On the final section of my course paper about Francis Lawrence and his video music accomplishments I discussed his collaboration with Britney Spears. Since the late 90s she is often referred to as the “Princess Of Pop” becoming a megastar on a par with contemporaries like Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Mariah Carey.
The following is what I wrote in 2011 for my course assignment: Aside from “All Nite” the Britney Spears effort “Circus” is the most self-aware and glorifying of the video group examined for this study. “Circus” may be the most curious of them all – as the title would certainly give expectations of a grand and flashy viewer experience. This is clearly not the case – though the opening sequence of Spears sitting in her dressing room applying perfume and expensive jewelry raises anticipation of a showy display. Like all the aforementioned videos, Lawrence once again provides Spears with an exaggerated locale of space, yet “Circus” is the sparsest of them all.
“Circus” offers only a small group of accompanying dancers, an elephant and two lions, and there is very little in the way of performance, props, onlookers or much showmanship that would be expected by circus attendees. Then again, such a lavish show was hardly the point since Spears is the center of attention, and too much of anything else would be distracting. The overall lack of adornment for Spears is much in line with “Just Like A Pill” and “All Nite” though all the videos reviewed here (except possibly for “Jaded”) hardly qualify as being too busy.
Ironically enough, in “Circus” Spears portrays the master of ceremonies and sings of being “the ringleader and calling the shots” of “running a tight ship and “cracking the whip”, but the intense media “circus” engulfing her life would suggest otherwise. Then again, it’s quite possible that this video was intended as one answer to refute such notions of a chaotic, downward spiral. Control, dominance, and untainted allure are definitely stressed as Spears’ outstanding traits. For the eight Lawrence videos examined here, the overriding theme of high profile stars in command of their destinies and calling the shots gives them a unifying vitality and sense of purpose without external clutter, whether it’s Lady Gaga triumphant over the smoldering remains of her ex-lover in “Bad Romance”, Janet Jackson’s humiliation of and victory over her treacherous partner in “Son Of A Gun” or Pink seeing the light of reason and sanity over a relationship gone crazy from “Just Like A Pill”.
All of the Lawrence creations give the sensation of the primarily female artists having invincibility within vast reaches of space as the transcendence over cares and worries informs Nelly Furtado’s “Just Like A Bird” in particular or the brimming, confidence charged sexuality and swaggering of queen bees like Jennifer Lopez in “Play” and the strongly implied sex without restraints of dance diva Janet Jackson’s “All Nite” and Britney Spear’s dominance in “Circus”. Each of the Lawrence videos provides a great deal of information despite the very limited narrative structure and capabilities of the genre.
In summary, each of the eight videos discussed here are unmistakable showcases for individual artists with careful attention to appearance, camera work, and lighting within largely restricted settings. The intention is to provide the best venues to display the strengths and potentials of each of these stars in vast spaces of performance and unspecified time that compliment and reinforce their statures in ways that Vernallis stresses. She believes that music videos display these strengths and potentials through representations of gender, performance, and sexuality. Lawrence well recognizes Vernallis’ unique ability to go beyond face value when he says: “Carole Vernallis has done what no one else has done to date…she has seen beyond the surface of the music video and has found the true and unique language of the art form”.
Within the next month or so I look forward to sharing more of my music video studies with you and welcome any questions or comments that readers may have.
