Britney Spears – Master of Photo-Texts?

Are celebrities gurus or goobs when it comes to their public images? Part II of this three part focus on photo texts...

So.... what's a 'photo-text' right? I believe we are living in a world full of photo-texts, and that their number is on the increase. They are texts that incorporate photography in some way. For example, most social media posts can be considered as photo-texts, and they provide very interesting material for critical engagement and analysis. Last week, I wrote about ethics of sharing photos of others on our social media accounts. In my next post, I want to talk about famous people's use of Instagram, with a focus on Britney Spears' use of the social networking platform (we all know I love Britney - stay tuned!).

To preempt next week's blog, today I want to write specifically about Britney's awareness of  unethical use of photographs of people, particularly of famous people. This is explored in her song "Piece of Me" and its corresponding music video.

"Piece of Me" was released in 2007 and was mostly positively received. The video won three awards, to which Britney responded with surprise and that she thought she had made better videos. The song is a photo-text because it draws on aspects of photography, photos and many of the issues, such as ethics and privacy that can arise with this medium, particularly to do with the paparazzi. I would like to particularly draw attention to the following lines:

             I'm Miss American Dream since I was seventeen
Don't matter if I step on the scene
Or sneak away to the Philippines
They still gon' put pictures of my derriere in the magazine
You want a piece of me?
You want a piece of me

You can access the rest of the lyrics here:
https://play.google.com/music/preview/Tri5qvkxp7z2h7prc2ibaaa4cdy?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics

The music video focuses on Britney dancing in a number of settings (including a nightclub) and it follows the plot of her ‘going out’ with a group of female friends, all dressed as the same ‘character’, to trick any photographers they may encounter. It also includes many fictional magazine pages that include images, presumably taken by paparazzi, and the stories that go along with these images. Please see video by clicking on the link below:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4FF6MpcsRw

The lyrics make the observation that Britney is constantly photographed and written and talked about, no matter what she might be choosing to do (self explanatory) but, what I draw from this in the context of discussing photo-texts, is that the video cleverly links the lyrics with images and evokes a response and discussion about the ethics of photography and rights to privacy, which I think are some the most pertinent issues relating to the online world and the media. Is it okay for any person to photograph any other person without permission or even approval of the final product? Why do people feel a need to see celebrities doing ordinary things, and when they are not technically ‘working’? These are just a couple of the questions I hope this post generates.

I find the, “You want a piece of me?” and, “You want a piece of me” (one being a question and the other not) worth pondering on for a moment. One acknowledges there may be a desire, and possibly and market for a ‘piece of her’ and the other, we might say, states she knows people want pieces (photos?) of her. Further, these words evoke a certain image of actual pieces of Britney, which one might infer that photographs essentially are. Each photograph taken of a person can be seen as a piece of them, at that specific moment in time. The imagery this evokes is that of taking and taking pieces of a person, possibly until there is nothing left to take - like stealing pieces of them, from them.

Britney Spears has been one particular celebrity that the paparazzi has paid a lot of attention to, and people all over the world have been given a lens (apologies for my play on words here) into her private life. They have been allowed access to her difficult times, and given an opportunity to have opinions etc., about a person that they do not actually know. I think Britney’s song (and video) was an avenue for her to show how she experiences this on ‘the other side’, and she takes ownership of her commentary through it. She chose how to present her ideas on this issue, and made them public, as opposed to not being able to choose which of the many photographs taken of her are open for public viewing. She remains in control of who gets the pieces of her in this text.

One of the criticisms of the video was that her body was overly edited in it, and I think it is valid to point out that the technology every person has available to them now, allows for people to put the version of themselves they like most, forward for public scrutiny. Anyone can easily use popular applications such as Instagram with many filters, or use the basic editing tools our devices provide us with, so why not afford Britney this luxury too?

The fictional magazine shots used in the video play with the lyrics of the song and include images that exemplify the points she is making. One in particular includes a picture of (her?) ‘derriere’ and serves as an example of how one’s privacy can be breached through photography. The headline calls her “shameless”, which again uses the lyrics to highlight and play with the issues explored. The piece is a clever interplay between image and text and I see it as an example of the relationships that can be created in photo-texts and in the ever-evolving online world of images and text. I also see it as a very good example of a text that explores important issues when it comes to privacy, ethical use of images, and control (or lack of control) over one's own public image.




Post-Script

I will add one more bit here, purely for anyone who is as interested in Britney and her exposure as I am. There is a very interesting video on YouTube that you may want to indulge in (if you have an extra six minutes and thirty-one seconds) after reading this post. It is called “Britney Spears’ crazy night with the paparazzi” [sic] and can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegvMPjZizA

The video shows just how many photographers might follow a person at one time and how intrusive they can be. You also get to hear her ‘British’ accent she often liked to put on for the paparazzi during this period. The video was put on YouTube in December 2007, which is in fact after the release of “Piece of Me”, but I am unsure of when it was actually shot. A stand out moment (in the context of discussing photographs) of this video is when Britney tells the paparazzi, “I just don’t like when you get in the way of my photos.”

This video could bring up another discussion about the paparazzi, its genesis, development, evolution and its role in society, ‘celebritydom’ and the media, and also how they are received and perceived by the people, and the celebrities.

References

Britney Spears, ‘Piece of Me’, 2007 [from the album Blackout, Jive Records] Lyrics Bloodshy & Avant and Klas Åhlund
                        (Reproduced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4FF6MpcsRw )

Britney Spears’ Crazy Night with the Paparazzi  [online video], 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegvMPjZizA (accessed 8 March 2017).

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