Does Britney Spears Represent Generation Y?
Whether you saw it, read it or Googled it, you know about it. Britney Spears is a big, crazy freak.
Just last night, she disappointed those few fans left hoping for a comeback with a lackluster -- if not downright disgusting -- performance at the MTV Video Music awards.
Watch Britney's VMA performance here.
The most upsetting thing about Britney's performance was not the fact that her hair (i.e. her wig/weave/ whatever that was) looked dirty and unstyled, or the fact that her body was not quite ready for the stage (especially in that), most likely a result of endless partying with Diddy and the like, just hours before scheduled to make 'a comeback;' no, the truly depressing aspect of this story has nothing to do with the fact that Britney looked pilled out and confused on stage. It is that her two little boys were at home without their mom.
Can you even remember a time when Britney had it all? She was at the top of her game. She was an international star. And what's more, she had zero reason to stop!
And it makes me wonder -- what is she doing to herself, minus the fame. Underneath the Us Weekly scandal and countless rumors of erratic behavior, what the hell is going on in her head?
But then I remember that I knew three boys my age -- they knew each other, at that), 20, who died during the course of the last year (8/06-5/07), and none of them are here any longer because of decisions they made involving prescription drugs and alcohol. But these boys weren't the types you may assume these kinds of things happen to. All of them were incredible, college-attending kids, though they weren't all necessarily straight A students. They didn't hang out with derelicts, and in at least one case, most of the people around them didn't even know that they had gotten into recreational prescription drug use.
So I ask again, what the hell was going on in their heads?
I don't know if there's a connection between Britney Spears' downfall and the boys' deaths, but it sure seems related. There's something about generation Y that I think will prove itself very apparent in the coming years.
We're a group of risk-takers. Obviously these risks span the gamut in terms of danger involved in them, but it's a commonality amongst us.
Sorry to go all 'Giuliani' on y'all, but I'm going to pinpoint 9/11 as the defining moment of the formation my generation's identity. We take risks because we understand that life is short; and we also get that no matter what we've done to prepare for any given day of our lives, two planes could fly into a major American city's tallest buildings, or we could accidentally walk in front of a moving bus and die. The war is another story -- and I think one for another post entirely -- but its effects upon the GEN Y (or is it 'why?') psyche have been equally drastic.
So maybe Britney does represent a good portion of us. But the other ones -- those whom people like Britney (that is, if she doesn't get proper counseling) will leave behind on Earth -- will take up The Torch. Those who remain will take risks that could lead to mass social change. Take the saying "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger," and apply it to my generation. That's us!
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Well sure she is, I mean the average Gen Yer is a millionair pop star aren't they, just like the average gen Xer was a dot com millionaire.
This Britney Bashing reminds me when there was Barney Bashing. Everyone jumping on the bandwagon. She obviously has appeal to some and not to others. So the non appealing group come out with both guns drawn and tries to annihilate the girl when she is down. How does this set an example for our children?
I have issues with some of the statements in this post.
Her body was not ready? Are you contributing to the stereotype that woman should be thin as role models? Do you have specifications on what size female entertainers should be? Are you also stating that woman should cover up if they are not a perfect size 4? I find this echoing statement offensive where woman are either purging or stopped eating based on this stereotype.
So working mothers are now an issue as well? It has been reported that she has 50/50 custody with her ex-husband and am sure you know which days the children are at which residence.
I am also sure the majority of the people reporting on Britney have exclusive information on the children’s interaction with their mother in her custody. I don’t know how anyone can speculate if she is a bad mother or not or do we just listen to all the rumors?
I still have not heard if she has broken any law and has been charged for fashion disasters and lip synching.
We need to stop contributing to echoing the hate and look at ourselves for perfection that some perceive to have. Web sites like TMZ and Perezhilton are creating a notion that hate mongering and unsubstantiated character attacks are a viable news source. Now televised news are reporting off their sites as real news.
