Bending Spoons with Britney Spears
by Chuck Klosterman
I found the conversation between Klosterman and Britney Spears to be quite interesting. The way in which Klosterman tried to dig at Britney's persona in order to get her to open up was quite fascinating, it was funny to see Britney counter with a dumbfounded response. Klosterman even asked if she was genuinely that foolish or if she was on some sort of Kaufman level of marketing. It was quite an intriguing moment, and it made me wonder whether Britney was simply playing dumb or if she was truly as clueless as she seemed.
One thing that struck me about the interview was the idea that Britney was told to simply "play dumb" and to only respond with predetermined lines that had been written by marketers. It seems that Britney was being used as a puppet to sell a particular image or persona, and that she had little control over her own public image. This makes me feel badly for Britney, as it seems that she was being manipulated for her fame and that she had little say in the matter.
The interview pushed me to think about the Britney Spears infatuation that occurred back in 1998. At the time, I was 15 years old, and I remember spending most of my nights listening to "Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo" by (then) Christian Pop Punk band MxPx It was a great album. One night, my friend Angela and I were watching TV when we stumbled upon the video for "Baby One More Time." We both laughed at the video, mostly at the idea that it was going to be the next big thing, and the expectations of hearing about it at school the next day. Angela, who a few years earlier was infatuated with boy bands like Boys II Men and NSync, had a response that stuck out to me: "It's crazy what 12-year-olds will fall into." It doesn't sound particularly profound now, but it was interesting to think about two 15-year-olds chatting about iconic advertisements.
Overall, I found Klosterman's interview with Britney to be quite fascinating, and it made me want to learn more about the music industry and the way in which artists are marketed to the public.
Best take away, listen to MxPx again.