fact that many of these people that by her magazines get divorced? Does it change the fact that "50% of all marriages in America end in divorce."(www.divorcerate.org) Does making fun of Britney make ourselves look any better?
To any of us, as much exploitation as Britney has received over the last year would of course lead to some form of breakdown. So now the question is, is Britney innocent or a contributor to the media frenzy that is her life? My answer is that I find Britney an “innocent contributor”. She is innocent because of her constant stress and mental condition. However, the fact that she was going through her mental breakdown during this media frenzy worsened the situation. I believe she was doing strange things because of her mental state, which she couldn’t really avoid at the time. Of course the paparazzi saw this opportunity to snap pictures and did so. The paparazzi are the main contributors to the frenzy, followed by the bums who poke fun at Britney’s life to temporarily escape the troubles of theirs.
As to the celebrities who have chosen to “fight back” against the paparazzi who follow them on a daily basis, I see no problem with this. These celebrities are only trying to defend their rights as citizens to their personal space that we all so take for granted. The paparazzi are getting out of control, endangering more lives than just their own, for a silly cause. I consider the relationship of the paparazzi to celebrities somewhat like that of a telemarketer to us. You’re sitting at home relaxing and the phone rings. It’s one of those annoying telemarketers or surveyors asking stupid questions. You have the choice to hang up on them or not but whichever you choose, the relationship should end there. If they keep calling and calling is it harassment? What if they showed up at your house one day, how would you feel? Yes the paparazzo’s job is irritating to celebrities, but like telemarketers they are just trying to make a living. However they still should be obeying the laws like everyone else. Celebrities and paparazzi are not above the law.
Celebrities should learn to accept the fact that once they are famous they will be in the news, on the covers, and talked about constantly. Yet I believe that this should only be accepted if the stories are true, if the pictures have not been altered, and if the content is not offensive to them.
Britney’s law, if put in effect, will give her a 20 yard safety bubble from celebrity photographers. As a matter of fact if this law is put into effect it will not only protect her, but any celebrity. In my opinion, this is a great idea that will change the lives of celebrities and give them some of the personal space and privacy that they desire. Not only that, but this will provide more safety to the celebrities, citizens, and the paparazzi themselves. The question is, would the crazed paparazzi even listen to this law, now that they disobey so many others. There is no limit to what the paparazzi will do to get their million dollar photo. They will just keep pushing and pushing until it leads to arrests and maybe even deaths of the innocent. I believe they will push past deaths as they didn’t stop after being partially blamed for the death of Princess Diana.
At the 2008 MTV VMAs Britney appeared healthy. She had lost weight, and she looked rested and like she had taken care of herself. She was dressed appropriately and well spoken with a sense of humor. This was visible even though she only appeared for short periods of time. The media is reporting this as a comeback and a triumphant return. This is good news of course, even though it is solely based on her appearance at the awards. Despite this I believe Britney should take all the good publicity she can get after the previous year.
First of all, I will start with the criticism of her figure in the MTV VMA’s. Britney’s shape then was that of an average woman, or an average teenaged girl we pass in the hall on a daily basis. Research shows that, "the average American women weighs 135.5 lbs" (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/). Therefore, I believe that it was unfair of people to criticize her figure during that time, especially when she was at a stage where she was so mentally fragile. However, her attire that night was questionable. She was not dressed in a way that would flatter her new body shape. That night Britney was dressed in a way that the old Britney would have dressed. Maybe if she had worn something that would fit her properly, and not emphasize parts that no one wants emphasized, she would not have received criticism for her outfit. Her performance on the other hand…
Imagine being followed by cameras every hour of the day, no matter where you go, no matter who you’re with, no matter what you’re doing. Sure, it seems like its all part of the fame game until you make a mistake like locking your keys in the car. It happens to people like us all the time yet if it happened to a celebrity it would be so blown out of proportion, hell, it could even make the cover of Us Weekly. How would you feel, if every mistake you made, everything you wore, and every relationship you had was criticized and exploited until there was nothing left of it. Britney’s life was being ripped apart by the paparazzi and people like us, who by the trash written about her. The fact is that sure, she had made mistakes. Who doesn’t? Sure she got divorced, but is making fun of her divorce going to change the fact that many of these people that by her magazines get divorced? Does it change the fact that "50% of all marriages in America end in divorce."(www.divorcerate.org) Does making fun of Britney make ourselves look any better?
