The director of a new FX documentary Framing Britney Spears has commented on the many popular remarks that pop-icon Britney Spears is sending secret messages to her fans through Instagram, asking for help to escape her management team. The documentary is a part of the larger series of stand-alone documentaries called New York Times Presents, which aims to tell "the essential stories of our time." Framing Britney Spears is directed by Samantha Stark and is available now on Hulu.
Framing Britney Spears casts doubt on Britney Spears's long-debated conservatorship, aka legal guardianship under her father, Jamie Spears. Britney has been in conservatorship since 2008, allowing her father to control all of her estates and assets and her personal and professional affairs. Britney Spears is now 38 and is still under to control of her father's conservatorship. Framing Britney Spears was created based on the newsroom reporting of Britney's unsuccessful legal battle against her father to exit the agreement. In a previous documentary on the conservatorship, Britney suggested that the only thing separating her conservatorship from a jail sentence is that the conservatorship is "never-ending." These kinds of remarks, as well as the mysterious details surrounding her father's legal guardianship, pushed concerned fans to create the #FreeBritney movement. The movement believes that her father is controlling Britney against her will and that she is asking for help from her fans through one of her only modes of communication, Instagram.
Director Samantha Stark was asked if, based on her findings, she believes Britney was sending secret messages via social media, asking for help. Stark responded in an interview with Variety stating:
The thing about that is you can’t ask Britney if she needs help because there’s such a tight cone of silence around her that is enabled by the conservatorship. One of the things that a conservator of Britney’s person can do is limit who visits her, they can provide 24/7 security for her, so if you call Britney’s publicist or manager, you’re not going to get an interview. It feels like her Instagram is the only place you can actually hear from her. I look at Britney’s Instagram every day to see if there’s a new post and if I can look into it. We don’t know what’s in her head, and she never talks about the conservatorship, so I understand why fans are wondering if she’s sending messages through her social media.
Britney's media appearances in the last decade have been scarce. Her handlers and management team have the last word on the final cut of any interview she is in, which most journalists won't agree to, leaving Instagram as Britney's main public outlet. Stark stated that even after all of her research, she still "doesn't know" whether Britney's father is or is not taking advantage of her although, "many people we interview said things that indicate that." Stark reached out to Britney throughout the filming of the documentary, but no one heard back from her. Stark stated, "we don't know if she got those requests or not. We didn't get a "no" from her. We never got anything from her."
While some fans look for secret messages in Brittney's Instagram posts through dances, outfits, positioning, etc., most fans choose to accept an even darker truth; celebrities of Britney's caliber frequently become "prisoners" to the industry and management teams that helped create their image. The questions raised in Framing Britney Spears highlight issues beyond conspiracy in relationship to conservatorship and how we treat some of our biggest celebrities. Although there are still little concrete details on Britney's current circumstance, it's clear the public wants to hear Britney's side of her story, and many people are working hard to have her voice heard.
Source: Variety