Britney Spears and Frances Farmer

I never imagined I would write about Britney Spears, but while waiting in the checkout at the grocery yesterday, I noticed a group of women circling their leader who was holding a magazine. What is all the commotion about, I asked. They recognized me and immediately began a diatribe of assaults on the little girl in the picture. I looked over their shoulders. It was Britney Spears. She was in a hospital bed-- arms shackled so she could not hurt herself after a suicide attempt. I immediately lost my appetite.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me -- that brat -- she's addicted to attention," the queen bee in the tennis outfit said. "She's got brown hair now -- that looks nice," another one said. "Only she would wear black lace in a hospital room," another lady spewed and shook her head. They all looked like mothers themselves as they hovered around the magazine. I looked at the wild, bewildered and drugged face of the girl in the bed. "Why would she continue to act like this? She's just an idiot," they said. Their lack of compassion for a girl most likely their daughter's age was sobering.

My first thought was shame on the paparazzi who took the picture. Perhaps someone from her own family took it. After all, when admitted to the hospital, Britney's mother says she called Dr. Phil. Dr. Phil? That's a family that is either clueless or wants more attention. Whoever took the picture, and those who published it, should be thrown in jail.

Actress Frances Farmer came to my mind as I was driving home. She was a famous actress in the '30s and '40s and she was haunted by how cruel the tabloid press could be. She was an easy target. Like Britney, Francis Farmer was drawn to alcohol and drugs and therefore prone to mental illness and self destruction. Farmer had a mother who used her and betrayed her according to her sister's biography. Farmer was in and out of mental institutions her whole life. The tabloid-Hollywood-press loved her tirades and pictures of her often alcohol induced inappropriate behavior garnered top dollar.

What kind of people use the personal carnage of another for entertainment without a thimble full of sympathy? We have devolved into a strange fruit indeed. During one famous episode when Frances Farmer was taken away in hand cuffs, she yelled at the police, "Haven't you ever had a broken heart?" Clearly some part of Britney's heart is broken.

Julia Roberts was recently quoted as saying she knows what it's like to be hounded by paparazzi. Regarding Britney she said, "I just want to hug her." Apparently Britney threw Dr. Phil out of the hospital room 10 minutes after his arrival. So Julia and anyone else with a heart that Britney might listen to, now is the time for the hugs.

Comments

[ibivi]

Ms Spears is in desparate need of therapy.
Dr Phil may be a publicity hound but he is qualified to counsel her. She is careening out of control and needs get herself away to heal.

[TRYKER]

No other "profession" gets to hound people endlessly like the paparazzi. If 15 Taco sellers jammed their products into the faces of every star they hounded, they'd be jailed.
I see no reason the paparazzi have carte blanch for their actions, they endanger those whom they haunt. Its a disgrace and should be illegal.
Just because one performs for the public shouldn't make them fair game for "terrorists" with cameras.
They played a part in Diana's death. Also, Anna Nichole wouldn't go to the hospital because of the press and what they'd do and say of her. So she stayed at home and died.
Lisa Marie Presley and her divorced spouse share a compound, each with their own homes etc. If Brit and KFed would move to a quiet place in the country and shared the kids between houses without all the public interference, the kids would have a chance.
It looks like the kids are well cared for and love their Mommy...and children should be able to keep a relationship with their mother...for their sake.
Trashing anyone and everyone for any and no reason has become sickening in this country and is so-o-o-o demeaning and destructive...not to mention inhumane. For shame!

[BluSkye]

Personally, I don’t care what happens with Britney Spears. I’ve never paid too much attention neither to her career nor her loss of the same. This little I know about her I’ve heard from other people by accident, or, seeing titles about her on various magazines, web sites or tv (which I almost never watch). However, I do care about your posts that I’ve been reading constantly, and found a need to comment this time.

“Whoever took the picture, and those who published it, should be thrown in jail.” – I strongly disagree. Although the media today has grown to the point of entertainment disgust, those who took photos were profiting or furthering their own careers. While we can critique their morale and disrespect their jobs, they should not be thrown in jail.

