Sundance Proposal

Rachel Mossberg
May 4, 2015
Documentary Research Methods

LOGLINE
The Princess of Pop: Britney Spears, Representation and The Teen Dream is a sociological
investigation of pop icon Britney Spears impact on the Millennial generation. Guided by
participant narratives, the film explores the trajectory of her career, her role in popular culture
and her reign of influence on the kids who grew up watching her. The film argues that Britneys
life is a study of celebrity, authenticity and representation within our collective consciousness.

SUMMARY OF TOPIC
From her debut as a pop star in the late 90s and throughout her reign as the worlds biggest
teen superstar, Britneys image and fame made a significant impact on our collective popular
culture. The film will begin with the focus on Millennials people like myself who came of age
during Britneys peak fame. I am interested in the personal stories and feelings of subjects who

were confronted by Britney during their adolescence. Ill explore gender roles, sexuality, social
pressure and the overall self-reflection subjects experienced during this time in their life, with
Britney as a stimulus.
For context, I will address the collective opinions of baby boomers and Generation X-ers and
their reaction to Britneys teen pop fame; Im interested to view the reactions of a the generation
that came before and their feelings about the 2000s teen pop explosion of Lolita sexuality and
overexposure. The subjects of these interviews will range from parents of Millennial children to
adult men Britneys sex appeal targeted.
To understand the scope of her fame and popularity, I will look at Britneys success and
achievements in popular culture. I will examine the results of Britneys influence and the lasting
impression her legacy has made on the generations that idolized her, citing examples both
within the entertainment industry and in the real world of her fans. I will then show the
contrasting views of Britneys critics. Her career and personal life started to spiral as she aged
out of the teen-pop category, and her image has been fraught with controversy and eccentricity.
I will address the major criticism and negative press she received throughout her career, and
then detail her mental breakdown of 2007 and mockery made of her struggles via the tabloid
circuit.
Finally, I will reconnect with the Millennials, who are now in their 20s and 30s, and look at their
current opinions of Britney, then and now. I want to see how the people who grew up in her
perfect image view Britney now, as a mother and adult who hit rock bottom and made her way
back into the publics favor. I will look at artists who were inspired by her journey, fans who
stayed by her and people who are now celebrating her for the first time.
I find this project extremely relevant to the pop landscape, since Britney Spears is an icon and
living legend in her own right. To me, she exists as an all-encompassing example of the perils of
fame, the culture industry, the fetishization of commodities, social capital, etc. Within the realm
of media and cultural studies, this film will show the impact of representation and the way media
dictates what people see, and in turn how people internalize the imagery around them.
My reason for tackling this topic is simple: I started by asking myself What story could I tell
better than anyone else? I believe, at the very least, this film can vindicate Millennials and to
embrace the importance of pop figures on culture in an empirical way. People often dismiss
figures like Britney for their unimportance. I became interested in pursuing her as a
documentary topic because throughout my youth, I couldnt escape her. I began to ask others
about her, seeking their own opinions, and found that many Millennials have a lot to say.
I identify as a media maker, a critic and someone who is able to flex between roles as a
consumer and a creator of entertainment. I believe that I am in a position to effectively tell
stories and make meaning of them. I am most interested in taking a look at what effects our
entertainment industry have had on those who consume it and what pervasive impact it has
made on our society. This film will be equal parts entertainment and education, which I hope will
open up peoples minds to question, and not simply absorb, the messages they receive through
music, television and film.

