[ad_1]
Spears documentary comes on the heels of documentary on Paris Hilton, another Noughties phenomenon This is Paris that also puts under the microscope the tabloid culture that plagued female celebrities. Framing Britney Spears Examining how cruelly the media handles Spears’ mental health issues is especially revealing and heartbreaking. It reminded me of Asif Kapadia’s brilliant Amy Winehouse documentary. Amy, a tragic chronicle of public life and death. Winehouse transforms from an artist in her prime to a lonely young woman battling addiction under the glare of global surveillance and the target of public ridicule.
As Framing Britney Spears has sparked conversations about fame and misogyny in recent weeks, a clip from a 2013 interview by Bad Girls Actress Lindsay Lohan of the late night institution David Letterman has been circulating on social media. Lohan, then 26, whose struggles with addiction and mental health had long been the subject of media scrutiny, was promoting her film. Scary Movie 5. Instead, Letterman was more interested in his time in rehab and his struggles with substance abuse. “Aren’t you supposed to be in rehab?” He asked her before joking about some headlines that concern her. Even when she reluctantly answers his questions, he continues to press: “What are they rehabilitating? What’s on your list? What are they going to work on when you walk in the door? “At the end of the interview, Lohan was crying, prompting Letterman to condescendingly comment,” She’s crying a little, God bless you, “as the audience laughs and applauds.
This brings me to the third but incredibly important part of this conversation: us, the audience. For too long we have been complicit in this eating frenzy. We are presented as reasons for this intrusive public gaze: ‘people want to know’ or ‘people laugh at these jokes’. It’s time we asked ourselves: do we agree that lives are destroyed to fuel our voyeuristic curiosity or because we need to laugh? During a recent appearance on a chat show The viewPriyanka Chopra, who like Spears became famous as a teenager, said: “People think that when you’re famous you don’t bleed, but we do.” And this is what we, the audience, must remember.
(This is an opinion piece and the opinions expressed above are those of the author. The fifth neither endorses nor is responsible for them).
(The Quint is available on Telegram. For carefully curated stories every day, subscribe to us on Telegram)
