For years, Britney Spears and her father have been at constant battle regarding her money, and it has been well known to resurface through the media every now and then. However, on September 28, just as a major turning point was to be made in this case, a new documentary was released on Netflix called Britney vs. Spears. The documentary explains the situation her father put Britney in called a conservatorship, which is “granted by a court for individuals who are unable to make their own decisions, like those with dementia or other mental illnesses (Vultur).”

Originally, the movie Britney vs. Spears was going to be made to highlight her achievements in her career, but it soon changed to focus on her conservatorship because of the attention it has been receiving (Vultur). 

To begin the film, videos of paparazzi surrounding Britney were presented, showing how much attention she was receiving, and not all to her liking. Then after her divorce with Kevin Federline, it transitions into her conservatorship, where things begin to take a darker turn.

In the film, many controversial figures were interviewed, such as the attorney for her ex-husband, her former manager and her former paparazzo. They all agreed that their attempts to protect her were unsuccessful, and that she is basically a prisoner to her father. 

Many people were on her side, as a journalist “worked with her former boyfriend to sneak legal papers into a hotel bathroom so Spears could secretly sign them, requesting that a judge replace her court-appointed lawyer with an attorney of her choosing” (npr). Despite these efforts, there was yet again a failed attempt to help her, but looking into her medical history was something else to be done. There were claims that Spears had dementia, but a geriatic psychologist refused to give any information on whether he examined her (npr). Additionally, more people that were acquaintances of Britney showed texts expressing her frustration with this situation, while others had to deny rumors that were given to them during this case.

As seen in this summary of the film, the theme is centralized around the control her father took over her life and finances after seeking an opportunity when she was facing troubles in her divorce with Keven Federline. Maddie Liao (11) believes that “it is very inhumane that her father took advantage of the situation and I hope things will start to turn out well when everything is over.”

Though the film offered some insight on what people thought of the case, it lacked the amount of detail seen in her other documentaries. Considering its running time was 93 minutes, it would have been best if the film went into more of a backstory and provided more information rather than just explain about her father’s control as explained in the other documentaries. However, it was still an important documentary to be released, as it helped people understand how serious of a situation she truly is in.