NARRATIVE SYNOPSIS
The origin of the project was a social experiment I began toying with years ago. I was very
curious to find what people in and around the Millennial era (birth years ranging from the early
1980s to the early 2000s) thought about Britney Spears. I found that she was a polarizing topic,
and she was someone that almost everyone had strong opinions about. These opinions were
very reflective and introspective; both boys and girls had feelings that she was meant to appeal
to them, in ways they may or may not have understood or accepted. The concepts of
authenticity and commodity kept arising, as my subjects felt that she was presented as a
product, not a person. I realized then that this was just the tip of the iceberg of a massive
sociological case: how can one pop figure have impacted so many lives in such an aggressive
way? If, at the tween age, kids are made aware of the inauthenticity of a commercial pop star,
how does that materialize as these kids become adults?
Not only will I be interviewing a variety of Millennial-aged subjects(the first tier of impact), I think
its important to also compare these testimonials to those of Generation X-ers and Baby
Boomers (the second tier of impact), arguably those who make up the pre-Britney generation
and some of whom are the elders to the Millennials in question. It will be crucial to not only
compare Britney to the teen pop stars that came before her, but to compare the stories of
Millennials and their reactions to teen Britney against the reactions of an older generation.
These opinions will be crucial, because the argument of Britney as a product goes far beyond
that of a teen idol meant for kids; in fact, research shows that teen Britney was targeted at their
older brothers and fathers as well.
Celebrity culture, the structure that influences and dictates fame, is a topic I believe has
immense relevance and weight in our modern era. It is a two-tiered structure: the celebrity is
poised as a product by the media industry, and the audience either supports or tears down the
product, often doing both throughout time. In recent years, its become clear that audiences
crave photos, stories and conflict when dealing with stars, to an extreme extent that
dehumanizes the star altogether, thusly completing the stars transformation from person to
product. No example is more strong than that of Britney Spears. Her whirlwind of being loved/
hated, glorified/vilified and its many iterations over the years begs to ask why people have an
insatiable lust for celebrities, which in turn fuels the media industrys lust for creating that
content for consumption. While Britney has certainly become an icon by the hands of the media
machine, in many ways she has also been victimized by it. I will argue that Britneys ride into
celebrity is a tale of a child without a childhood, who was packaged and sold back to children in
a bizarre, calculated way.
I will be exploring the medias presentation of Britney and her success as a commercial product,
and compare it against the criticism she received by journalists, bloggers and the like. What sets
Britney apart from, say, Madonna, was that when Madonna hit the scene and caused
controversy, she stood by her bold choices and freedom of expression. Britney, peculiarly,
denied and deflected any heat she earned for her sexy teen persona, claiming she was a virgin
and totally unaware this subversive popular opinion. Whether it be her appearance, her songs
or her performances, Britney (but likely her management) firmly refused to acknowledge her
overt imagery by playing innocent and sincere.
My background in media studies has helped me legitimize the concept of authenticity in the
context of this project. Cultural theorist Stuart Halls commentary on representation dictates that,

when media presents us with an image or a product, it actually being re-presented as something
other than what it actually is. Since Britneys entire life, from early childhood, was depicted on
television and in magazines, she is a case study in re-presentation. Throughout her days on
Disney, into the MTV years, through her marriages and the births of her children, from her
mental breakdown to her comeback, Britneys life as we know it has been made public for
consumption. I want to explore if people want her fantasy over her truth, but more deeply, how
people allow such stories to become internalized into their own lives, how we compare
ourselves to celebrities and conversely, how celebrities are often framed as just like us.
Philosopher Theodor Adornos criticisms of regressive listening and the fetishization of
commodities talk about how forms of commerce invade the human psyche. Applying these
concepts to Britney Spears, a teen pop starlet, help recast her story in a critical light. In
particular, these schools of thought help us understand why Britney-as-a-product had such a
deep and lasting impact on individuals, and on our cultural landscape as a whole. Within this
context, audiences of this film will see how and why people are susceptible to pop music, icon
figures and why capital, not choice, fuels these trends.
The resulting concept this film will address is my personal argument that popular culture is too
easily dismissed as a insignificant. Because the fibers of popular culture are disposable and
superficial, a large portion of our society disregards its impact. I will argue the opposite: the
superficial things we so desperately seek for entertainment and for aspirational guidance has a
deep, internalizing impact on individuals and communities, spanning from high school cliques to
the international standards of beauty and desire. Britney Spears is both a joke and a legend;
she is a pop singer who lacks depth and talent but simultaneously symbolizes a cultural era. My
aim with this project is to use her story and her vast cultural impact as the definitive 21st century
example of legitimizing pop culture.
I will be writing (if not performing) the narration for this film, which I think will give context as to
who is the voice telling this story. I represent the Millennial in question the would-be fan of
Britney who absorbs her influence. It is important tonally that I represent the people of my
generation but as an authoritative instructor throughout this investigation. I want to achieve the
balance of appealing to young audiences as well as intellectual audiences.

