For the past decade, the world has been obsessed with Britney Spears. Whether it be through her high times, which include winning 34 Awards during her first year on the scene, including Best New Artist on the AOL awards, 4 different billboard awards and a Much Music award for best international artist [1], to name a few, to her low times which include parenting issues, head shaving and crotch shots, society just seems to want more and more from this celebrity. How is it that we can possibly know so much about Britney? There surely aren't enough professional photographers and journalists in the world that can devote so much of their time to one subject. The answer... the Paparazzi!
The term Paparazzi can be defined as " a freelance photographer, esp. one who takes candid pictures of celebrities for publication", however, that definition neglects to include the fact that many of these photographers are dangerous, criminal and bad for us as a society. The job of a paparazzi is to get an embarrassing and even sometimes life changing photographs of a celebrity and sell them to tabloid style magazines. Isn't this something we should be concerned about? Selling someone else's troubles and putting them in the public eye for everyone to see, and for what? The only good that comes out of this situation is the income for the photographer who snapped the shot. It's certainly not helping our society who seem to have less and less respect for others as the years go by. Infact, the largest amount of money ever made on a Britney picture was $10,000 to the original buyer, which then was sold approximately 200-300 times![2] Isn't it ridiculous to think that these people, who's only goal in life is to take pictures of those who are just trying to live their life, are making more money than people creating devices that will help our global climate or even people creating things such as air planes and space shuttles? I think it's a little unfair to say the least.
To a member of the Paparazzi, to know where Britney is at all times is a must have "skill" or as someone could also argue, you must be a great stalker. Britney takes up approximately 50% of the Paparazzi's time [2], which is incredible to think that if you add Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anniston, Angelina Jolie, Paul McCartney, Bono and Christina Aguilera, the coverage combined on those stars isn't even close to the amount of attention Britney Spears receives. Why, though, is Britney so popular? My opinion, along with many other experts in the field, is that the reason Britney is so popular is due to the fact that "the public demise of an individual has never been so public.". This certainly is true when you think of everything Britney has been through in the past little while.
After her initial rise to stardom through her first album "... Baby One More Time", she has gone on to... 1) Kiss Madonna (the first hint that she was kind of wacky), 2) Get married (and divorced within 2 days), 3) Get married... Again (to Kevin Federline of all people), 4) Become a mother (which seemed to make her "fat", or so the Paparazzi wanted us to think), 5) Become a bad parent (meh, this could be a pretty accurate statement), 6) Become a parent again... (oh boy...), 7)Get Divorced (announced to the world live on Canada's own Much Music), 8) Attack People with Umbrellas (Why not something a little more lethal? she has the money to buy anything), 9) DATED A PAPARAZZI! (sheesh), 10) Went to rehab, and the list goes on an on. One may ask "how do we know Britney did all this?". It's because of our society's disgusting habit of wanting dirt on famous people and the fact that Paparazzi will do anything to give us what we want. When Britney wanted to be with kids, she was followed every second, and when she messed up, she was immediately a bad mother? But really is she that different from everyone else? I am sure others have mishandled their children in the past, but because it wasn't made up to be a huge media event, they aren't "bad parents" such as Britney.
In my opinion, the Paparazzi, along with millions of people across the world, have taken the "let's expose a celebrity for our own benefit" thing a little too far. A prime example occurred during Britney's comeback appearance at the 2007 MTV Music Awards. Britney, who obviously was not the same Britney that originally came to our attention, was planned to perform a "Comeback" performance after years of being highly criticized in the media. Perhaps it wasn't Britney's best decision, as immediately after her performance, the Paparazzi and other media vocalists had something to say. Many people were talking about her dancing and lip-syncing, which couldn't be argued as being "a good performance". However, I think that the biggest problem that existed was the fact that people were making fun of Britney's weight. Of course she's not a skinny as she was when she was 19 years old. Do people forget that she's been through a lot of things in the past 10 years? Do people forget she's had 2 kids? One blogger by the name of "nastybugger" on celebuzz posted "... and almost a year is PLENTY of time for a 25-year old to lose the baby weight. women older than her have managed to lose the weight in a couple of months. it's all about discipline, of which brit doesn't have much." [3]. Why does this individual care if Britney isn't at her prime fitness? How does it affect his life day-to-day? Does he go to school and say "I am not doing my homework today because Britney looks fat and it upsets me?", because that is pretty much the kind of statement his comments imply. Does this individual not realize that there are much bigger problems in the world? Does he forget that in America approximately 26.6% of adults are obese [4], meaning that in the average 4 person family you'll have someone who's obese and perhaps these are much bigger issues than his apparent hang-up on Britney's extra baby weight.
This topic is what is wrong with the world. People don't care about REAL issues, such as things like obesity. The Paparazzi have molded our brains to think that whatever celebrities are doing is more important than things that ultimately affect us. They do this to us because they know that as long as we make a big deal about these celebrities, the longer they'll make money. This manipulation is what's wrong with society. We listen to these people, and forget about the real things in life. In my opinion, actors belong in movies, singers belong on albums and in concert, athletes belong on sports fields and if it's anyone who should be in magazines, it's models, because that's their job. But that's my opinion and I also think that if it was more peoples' opinion we would be able to stop the media's control of our minds and as a society, we would become better off.
