Following the enormous amount of media coverage on Britney’s life and her fight against her conservatorship, “Britney Vs Spears” allows viewers to learn the full story. In the massive #FreeBritney movement, the support for Britney to get her freedom has been widespread in the media. Britney Spears was and arguably still is a massive celebrity with a great following of her music and career. The documentary includes exclusive interviews with significant people that were in Britney’s life and confidential evidence. It is an engaging documentary that pulls audiences into the story and has them wanting to learn more about Britney’s fight for freedom.
The story begins by following Britney at the height of her music career, until she suddenly stopped making music. She began a relationship with backup dancer, Kevin Federline, who had many controversies from his past relationships and was seen as a “gold digger” to Britney. Many of her fans started having hope that Britney would start to make music again. However, media attention on the divorce and custody battle for their two children increased. During this time, Britney was able to record and release a successful album. Unfortunately, soon after Britney started to have a mental decline and was seen to be at “rock bottom.” Due to this, her father took over and petitioned for a temporary conservatorship. A conservatorship is a legal process that gives a third party the ability to make the decisions for another person who cannot care for themselves. This resulted in Britney losing some of her freedom and stopped her from being able to make some of her own decisions. For example, she could not make any decisions related to her healthcare or her finances and who she could communicate with in person or the phone. Seeing the chains that the conservatorship has on her life, Britney tried to fight against it and gain back her freedom. Eventually as time passed, the conservatorship became permanent and Britney lost even more of her freedom. However, she still continues to contest the conservatorship and gain back control over her life.
Through the exclusive interviews and classified documents, the audience gained insight to how those close to her saw how she dealt with life and her adversities. The interviews and information gives audiences a deeper look into what has happened and how the people around her reacted to her experiences. Due to the conservatorship, Britney was forced to overwork and make the people controlling her a lot of money. Through all the information revealed, the shock at the heartbreaking struggles that Britney has endured is amplified. She is shown to be chained to the conservatorship, keeping her from being free to make her own decisions. The audience is able to sympathize with Britiney and the battles she deals with behind the public eye.
In addition to the exclusive interviews and new revelations, the documentary presents various clips of Britney being chased by paparazzi, whether it be after a performance or just another day in her life. This demonstrates the overwhelming obstacles that come with a pop star’s life and how difficult it can be to manage one’s personal issues. The amount of stress that she has dealt with is enough to evoke empathetic feelings for Britney.
Although the #FreeBritney movement was created to support Britney, a lot of people did not know what was really going on behind the scenes in her world. The documentary reveals to her fans and speculators what was really happening. And while the documentary shows moments in Britney’s life where she was smiling and performing, it also revealed how she was actually struggling and drowning under all the pressure.
Throughout the documentary, many questions surrounding her mental health were brought up. It comes out vague as no real answers were given on the extent of her mental issues. Her mental issues were used as a weapon against her to establish the conservatorship and have others like her father make most of her decisions for her. While the audience can acknowledge the reasoning behind starting a conservatorship, the amount of control that the conservatorship has over Britney is daunting.
Britney Spears is one of the most well known performers and singers of the pop world. “Britney Vs Spears” on Netflix helps to tell the story of Britney’s struggles in her life starting with her mental decline from a messy divorce and custody battle, having a conservatorship and being overworked all under the public eye. It gives audiences all the possible information behind the #FreeBritney movement, while keeping them engaged and engrossed in the tragic story.
Verdict: Alongside surprising interviews and evidence, the documentary, “Britney Vs. Spears” helps audiences learn everything they need to know about the conservatorship and Britney’s struggles.
