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The Netflix premiere of the documentary Britney vs. Spears has given rise to our analysts Juan Felipe Vélez, Salomé López and Ignacio García Medina to talk in this Spoiler Free program about the legal situation in which Britney Spears finds herself.
For those who don’t know much about the Britney Spears case —and the movement in her support called #FreeBritney—, this documentary will be surprising and incredible. Not for nothing, until a few months ago, those who spoke out about the singer’s situation and supported the #FreeBritney hashtag were considered conspiracy theorists on par with terraplanners.
For those who have followed the case through the Internet, the documentary does not really contribute anything new and is rather a mediocre documentary, unprofessional in appearance and lacking in context —as the analysts agreed during the program—. However, the grotesqueness of the situation created around Britney Spears makes it highly recommendable to understand the ins and outs of what could be considered a story of modern slavery.
For the past decade, and after Britney Spears’ emotional stability was shattered by a mismanagement of her fame, the artist has been under legal guardianship by her father and a team of doctors and lawyers, who have not only managed the pop star’s finances, but also exerted tight control over every aspect of Britney’s life.
The documentary shows us this group of people apparently more interested in squeezing the goose that lays the golden eggs than in her health and well-being. Britney Spears has apparently been subjected over the past decade to relentless surveillance, denying her some of her most basic freedoms, while being worked to exhaustion to continue to generate income.
These suspicions, which until recently were dismissed as mere Internet conspiracy theories, were recently confirmed when Britney Spears herself appeared before a judge to expose the hell she has had to go through over the past decade.
During this episode of Spoiler Free, the similarity of Britney Spears’ case to that of Brian Wilson —leader of the iconic group The Beach Boys— came to light, brilliantly captured in the film Love & Mercy, which explains how an unscrupulous psychiatrist took advantage of the songwriter’s mental illness for years, also denying him fundamental freedoms and even forcing him to include him as a co-author of his compositions for financial gain.
That these cases are all too common made the participants in the debate wonder to what extent it is lawful for legislation to allow denying rights to individuals with the excuse of mental health, agreeing that there is a risk of falling into what is known as the “Therapeutic State”, where with the excuse that “it is for your own health” the state can turn you into a kind of slave in a legal way.
Britney Spears’ situation also led us to analyze how money and fame affect music, film and sports stars, pointing out that many of these cases are the consequence of a loss of values that lead to the denial of individual freedom.
Where to watch Spoiler Free?
Every Thursday at 8 PM (ET), you can watch Spoiler Free live on El American’s YouTube channel. In this program we talk about current series, movies or music, as well as their political and social implications in the so-called “culture battle.”
Ignacio Manuel García Medina, Business Management teacher. Artist and lecturer specialized in Popular Culture for various platforms. Presenter of the program "Pop Libertario" for the Juan de Mariana Institute. Lives in the Canary Islands, Spain // Ignacio M. García Medina es profesor de Gestión de Empresas. Es miembro del Instituto Juan de Mariana y conferenciante especializado en Cultura Popular e ideas de la Libertad.
Social Networks: @ignaciomgm