To any of us, as much exploitation as Britney has received over the last year would of course lead to some form of breakdown. So now the question is, is Britney innocent or a contributor to the media frenzy that is her life? My answer is that I find Britney an “innocent contributor”. She is innocent because of her constant stress and mental condition. However, the fact that she was going through her mental breakdown during this media frenzy worsened the situation. I believe she was doing strange things because of her mental state, which she couldn’t really avoid at the time. Of course the paparazzi saw this opportunity to snap pictures and did so. The paparazzi are the main contributors to the frenzy, followed by the bums who poke fun at Britney’s life to temporarily escape the troubles of theirs.
As to the celebrities who have chosen to “fight back” against the paparazzi who follow them on a daily basis, I see no problem with this. These celebrities are only trying to defend their rights as citizens to their personal space that we all so take for granted. The paparazzi are getting out of control, endangering more lives than just their own, for a silly cause. I consider the relationship of the paparazzi to celebrities somewhat like that of a telemarketer to us. You’re sitting at home relaxing and the phone rings. It’s one of those annoying telemarketers or surveyors asking stupid questions. You have the choice to hang up on them or not but whichever you choose, the relationship should end there. If they keep calling and calling is it harassment? What if they showed up at your house one day, how would you feel? Yes the paparazzo’s job is irritating to celebrities, but like telemarketers they are just trying to make a living. However they still should be obeying the laws like everyone else. Celebrities and paparazzi are not above the law.
Celebrities should learn to accept the fact that once they are famous they will be in the news, on the covers, and talked about constantly. Yet I believe that this should only be accepted if the stories are true, if the pictures have not been altered, and if the content is not offensive to them.
Britney’s law, if put in effect, will give her a 20 yard safety bubble from celebrity photographers. As a matter of fact if this law is put into effect it will not only protect her, but any celebrity. In my opinion, this is a great idea that will change the lives of celebrities and give them some of the personal space and privacy that they desire. Not only that, but this will provide more safety to the celebrities, citizens, and the paparazzi themselves. The question is, would the crazed paparazzi even listen to this law, now that they disobey so many others. There is no limit to what the paparazzi will do to get their million dollar photo. They will just keep pushing and pushing until it leads to arrests and maybe even deaths of the innocent. I believe they will push past deaths as they didn’t stop after being partially blamed for the death of Princess Diana.
At the 2008 MTV VMAs Britney appeared healthy. She had lost weight, and she looked rested and like she had taken care of herself. She was dressed appropriately and well spoken with a sense of humor. This was visible even though she only appeared for short periods of time. The media is reporting this as a comeback and a triumphant return. This is good news of course, even though it is solely based on her appearance at the awards. Despite this I believe Britney should take all the good publicity she can get after the previous year.
Britney's story says a lot about us as a society. We make fun of Britaney's relationships, whether or not she is fit to be a mother, her mental health, and so on. Yet, we are the ones sitting around, watching her on the TV, or reading gossip about her on the internet. It is quite obvious that some of us are bored with our lame old lives. "According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube" (http://www.csun.edu.com/). Maybe Britaney doesn't know exactly how to deal with the fame and fortune bestowed upon her, but look at everything she;s accomplished. The only thing some of us will accomplish this week is wasting an entire day and then some watching television, and not living our lives like Britaney lives hers.
You can never stop the media, but I believe it should be changed. I think that the paparazzi and us as readers should be less critical and harsh because many celebrities are going through what people like us endure as well. The fact is that everyone has problems, and making fun of someone else’s wont make yours go away.