Its not my intent to defend Britney Spears. But I find comments on her appearance whether her hair was styled, not having tight abs, speculating that she is out partying while her kids may or not be in her custody appalling.
Maybe we could focus on the moralities of our elected public officials who do directly affect our children’s future.
I think she's more Gen Z.
By the way, come comes after Gen Z.
Gen AA or does it start again with Gen A?
Was George Washington in Gen A?
The entertainment media, who income depends upon the lives of the rich and famous to prop up their income streams, prop up the failed and the failing because, honey, that's where the money is. Let's not forget about the paparazzi. They are such boorish, intrusive louts that incidents and escalations into violence with them are routine and almost expected. By their very presence they become newsmakers
Britney represents the over adulated entertainer who is past their prime and refuses to leave the stage gracefully. The news she generates is not about her latest hit, but about the latest bit that she flashes. We are riveted with fascination by a tumble as she is taking on her fall from grace.
If we really wanted to help her we would turn the spotlight away from her.
No, if Brittany is representative of generation Y it is only as an example of the self-centered and self important nature some of that generation.
Worse, writing a blog article sounding upset about how this could possibly be so can only feed Ms. Spears delusions of grandeur and feed off the misery that is Britney's life right now. Thank her for entertaining us for a few years, give her a nice parting check in the form of royalties, and show her the door.
Goodbye Britney.
I have one parting comment. Disney feeds off of the temporary fame of the youth it promotes into lower rung stardom. The kids grow up too fast while losing their sense of the real world. Once Disney has squeezed out what money it can, these kids are spit out of the system into a real world that eats them alive. Annette Funicello was one of a few who escaped that. Who's next? Goodbye Britney, let's hear from her again on a VH-1 has-been show in a few years.
Meanwhile, hello Vanessa! Into the meat grinder!
And so it goes, the great Disney Circle of life.
I don't think Britney represents a generation since her life has precluded her having any real world experience with the people who make up that group.
It's easy to think that with all her money she could step back for a while, but how would she know how to do that? She hasn't lived a regular life. She is the meal ticket for her family, and I imagine that includes extras like cousins and aunts/uncles. I don't think we can understand the pressure that responsibility would feel like. Aren't the parents supposed to take care of the kids rather than the newly popular Mousekateer being the bank for Mom and Dad?
She had a gig that suited a time a few years ago, but that time and those fans are long gone. And, she's left with no basic sense of self that would enable her to assess things and make reasonable choices for her and her children. She's never been given the tools for doing what she now needs to do.
No talented, semi-talented or untalented celebrity represents a generation.
A generation is represented by a typical member of a generation. Celebrities are far from typical.
exactly, though I have to say I grow tired of the "Generation anything". Since the "baby boom" there has been a desire to label groups agewise, but I believe there is no such actual cohesiveness within these artificial groups. The baby boomers shared a monoculture of the sixties (which may or may not have been one they were involved in) If you speak with members of recent "generations" there are few widely shared experiences by which they would define themselves.
The baby boomer (BB) generation spanned from 1946 to 1964. Generation X started in 1965 and ended in 1979. Generation Y started in 1980.
These are overly simplistic categorizations of people in the decades since WW2.
The latter part of the BB generation and the early years of Generation X shared the culture of the 60s, half and half.
More than 200 million people over 19 years (1946-1964) in one country, America, are too many to categorize as one generation. So much happened during that era. We had the Space Age, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, TV explosion, music revolution, sexual revolution, 4 presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson), MLK, Civil Rights, etc.
Even for demographic purposes, such categories are too broad, simplistic and misleading generalizations.
A lot of labeling going around with not much proof of data...just metaphoring and mixing people to make it seem equal.
Generation Y are the same people who childhood is in the 90's and are teens/young adults in this era...So while we(I'm Gen Y) are mostly getting are self wired...it the next gen that are actually going to be wired. For the most part, what best represent the current state for Gen Y is mostly technology; instant fame either online or other wise or the president.
Still can wait to see when Gen X is in the halls of congress.
