Commentary: The Impact of Britney Spears on Mass Culture

Britney Spears new video - "Gimme More" - is rather anticlimactic but the concept is somewhat fascinating. In the video, a blond Spears sits at a bar transfixed by a pole-dancing brunette version of herself. It's as though Spears herself is struggling to understand just why everyone is so intently focused on her - while at the same time she works to create a spectacle of herself in order to ensure that such focus is never lost.

Was it last week that everyone became overly obsessed with Britney Spears's abilities as a mother? Well, we've been hearing this discussion for over a year now as part of a greater "What's the Matter with Britney" national dialogue. In fact, whether it be her choice to drive with a baby in her lap (because she's "country, y'all") or throwing up on a soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend in the car after leaving a night club, this Britney dialogue has become the most important national dialogue of the past two years. It's not Iraq or the 2008 election - the decisions of Britney Spears are what are affecting most Americans these days.

In fact, it would not be such a leap to suggest that Spears is more than partly responsible for the shift in focus to entertainment from national news outlets. Dan Rather criticized his former network for losing a sense of the line between entertainment and news - but here is the dilemma: is it the responsibility of the news to tell you what is important, or to report on what you think is important? It strikes me as though we never had this debate at such a high level. It strikes me as though Britney Spears has had more impact on mass culture than any celebrity in decades.

One could argue of the "trainwreck"-like nature of Britney's downfall, but that would only partially explain the full-blown national obsession with her. When a celebrity falls from grace in such a fashion, their rehab visits and personal problems fill the gossip pages and Jay Leno monologues for a matter of weeks, but barring any significant comeback, they tend to fall out of the public eye. In the case of Britney, however, the press has never turned their backs even if there was nothing of interest to report.

Last week, her comeback single ("Gimme More") was officially released, and proceeded to become one of the top selling songs in the country (including a number one spot on the iTunes charts). Fitting of the song's title, America just wants more Britney - be it rehab, questionable parenting, sexy dancing, or a new song. Her life will always be of interest to Americans, even if the motives are unclear - we'll criticize and poke fun at her life decisions, all the while rooting for her inevitable comeback and purchasing whatever consumable scraps the machine will feed us. It's not a case of whether she is loved or hatred - her presence is simply always desired.

Further Reading:
:: Britney Spears' Constant Presence In Public Eye Could Be Behind Custody Loss"