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When the David after the dentist video came out, we had a good conversation about whether it was wrong for the father to post this video of his son all drugged up and in pain. Hanna cried foul, but some of us agreed it was funny—and harmless—enough to be worth the potential privacy invasion. Not so with the latest music video from MGMT, in which... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)
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Like you, I watched the Britney documentary on MTV. What really bothered me wasn't Britney's mental state (at times she was sparkling, charming, hilarious—performing send-ups of her father that sent her entourage into stitches) but the way she was being treated. Britney's conservatorship (which is rarely implemented legally unless severe mental disability can be proven) denies her any rights whatsoever beyond those of a 7-year-old. Her father makes her breakfast. Her assistant picks out her clothes. She's obviously still heavily medicated, and the paparazzi following her make her a prisoner in her own blacked-out SUV.
Which brings up the question: If Britney's capable enough to record an album, two videos, a documentary; perform on hundreds of TV shows promoting said album; AND rehearse for an upcoming stadium tour, isn't she capable enough to maybe have a bit more control over her own life? Yes, I infinitely prefer this glossy, funny, sad, sedated Britney to the crazy, bald trainwreck who attacked a pap with an umbrella, stripped to her underwear in the middle of a paparazzi storm, and drove incessantly from drugstore to drugstore in a bright pink wig. But I do think she's being manipulated.
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Last Monday, British singer Amanda Palmer wrote on her blog that her record label wanted to reshoot scenes from her music video for "Leeds United." She says:
they thought i looked fat. i thought they were on crack. dude. i'm a vain motherfucker. i know when i look fat. ... but THIS?? this was just nonsense. i thought i looked HOT.
The music industry's insistence on well-toned abs is nothing new. (See: the uproar about Britney Spears' so-slight paunch at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards; the plus-size Martha Walsh being swapped out of the video for "Gonna Make You Sweat" in favor of a svelte lip-syncer.) But this case is genuinely puzzling. Palmer did look hot. Her bared stomach looks lovely to me—I'd wear those abs proudly. The cabaret-style video doesn't dwell on her body, anyway. Most of the shots are long, taking in the rest of the performance and the audience as opposed to focusing on Palmer. And shouldn't record execs have people on hand at shoots to check out the costuming and ensure that their strict standards of acceptable appearance are being met?
I'd never heard of Palmer before this—my knowledge of music is sadly limited. But I do love that song now. The blogosphere outcry on her behalf has got to be good for her sales—and her self-esteem. A little misogynistic endorsing of unrealistic body ideals can be a good thing if there's enough of a backlash.
(via Feministing)
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