Britney without filter

Starting from the enigmatic look of Britney Spears on Instagram, this episode goes back to the origins of the myth: the Disney machine. How has this entertainment empire shaped and conditioned an entire generation, and according to what values? How has it influenced the way we present ourselves to the world and perceive ourselves?

At the start of the 2000s, America oscillated between extreme puritanism and obsessive fascination with everything that revolved around sex. Britney becomes both the emblem and the scapegoat of this ambivalent culture. Is she a virgin? Did she have her breasts done? But the real question is elsewhere: what do we expect from a famous woman?

In 2007, Britney Spears shaved her head in front of the paparazzi lens. This gesture became the symbol of the explosion of the celebrity press, the commodification of private life and a growing public appetite for the sensational. How have we become the new executioners of our idols?

Placed under the guardianship of her father, Britney is stripped of all control over her life. Faced with her imposed silence, fans take over and make her exist virtually, by appropriating her image. How have social networks allowed fans to reverse the balance of power between the media and the public?

On June 23, 2021, Britney Spears speaks in court in Los Angeles to request the lifting of her guardianship. It is through her voice, and no longer through her image, that she finds her humanity and her freedom. On her Instagram account, she regains control of her image and shows off every angle. But what does it tell us about our own relationship with social networks?