STATUS OF FILM
The film is firmly in pre-production, focused mainly on storyboards. Because I will be using a
variety of media like animation, archival footage and b-roll in addition to narration and
interviews, I have to arrange and choreograph each element. A new addition to my arsenal of
media is reenactment, wherein Ill use actors as stand-ins to illustrate the content of the
narration. I would like to create stand-ins with actors embodying different characters of the
story: the tween-aged Millennial, the Gen-X parent, the teen fans, the journalists, even the pop
star herself. I am drawn to the fast-paced, info-graphic style of documentary la Freakonomics,
which has been guiding my aesthetic and storytelling format. For that reason, I need to seek out
animators and effects artists for collaboration. Because there are so many media components
involved, I estimate the film could take up to a year to complete production.

FUNDRAISING STRATEGY
I will be utilizing a variety materials and services throughout production and post-production and
therefore I estimate that this project will require a commensurate budget to accommodate those
costs. As previously stated, this project will require the use of actors, animators and effects
artists, as well as licensing for archival footage featuring Britney from a variety of television
appearances that may not fall under fair use.
With that in mind, I will be applying for multiple grants for fundraising and strategic partnering. I
am seeking grants with the following organizations: The Jerome Foundation, Chicken & Egg,
Cinedreach, Impact Partners, and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. I hope to extend
my search for funding across all possible outlets, including organizations that support work in
the humanities, non-fiction and educational filmmaking, female filmmakers and residents of the
state of Rhode Island.

DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING STRATEGY

I hope to promote this film two ways: as both a pop culture entertainment film and as an
argumentative sociological work. For that reason, I see multiple outlets and potential audiences
for screening and distribution.
Because the film will be a fairly objective criticism of Britney Spears career and public persona,
I will be sensitive to her character when the film enters distribution. With permission, I would like
to align my film with PBS, and ideally their Idea Channel on Youtube that explores pop culture
phenomena. An obvious partner for distribution would be Viacom, the cooperation that houses
MTV and VH1. Not only work closely with Britney, they are known to air social documentaries
and docu-style shows featuring prominent artists.
Beyond television, I would like to promote this project as highly creative and inventive
educational piece of media. I would like to screen the film in partnership with universities and/or
museums, perhaps focusing on pop musicology, media studies and gender studies.
Finally, I would like to engage Britneys fanbase by appealing to them directly via social media
marketing. Kickstarter or Indiegogo would allow me to reach individuals and appeal to their
interest, while allowing me to keep them informed with film updates and opportunities to
participate and see the film.

DIRECTORS PRIOR WORK

I will serve as the director for this project. This will be my first time directing a feature length film,
excluding student work. In a professional capacity, I have acted as a producer on three films to
date.
The Anchorite (2015) is an independent feature film about three musicians becoming a band as
they tour the US. The film is an unscripted narrative an experimental style of storytelling that
engages real environments and non-actors with a fictional storyline. I served as a producer for

this film, as well as an assistant director and line producer during the 32 day shoot. Directed by
Aviv Rubinstien.
Survive DC (2016) is an independent feature documentary film chronicling the indie game
known as Survive DC. The film features the game organizers of Washington DC who throw a
totally unsponsored large scale event each year, wherein thousands of participants show up for
a game of tag across the city for one night. The film also follows participants, including 4 select
teams of competitors and staff members who play unique roles throughout the event. I acted as
a producer for this project and as the line producer during the 9 day shoot. Directed by Aviv
Rubinstien.
80s Birthday Party (2015) is an independent short film about a quirky 80s-themed birthday party
for grown ups. I was the producer and production designer for this short, and worked closely
with the director/screenwriter throughout all phases of the production. Directed by Keith Brown.
At this time, I have not secured crew members for other key roles forThe Princess of Pop:
Britney Spears, Representation and The Teen Dream.