Reductive in its narrative, it’s surprising that Erin Lee Carr’s attempt at a serious documentary about Britney Spears and guardianship was given the green light at all.
I woke up this morning to the news that Britney Spears’ father, Jamie, has been suspended as mentor. It was a few days after I had driven through the unseen britney vs spears on Netflix – an experience that made my skin crawl.
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I left britney vs spears With high hopes for some reason; The first is that Netflix does its fair share of good documentaries, and the second is the Britney Spears conservatorship that deserves all the progressive press it gets. But I missed out on major red flags before its release; The fact that Netflix debuted the trailer a few days before the launch. I’ve noticed a pattern—and feel free to disagree—the platform isn’t exactly proud of calling itself shunting last-minute trailers for Netflix’s projects.
whereas The New York Times Presents document framing britney spears Samantha Stark used a feminist lens to examine stereotypes, vice president Contributor takes a slightly more significant turn with Carr britney vs spears. The former was not well received by Spears, who said she cried for two weeks after seeing it. He also called the BBC documentary Battle for Brittany: Fans, Cash and a Guardianship hypocrite
Read more | ‘Framing Britney Spears’ review: We know why the caged pop star sings
Don’t understand these unofficial documentaries… but for britney vs spears, the composer came forward and said that it left him scratching his head and he put the bad dialogue to shame. So, we are off to a good start.
In the film, as attorney Tony Chicotel explicitly states, a guardianship is “a civil death”, a last resort invoked only when circumstances are beyond one’s control. For 13 years, Spears was not only subjected to oversight of her finances, but her reproductive rights were also taken away and her private home was locked in bedrooms and bathrooms. His mental health struggles were made headlines for selling magazines and clicks.
While all of this could have been portrayed respectfully, Carr and his team instead adopted a shock value posture. Calling it a documentary would be the biggest compliment.
britney vs spears ‘Imagine someone making a movie with people who were bad for Britney’. Although it was certainly intended to answer the many questions that arose after NYT The documentary, given its OMG tone, could have been a productive watch.
there’s a lot about it britney vs spears that doesn’t fit.
In an attempt to be diplomatic of the film, it turned into trash talk territory with an overly dramatic score. Spears’ divorce from Kevin Federline was treated with an outrageous tabloid tone, fueling the discourse that the singer was not really capable of becoming a mother at all. Team that up with scenes from Rosie O’Donnell cheering about the divorce and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Another big question mark: Why was the founder of BreathHeavy.com featured? Did we really need the ‘expert’ opinion of a tabloid to understand what the more credible news media reported?
Carr’s clarity of purpose is palpable, but it leaves the film prone to exaggeration—rather risky in such a public matter. It’s also pretty easy to feel like it works as Carr’s vanity project, especially with her more Rolling stone Journalist Jenny Elisu sat in front of a desk like true crime podcasters, piecing everything together.
To be honest, I shouldn’t have done that. Like Brittany, I was scratching my head—when I wasn’t rolling my eyes or nodding my head in disgust. As for Netflix… well, it’s not always right, I guess.
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