.:feeling bad for a girl:.
I was reading an article this evening about Britney Spears and how big of an economic impact she has. It was right about at the end of the article that I started to feel pretty bad for her. Actually, I’ve felt bad for her for a little while now in that it’s hard to watch a person break down like that. Not that I know what it’s like to have a really big breakdown or anything, but I know that when I’m feeling bad or depressed about something, the last thing I want to do is let anyone see me. I just want to be left the hell alone so I can get things figured out. I can only imagine how compounded the problem becomes when you’re having a genuine mental meltdown like it appears Miss Spears is having.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t feel as bad for Brittney Spears as, say, the guy who posted that absolutely insane YouTube video awhile back. But I think we tend to forget that when you strip away the ‘image’ of Brittney Spears, you’re left with just another person like you or me.
Yes, it’s certainly true that she sold herself into the hands of a machine that would put her in the eyes of the public. She gave up a large amount of control of her life in return for a large amount of cash. I suppose it could be said that she’s catching the return swing of the double edged sword of that decision right now.
But when do we as the general public, as fellow human beings, say ‘enough’? When do we open our eyes and actually realize that this is not some plastic product, some ‘thing’ that you own a piece of, but a human being, and she’s probably in some pretty serious dire straits?
On one hand, I understand that it’s hard to see Britney Spears as a person because so many different industries have played a role in creating the perception that she’s something beyond human. Of course, these various industries do this all the time with all manner of people and products. For example, when is a car not a car? When it’s a BMW. What do you think of when someone says BMW? Of course you think of a car, but you also think of prestige. You think of clean, well-to-do people driving in the city or out on the open roads. You think of sophistication, refined taste, expensive restaurants and impressed valets. I’m sure I could go on, but the point here is this: That’s a hell of a lot of extra bloat thinking towards what is ultimately just a car.
Marketing does such a fantastic job at altering perceptions of a product through other familiar associations that our brains actually make something out of very little.
Such is the case with Britney Spears. As with all ’stars’, we’ve come to view her as an object, as this somewhat ambiguous representation of things we aspire to. She’s rich…and who doesn’t want to be rich? She’s beautiful…and who doesn’t want looks? She has (or is perceived to have) power…and we all would like to have power. She has houses, cars and surrounds herself with other people that the general public admires and respects. She has a talent for dance and music (well…she can sing………well…I guess that could be argued…but……..whatever…I digress……). And this is part of the reason why the general public has such a hard time turning their eyes when she starts to go down the tubes. The public gets this sick sense of ‘being entertained’…of accepting that this is just another ‘part of the show’, or another ‘additon to the product’.
I feel bad for Brittney Spears for a number of reasons, but I feel especially bad for her when I start thinking that the business that gave her everything she has is the same business that isn’t doing much to help her out because they’re all still profitting from her. What’s even more unfortunate is that even when they do bleed her absolutely dry, there are any number of others just lining up and waiting to take her place. It almost feels like nobody would care if she lives or dies for that reason alone.
So what do you do? I don’t have the answer. It’s hard to turn a blind eye when just about every publication you read has at least some small part of her story ready for consumption. I think the first step, though, is attempting to be empathetic. That might seem silly, as there are a billion other people that have the same, if not worse, problems than she does. And those people probably have far less means of dealing with those problems. But the one thing these others have that she never will is a sense of privacy, of peace, of general time, in the healing process. With the world watching your every move, how can you begin to make a change on your own terms?
I am leaving a comment as a test. Disregard.