General statements like “We are no longer a very caring country” don’t hold a valid message to me. Being caring or not can be used to describe a person, but to apply it to the entire country is a vague statement. There are people who are extreemely caring to her (her paparazzi boyfriend (Britney said it, not me)), and there are those who are not (like myself), and pitty Britney for allowing herself to fall so low. Yes, media is to be partially blamed, but if Britney was smarter, she would not allow this vast negative effect on her own life and her children. To me, she is not a caring person. On the other hand, I do understand why you used the statement about not-caring America. Brutal Hollywood scene can easily rip appart celebrities whose foundations have become shaky. That’s the price of being a celebrity.

Altough I expressed my disagreements with a couple statements of yours, I do appreciate your posts, and looking forward to reading more.

Best to you, Leslie.

[alguien]

there are a number of similarities between brit brit & frances farmer-the drug/alcohol abuse, the grandstanding mother, the merciless paparazzi (although the term didn't exist at that point since it was first coined in 1960 from a character in fellini's "la dolce vita"). however, frances farmer, at least by historical accounts did have an amazing intellect and was frustrated by the constraints the studio system forced on her. frances farmer's legacy comes down to us on the basis of one movie-"come and get it" which is a pretty amazing bit of film making. nothing else of her's is available to today's viewer and apparently everything else she did was dreadful. britney, on the other hand, is certainly not regarded as an intellect in even her staunchest fans' views but she's got considerably more popular success than farmer ever got in her brief career. who knows if britney will spiral down as far as frances farmer ever did (mental institutions where she was subject to being gang raped by members of the staff, straight jackets & ultimately lobotomized and completely forgotten by the public) or if she'll eventually snap out of it. Whatever happens with Britney, however, we can be sure she'll be in the public eye.

on a side note, the broken heart quote from frances farmer was actually directed at the sentencing judge-after she threw an inkwell at his head.

[DustyT]

Leslie - I agree with you. I find the lack of sympathy for this girl the most disturbing part of the unnecessary news that bombards all media.

It is easy to call her names and tear her apart, because she has made so many mistakes publicly and yes she has sought out attention - but this is all part of her obvious psychosis. The girl is in trouble plain and simple.

I hope she gets some peace and space to work out her problems along with hugs - but I'm not betting on it. The feeding frenzy made her lose her confidence yesterday to show up for court and I fear she is only going to spiral down further. And when she hits bottom the media will have the tenacity to ask "What went wrong?" without a pause to accept some responsibility while they fight for the first shot of the coffin.

[larry278]

Surprise-Hollywood is heartless. You have seen the obvious. Keep it in mind.

[marignymitch]

Ah. The grocery shoppers recognized you. You then are the story not Brit, I see. This means you are a very important person with stellar judgment, I gather, although I've never heard of you. You know what's really going down.

But despite your fame and therefore your gravitas I have to disagree with your take on Brit and clan. My conclusion is you've been played.

This family is in it strickly for the publicity (money). All of them. But Brit is the best in attracting attention. (Please note how quickly she was able recapture the spotlight when it strayed momentarily to the pregnant sister, writer-manque mom and knight-to-­the-rescue dad.) So I do have to hand it to her.

Brit, a dim, lightweight, self-centered low-class, pop twit has successfully manipulated you and people like you into believing in the importance of herself and her 'plight' and into issuing a call to arms to save her from herself.

Meantime she's having the time of her life. She's free as a birdie from the controlling adults, unencumbered by her two boys, SPF and JJ, and getting all the attention and sympathy anyone could want. Time to party down. Celebrate.

Yeah, I gotta hand it to her. I think I need a hug.

[jukesgrrl]

Um, that would be FRANCES Farmer.

[zakstar]

Thank you for writing this column. I find the news coverage of Britney heartbreaking. Clearly, her actions are one desperate cry for help after another; and all anyone seems to be concerned with is the next big money shot. I do not understand how the media can justify helping to press an unstable woman to the edge for ratings and magazine sales. It's tantamount to a crowd shouting for a suicidal individual to go ahead and jump. No doubt the first shots of a dead Britney Spears would be priceless, but at what cost.