Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Eye on a cultural icon






Britney Spears is the first popular public figure to make it here onto this blog by the sheer context of her developing psychosis. She does so with this recent act of shaving off all the hair on her head. So what does it mean for Britney Spears to shave off her hair? No, it's not a fashion statement, nor is it an act meant to steer an interested public into a new style or way of living.

Simply put, with this act she shows herself as a person who feels completely not in control of herself. In other words, she feels overwhelming controlled by others other than herself. Her hair is the one thing closest to her that she feels is hers, and is also something that's hers and she can (safely) take away at will and effectively say, "See, this is mine, not yours!" We don't know exactly who she's symbolically talking to when she says this.

Furthermore, when one shaves off all the hair on their head (making their feelings or state of mind public and out in the open for others to see), and it's not for fashion or stylistic reasons, it's a sign of someone wanting very much to prove to themselves that what they do does indeed have a consequence. When something has a clear-cut consequence, that in itself is clear-cut proof that the person did something. The proof of her act is as plain as day. She blantantly can see (and thus re-assure herself) that she has control over her own actions, and that she can control her own being in some way.

But it doesn't stop there. A person who shaves off all of their hair (for non-fashionable and non-stylistic reasons) is engaging in an exaggerated personal project. What I mean by project is that the act has a beginning, middle, and end. Her hair slowly (in stages) grows back. And she will over-see this personal project (i.e., the hair eventually growing back). And she will be the only person to personally and truly experience this project, because the hair is growing from the top of her very own head -- a head that she wants to believe belongs to no-one but herself.

Britney Spears will sleep, eat, walk, and live with this personal project perculating every minute of the day and night right there upon the top of her head. She will watch and tend to her hair growing back slowly but surely over time -- time that eventually will (she subconsciously hopes) bring her a sense of natural accomplishment that she can feel is hers and hers alone.

Good luck, Britney.





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21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is this the same Britney Spears that was so hot just a few years ago? She is either coming apart at the seams in front of the whole world, or she is trying to pull one of the weirdest publicity streaks of all time.

A few years ago she marries a childhood friend, and that lasts about one day.

She then marries some golddigger (Federline) who takes complete advantage of her. He even goes as far as uploading a private sex tape that he and Britney made. It becomes known as the Britney Spears sex tape and ends up on some of those video dump sites like liveleek and dailymotion. Even now it can still be found on sites like freepornvideos69.com (NSFW). How does she live that down?

Then she dumps him and starts clubbing without panties with alleged friends Paris Hilton and company. Now she cuts off her hair.

Is she some kind of wacko or a brilliant marketer?

Wendy aka Cheeky said...

I just hope she gains the control she is so desperately looking for

flic said...

anonym- Is she some kind of wacko or a brilliant marketer?

It's probably a mixture of both.


cheeky- Let's all hope so!

Infinitesimal said...

Well lets see,
She subsisted on Whattaburger and Xantrex 3 before her pregnancy, serving hotwings and KFC at her wedding.... (shotgun)
Now, after 2 kids, I would say her body is fairly well drained of all vitamins and minerals.

But you know my stance on that flic

I think we all need more omega 3's in our life

my own current funk I believe stems from my not taking my vitamins for 3 weeks or so due to the flu.

Maybe.... she just left the bleach on for too long? And it got fried.

Remember when she dyed it black? That was a clue too.

Very astute post Flic

carrie said...

it's interesting that you see it as maybe a positive act on her part.

Becky said...

i've actually been thinking about her a lot lately. but moreso the absolute incesant need for the media to cover her life. when a toddler throws a tantrum, you don't reward it with attention. but the media insists on smacking her life and face on every magazine cover and across all forms of media. yes, she needs help. but in my opinion the attention from the media is just fueling and exacerbating the problem. why can't they see that they need to just let her be. oh yeah...money. that just sucks.

Kirsten N. Namskau said...

I know exactly how and what she feels. I have been there. I have been both an actress and singer in USA and know all about what they go through and how it feels to be 110% controlled.

If you have time and interest, I would appreciate if you could read my book "Tell Me Who I Am"
ISBN: 978-1-84401-737-9
(you can get it at amazon.com)
And give me a comment/review on the book.
I wrote down my traumas as a kind of self-therapy.
The next book is also finish, but I doubt I can affort to publish it.

flic said...

infinitesimal- Yes, I agree: she might do well to find out what vitamins she's deficient in at the moment, and start taking them! I think that would be helpful.

You said, Maybe.... she just left the bleach on for too long? And it got fried.

But there are photos circulating that show her at the salon with her hair in various stages of getting shaved off -- (they say she did it herself). And in those photos her hair is the normal style and color it was before.

flic said...

carrie- I think it's positive in that she's sending her message out (to the appropriate people who need to know), without resorting to something (i.e., obvious self-mutilation or even attempted suicide) that would place her in a different category or on a different level all together.

My prediction is that when her hair is all grown back, we will all witness the start of an obvious (and new) Britney Spears comeback.

Kathryn said...

sounds good to me.

Matina L. Stamatakis said...

A part of me wants to say "oh, what a shame"...but I shrug my shoulders instead. I think she's just a product of fame, and as such has to face the consequences of being in the limelight. Especially at such a young age. One either sinks or swims...right now she's sinking.

My prediction:

She'll pop out another three babies before she reaches thirty.

She'll be in and out of rehab all her life.

She'll take up living in seclusion (like Dickinson and Bettie Page).

Her kids will grow up to hate her, but love her money.

And then she'll find Jesus again.

Sounds like a lot of struggling stars out there.

flic said...

matina- You're predictions sound like they could all be right. And despite all this, she could still have a comeback. Crazy.

Sounds like a lot of struggling stars out there.

What exactly the stars are really struggling with (and why, and what that means symbolically to the state of the world today) would be interesting to look into.

i*maginate said...

Interesting insight into the "why did she shave her head" question. Quite a sad life she must be living if she needs to shave her head in order to feel in control!

Enemy of the Republic said...

I feel bad for her. I also think that she will eventually be okay.

flic said...

good for me- Money, money, money. Yes.

i*maginate- And yet she's still not in control. It's illusionary.

enemy of the republic- Good to see you! I also hope she will eventually be okay.

flic said...

kathryn- It does sound good, doesn't it?

flic said...

kirsten n. namskau- 110% controlled? And your book sounds very interesting, based on the summary at amazon.

Thanks for the invite to review!

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