Britney Spears and "Yes We Can": Why Rolling Stone Probably Shouldn't Have

Back in 1990, near the peak of her international fame and right about the time she was officially canonized by Miami's Cuban exile community, Gloria Estefan was involved in a nasty tour bus accident. For those who don't remember, Estefan had to have two titanium rods implanted in her spine as a result of the crash and many wondered whether she'd ever walk -- to say nothing of doing that conga -- again.

During the year of intensive physical therapy that followed the surgery, Estefan was closely monitored by every local TV station in South Florida -- each one keeping a constant vigil at the side of Miami's patron saint as she attempted to work her way back to full body-shaking strength.

In particular, WSVN dubbed its coverage "Road to Recovery" and featured nightly updates on Gloria's progress. Although it felt like overkill, even at the time, there was nothing inherently awful about the way the station went about reporting the Gloria Estefan story.

In fact, it was only in retrospect that whole thing would seem kind of tasteless.

Two years later, Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida. It devastated the region, killed 65 people and left thousands homeless. As the area struggled to revive itself in the wake of the storm, WSVN once again tagged its coverage "Road to Recovery."

Though I hadn't yet worked for the station when the Estefan incident happened -- I was nothing more than a 20 year old viewer at the time -- I remember talking to one of my WSVN co-workers in the fall of 1992, as our hurricane recovery coverage ramped up, and wondering aloud, "So let me get this straight: We're indirectly comparing the worst disaster in South Florida history with Gloria hurting her back. Shouldn't we at least come up with a slogan we haven't already used to death on something that now seems really inconsequential?"

Why do I bring this up?

Because although WSVN couldn't have anticipated the much more worthy "Road to Recovery" story to come when it used the line to describe Gloria Estefan's personal tragedy, Rolling Stone damn well knew the pedigree attached to the phrase "Yes We Can" -- the unspoken cultural trademark it now carries -- when it chose to bastardize it for the cover of its latest issue.

The result?

A photograph of Britney Spears, grinning like an idiot, adorned with boldfaced type proclaiming "Yes She Can!"

It's certainly not inherently offensive to co-opt Barack Obama's campaign slogan -- the one which not only helped define him as a candidate and win him the election, but which served as a battle cry for a nation desperately in need of something to believe in. For Christ's sake, though -- Britney? That's who you're going to ascribe this powerful phrase to after adjusting it to meet your trivial needs?

Britney Fucking Spears?

Just a few short weeks ago, the statement "Yes We Can" sounded like a clarion call across America -- an affirmation of absolute purpose made by the first black president of the United States as a means to inspire millions.

And you're equating that with Britney no longer shaving her head in public or attacking the paparazzi with an umbrella?

Really?

I'll occasionally spend a good amount of time trying to come up with creative titles for the pieces on this site and my own in an attempt to fulfill my obligation to be a smart-ass. But I always try to be cognizant of the line that separates clever from stupid (which is not to say that I always respect that line). Doing a groan-and-eye-rolling twist on an expression of momentous significance is easy and cheap -- a fast grab at the lowest-hanging fruit on the "wit" tree -- and it's way beneath the editorial board at Rolling Stone.

I'm willing to concede that I may be taking this too seriously; some will argue that it's just a political slogan, after all. But I can't be the only one who thinks that even if there's no parallel with larger events to be drawn from the Britney cover -- even if it doesn't tread on sacred ground, like telling a 9/11 joke on 9/12 -- the whole thing is just really fucking cheesy.

"Yes We Can" isn't simply another catchphrase to be milked to death by anyone looking to sell a product.

Rolling Stone could've -- and should've -- come up with a better tagline.

Maybe "Road to Recovery."

Hey, it worked for Gloria.

Comments

[nowalnuts]

Of all the things to write about this seems a pretty lame pick. My volleyball team used to shout out "Can we do it? Yes, we can!" over and over before games in the 90's so it's not like Obama is the first person to say it and Rolling Stone won't be the last to use it for a cause less worthy than getting the country out of Republican hands. It's like people writing endless articles about how people need to stop writing about the Hills cast...kind of pointless.

[screamingbanshee]

just because she "CAN" doesn't mean she should.

[Rhonnybay]

I don't care about the use of the slogan but that the media wants us to care about this chick.

[barneyonthecouch]

bob the builder asks his crew "can we fix it", the crew yells back "yes we can", you have adopted a slogan from a childrens television show as your solution to save the world

[andyg]

"Yes we can" is a social slogan, Obama didn't iventent it, so anybody can use it.

[Balzac]

Doesn't bother me much. I'm happy for her. Yes we can! (be harmlessly superficial).

[blondecuban]

I give her credit for pulling herself together -- because I didn't think she would or could. Notwithstanding, I agree with this blogger. "Yes we can" belongs to Obama and what was accomplished this election. How RS compares Britney's return to the stage with the first Black man becoming President is beyond me.

[pons1595]

Britney Spears herself is much ado about nothing.

[garlicpowder]

Well, with the election over, the political writing at Rolling stone will subside.
I guess it's time to let my subscription lapse.

[RobinLandseadel]

Well, now that Rolling Stone made a conscious decision to reduce its size as to make it easier to compete on the same magazine racks as "Cosmo" and "Us", eye-grabbing stupidity is obviously the order of the day. Sarah Palin is not the only harbinger of the next wave of idiocracy. Just consider how many column inches have already been devoted to Axl Rose and Dr. Pepper.

[olivesforbreakfast]

Sammy Davis, Jr. published a bio in 1965 called Yes, I Can.

Maybe this phrase, and its variation, Yes, We Can, had currency even before Sammy Davis used it, and I'm just not aware of it, but it had struck me during Obama's campaign that somehow, someone, somewhere, had picked it up from the Sammy Davis book. After all, the bio had been a huge success.

Significantly, we didn't hear anyone from Sammy Davis's family saying anything about his work being co-opted, borrowed, or whatever.

So if the phrase now reverts to usage in entertainment spheres, is it that strange, really? Or is it simply that the very energy positive energy of the phrase floats freely and will attach itself where it will?

[EducatedObserver]

Calm down Chez. The problem with cliches is that they become meaningless from overuse. The slogan "Yes we can", by its very vagueness and simplicity was a cliche from birth, even before it was disseminated.

As Rolling Stone has long lost any reputation it had for incisive journalism, I see a certain aptness in their appropriation of the phrase to describe the life of Miss Spears.

[kylennblack]

Obama finishes 2008 as the first African-American president-elect. Hillary earned 18 million votes in the primary and was the first woman to come the closest to winning the presidency and is highly likely to become the next Secretary of State.

Britney Spears concludes 2008 at the age of 27 years under the legal guardianship of her father because, according to a court of law, she is incapable of caring for herself or managing her own business. A mother of two unfit to be awarded primary custody and requires heavy supervison during visitation. She can't leave the house without a chaperone.

Yes she can? No she can't. Not even close.

[Motherunit]

I saw that RS cover at the store. Even though the Obama movement doesn't have a copywright on "Yes We Can" - still. Ewww. Caviar on a Cheez Doodle. Didn't buy the issue, either.

[OtayPanky]

As long as we're talking cheese, we can all look forward to the pop in births and babies being named Barack about 8 1/2 months from now.

Yes we can!