To create some hope, we have begun to see a lot of celebrities starting to voice their opinions about the paparazzi and the media. Artists such as Xzibit ("Paparazzi") and Lindsay Lohan ("Rumors") have wrote songs dislaying the apparent displeasure they have for the paparazzi and negative media centres. However, I feel that these songs would be more affective if their corresponding video actually had more to do with the Paparazzi they are singing about. In Lindsay's video we see her provacitively dancing and in Xzibit's song we see him on a beach... umm... what do these videos have to do with their distaste for the Paparazzi? In my opinion, if these artists wish to be taken seriously, they should start by making accompanying videos that relate to the topic of their song. Luckily for these artists, a new law called The "Britney Law" may come into affect and help them restore their former privacy. A 20-yard "safe bubble" will be put around any celebrity and if a member of the paparazzi comes within this bubble to take a photograph, authorities will seize all money made from the photograph. In my opinion, I do not think that this law will be effective as the paparazzi would still risk being caught and charged by police. It is too easy nowadays to slip something by the police and from the Rihanna photo leak this Friday [5], we can see that the police itself might not be a reliable mediator. Besides, even if the profits from a photo do get stolen, the individual who snapped the shot is still very likely to get paid under the table for their work somewhere down the road. LA Police Chief William Bratton gives a very realistic opinion on the "Britney Law" as he says "What we need is Britney Spears to stay home instead of traipsing all over town. That would solve the problem.” Makes sense to me." [6].
Not only do celebrities voice their opinion through song aimed at the paparazzi, some celebrities have been able to find ways to live a "normal" life. Why do we hear so much "gossip" about Paris Hilton? It's because she wants to be heard and seen. Why don't we hear anything particularly negative about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? This is because they have found ways to avoid the paparazzi's photographic eye in order to give their children a normal life. When asked about the kinds of places she frequents in order to avoid the camera's eye, Angelina Jolie replied, "Usually, places where there are other parents with children are okay - other parents are much more respectful of our privacy than many people because they understand what it’s like just to want to be with your kids. Parents are much kinder to us than some other members of the public" [7]. These celebrities deserve a lot of credit for making an attempt to lead a private life and should be praised for doing all they can to create a better life for their children. They never asked for their lives to become someone else's news and so in order to keep it this way they are stepping up to the challenge of remaining private. These are the types of people that should be respected and kept out of the negative limelight.
The feelings of sympathy we can feel for Brad and Angelina cannot exactly be felt towards Britney Spears. We have seen that she likes to put on a performance for the Paparazzi (as seen in the documentary "Britney: Speared By the Paps")[2]. Britney has treated the paparazzi like puppies, put on a show for them by purchasing strange and bizarre items (most notably a stuffed donkey) and to cap it all off, she dated a paparazzi. Can we really feel sorry for someone who invites their enemy into their home? Perhaps she pulled a Trojan Horse and accidently invited a paparazzi member, a nemesist of hers, into her home but knowing Britney, we can be certain that this even occurred as a plan to keep her name in the public view. People such as Britney who evidently want to be seen and heard deserve what they are getting as they have really done nothing to fight against it. How can they complain about being followed until they begin to take steps away from the public eye?
What can we expect from Britney as she grows older? Most recently, at the 2008 MTV Video Awards reviewers such as Perez Hilton and People Magazine Senior Editor Julie Dam, praised her appearance. "Last night was really good in that she looked amazing but didn't perform, because she didn't need to perform last night," Dam said. "It would have been asking too much. She showed up, looked good, accepted her awards, gave brief speeches, thanked God and her kids and, at the end, [manager] Larry Rudolph and her label, which is definitely setting the table for the future."[8]. As these signs are very encouraging that we may see a more proper Britney in the future, we cannot be sure what the future holds. In my opinion I hope she changes so that the world can once again focus on important issues, issues that will affect everyone, not just Britney and her following. Hopefully as a result of a more laidback Britney we can see a decline in Paparazzi, which would create a safer world for all those who live around the inhabitants of celebrities. What will the future hold? I guess we'll have to wait until "she's done it again" to see how society and the paparazzi will respond.
[1}"List of Awards received by Britney Spears"Wikipedia.com. 23 February 2009. 21 February 2009
[2] Directed by Pop Banyard. “Britney: Speared by the Paps” Sky 1. 21 February 2009. 19 March 2008. Documentary.
[3] “Britney Spears' 'Gimme More' VMA Performance” Celebuzz.com. 22 February 2009. September 10, 2007
[4] “Obesity in the United States” Wikipedia 22 February 2009. 22 February 2009.
[5] "TMZ posts photo it claims is a beaten Rihanna". MSN.Com. 23 February 2009. 20 February 2009
[6] Wiehl, Lis. “If Passed, “Britney Law” May End Paparazzi Stalking Tactics”Fox News 23 February 2009. 06 March 2008
[7] Sherry. “Brad and Angelina-the kids and the paparazzi”B5Media 23 February 2009. 15 October 2008.
[8] Kaufman, Gil. Vineyard, Jennifer. “Britney Spears' VMA Appearance A Solid First Step, Experts Say”MTV.com 23 February, 2009. 8 September 2008.
"paparazzi." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 23 Feb. 2009. .
“Britney Spears” Wikipedia 23 February 2009. 23 February 2009
Xzibit “Paparazzi “Paparazzi Lyrics” AzLyrics February 23 2009.
Rooney, Cory. Jackson, Tarryle. Jackson, Tito. Lohan, Lindsay. “Rumors” Azlyrics February 23 2009.
"Britney at 2008 MTV Video Awards" 7 Sept 2008. Online Image. The Insider. 23 February 2009.
"Britney Performing at 2007 MTV Video Awards" 12 Sept 2008. Online Image. Salon.com. 23 February 2009.
"Brad and Angelina with Shiloh" No Date. Online Image. Celeb9.com. 23 February 2009.
"Obese Person" No Date. Online Image. DietsinReview.com. 23 February 2009.
"Young Britney Spears" No Date. Online Image. SodaHead.com. 23 February 2009.
