Britney Spears' star image has evolved significantly over her career from her debut as an innocent schoolgirl to a sexualized pop star to now portraying herself as a responsible mother. Her early music videos like "Baby One More Time" portrayed her as young and naive through her schoolgirl outfit and pigtails, while later videos like "Piece of Me" and "Toxic" increasingly sexualized her image. More recently, her 2013 video for "Oh La La" showed her star image changing to focus on motherhood as it featured her two sons. Overall, the document analyzes how Britney Spears' portrayals across her music videos have shaped her shifting star image over the years from innocent to sexualized to now

1. HOW A STAR’S
IMAGE
DEVELOPS OVER
TIME THROUGH
MUSIC VIDEOS

2. BRITNEY SPEARS
The star I will be analyzing is Britney Jean Spears, who is
an American singer and actress born in McComb,
Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. She
performed acting roles in stage productions and television
shows as a child before signing with Jive Records in 1997.
Spears initiated her career by playing an ‘American
sweetheart’ singing pop. Her smashing hit ‘baby one more
time’ (1999) exploded her career and landed her a spot in
the most watched teenagers of all time. But as every good
thing comes to an end, Spears recently begun evolving her
image of “not a girl, not yet a woman” and altering her
star image permanently.

3. BRITNEY SPEARS
Britney Spears began her singing career
by being portrayed as a ‘little girl’, young
and naïve. In her video ‘baby one more
time’ she sports a schoolgirl uniform and
pigtails to reinforce this idea. Ironically
enough, Britney is dressed in knee high
socks and exposing her stomach, which
disturbingly sexualises her image. The
video also consists of very high angle
shots, linking to the features, which built
her star image – vulnerability, innocence
and naivety.

4. BRITNEY SPEARS
Britney Spears made a stand when her video ‘Piece of me’
was released in 2007. After an emotional breakdown and a
terrible marriage, spears was definitely not a little girl
anymore and released this song to express her hate
towards the media and the paparazzi. This is instantly
evident as the video begins with voyeurism. We interpret
that Britney plays herself throughout the music video and
is shown in various shots that her life consists of hiding
and disguising in order to achieve privacy. Britney Spears
does not display any obvious visual motifs although some
would consider her sexuality to be used constantly in
various music videos.

5. BRITNEY SPEARS
An example of this would be Britney’s
costume in the video for ‘Piece of Me’
where she is shown wearing a fur jacket
with just a sequin bra underneath. This is
later reinforced by a scene where Spears is
dancing in what appears to be a female
bathroom, she wears a very short purple
dress exposing her legs and cleavage. Even
in earlier videos such as ‘Ops I Did It
Again’ (2000) and ‘Toxic’ (2003), Spears is
sexualised by wearing latex and a revealing
air hostess outfit.

6. BRITNEY SPEARS
Close-ups of Britney were frequently used in past
videos to reinforce the idea of her being a sex icon,
however in one of her most recent videos ‘Oh La La’
(2013) close-ups are used to portray her as a
responsible mother instead. This video caused a lot
of commotion as it contradicted Britney’s star image
by having both her sons, Jayden James Federline and
Sean Federline appear in the video. The record
company in the past attempted to sell Britney based
on fame amongst the male audience, by always
presenting her in small clothes and by including
sexual dancing.

7. BRITNEY SPEARS
Surprisingly, her representation has changed, arguably due to
her age but mostly due to her status as a mother. In her past
videos such as ‘Piece of Me’ and ‘Slave 4 U’, Spears seems to
endure the messy sweaty blonde hair with no apparent hairstyle.
Her clothes tend to look unsophisticated and promiscuous.
Additionally, frequent spotted settings are clubs. This is done in
order to increase sexuality in the video and to signify her
carelessness. Contrarily, in the video for ‘Oh La La’ Britney’s
record company presents her in a red loosely fit dress, hair a lot
more tidy and her makeup appears to be more natural and
elegant. All of these features contribute to changing her star
image from ‘trashy’ to ‘classy’.

8. BRITNEY SPEARS
In Britney’s video for ‘Baby One More Time’, long shots
are used to focus on her body and dancing. This ensures
that the male audience will enjoy it more. Long shots and
short takes of the choreographed dance emphasize her
energy and youth, which again, appeals to the male
audience. The editing in ‘Piece of Me’ connote Britney’s
fame and popularity. In the scene where Britney is at her
bedroom window, the shot is shown as a photography
and then stuck into a magazine. This use of voyeurism
and the title ‘Piece of Me’ is specifically added to imply
that fame led to Britney’s breakdown.

9. BRITNEY SPEARS
In Britney’s video ‘Piece of Me’ she is placed in
front of a bright neon screen whilst stood singing
in a long shot, this indicates that her life consists
of performance and overwhelming paparazzi. All
of these factors contribute to Britney Spears’ star
image. A long shot is visible in the video ‘Oh La
La’ as Britney appears to be in a cinema room with
both her sons. This is used to indicate her new star
image as a caring mother. Additionally, close-ups
and long takes are frequently used to emphasize
Britney’s good appearance despite being 33 and a
mother of two.

10. BRITNEY SPEARS
It is considered that Britney’s wider cultural significance is ‘girl power’. This is
evidence from her very first music videos to her most recent that Britney
portrays the strong and independent spirit most/all women desire. This is what
made her rise to fame and attract attention worldwide.

11. BRITNEY SPEARS
In summary, it is important
to keep in mind that Britney
Spears still remains a sex icon
although her star image has
decreased in sexuality. She
has come a long way in her
career, which began at 18 and
is still popular at 33. It is safe
to say that Britney Jean
Spears is not a girl, but now a
woman.