There are few people like Brittney in our culture, people who have very little talent yet become iconic simply because they touch some strange collective place of recognition. In a way, this moves Brittney past mere entertainment and into the realm of performance art. Her show was a perfect metaphor for the President, Iraq, the Congress, and the flabby American people. Just like the President, she hasn't changed her style or look, she's still singing the same old boring song, and it doesn't play anymore. Not through the boozy haze. It's just shit! Fabulously, she redeemed herself by running off stage sobbing about how fat she was. That made it art. She, at least, got it. I wish the President would realize he's on the same chain.
Brittney came up during the Gen X decade (the 90's), not the Gen Y one. Regardless, she sucked in the 90's (even though the MSM kept telling us how really talented she was), now the MSM can't do that anymore.
"It is that her two little boys were at home without their mom."
oh, god, so many ways i find this statement funny.
were they locked in a closet without food and water? or were they there with a few nannies?
do you think that perhaps some single moms or attached moms who work all day and all week would love to be home with their kids too when they work, but all they can do is put the kids in daycare sans expensive nannies?
britney appears to be many things, but none of us are truly privvy to her inner household. all we know is what we see and read in the tabloids ad infinitum and nauseum.
and personally, i've seen more pictures of her hauling the kids around than i have of kfed doing the same.
my guess is that britney spends more time with her children than most working moms do with their kids.
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good post, i have often wondered about this. as someone who grew up in the late 70s (think of a cross between raunchy weekend nights in Saturday Night Fever and the hardcore stoners in Dazed and Confused) I am no stranger to being young and totally bombed much of the time, still I find myself really puzzled by the flameouts of youngsters like Britney Spears. First, what the hell is she taking? Second, is it fun? Third, how long can she last like this before really, completely falling apart?
Unlike the author of this post, I don't see much in this behavior that resonates in an interesting way with a particular historical moment. I think it just reflects the fact that this generation of kids is extremely wealthy and spoiled, with very little sense of consequences. In comparison I would say that high school kids in the 70s were *way hella* more risk-taking and living like there's no tomorrow than these spoiled, fat babies now.
Gimme gimme gimme gimme.
Sums it up
Hey Lucile, wanna buy some Amway? Please! You're an idiot. She goes out every night gets fucked up and never is w/ her kids. She's a complete and utter Fuck up that a corporation made a mulimillioniar. Just like when Rove said he could make Bush the president. Some assshole said the same about this piece of trash and they did it.
If she wants to ruin it all well that's her problem. All she is - is Lousianna trash. That's it!
She has zippo talent save for lip-synching while doing the aging jailbait routine. That's more or less it, to be frank. You can make a career outta that-anyone for Madonna-who at least can write/sing/ whatever-but it's usually a career track on the charts of 2 years max, then off to 'Celebrity Idiot' or whatever.
Generation Y is filled with fat,useless, egotists. You think the country is screwed now???
I refuse to hire anyone under the age of 30. Why? Many of these people think they deserve six figure salaries and expect not to have to work late. They've been coddled sine they were born and this resulted in a "me, me, me" attitude. They never say what they can give to an employer, but they damn well sure ask what the employer can give them.
Easy... you sound a bit like a grumpy old man (or woman). I teach at a local college to kids this age - are some of them lazy with a sense of entitlement? You bet. Are some of them incredibly talented, brilliant and socially and politically aware? Right again. Like it or not, this IS Americas future, but try not to be so judgemental - remember yourself at that age.
I'm with you, thero. I went to work when I was 14 because my family was almost too poor to buy shoes, and certainly too poor to send me to college. It took me several years to get the BS in accounting & pass the CPA since I was working full weeks and raising two babies at the same time. But it got done, with precious little help from anybody else. In my last 10 years as an accounting manager, I've run across exactly one new graduate who had any kind of work ethic and believed that slacking was stealing from her employer. And let's not even start on the Gen Y'ers who can't spell, punctuate, or compose a complete sentence!
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