On Thursday, after a live concert to promote it, Apple TV+ released “The World’s a Little Blurry,” the streaming service’s new documentary about Gen-Z household name Billie Eilish. The documentary, directed by R.J. Cutler (“Belushi,” “Nashville”), chronicles the creation of Eilish’s 2019 debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” in her childhood home. (The record went on to win all four major Grammy categories, making Eilish the youngest nominee to do so.)
Its release comes right on the heels of the New York Times’ Hulu documentary “Framing Britney Spears,” which chronicled both Spears’ rise to fame as a teen pop star in the 1990s and the battle over her legal rights and control over her estate, after the courts ordered that she be subject to a conservatorship. The documentary spurred a great deal of discussion about the issues facing young women in the public eye, given how intensely the documentary chronicled the ways in which Spears was victimized by misogynistic music industry and celebrity media practices that were commonplace at the time — and, as the Eilish documentary hints, remain so.
“You’ve got a whole army of people trying to help you not destroy your life, like people in your shoes have done before,” notes Maggie Baird, Elish’s mother, at one point in the film.
At another, her parents are shown objecting, respectfully but adamantly, to her label’s suggestions; in one scene Baird responds to suggestions that Eilish change her anti-drug stance in her song “xanny,” by saying, “Are you actually not going to let her be authentic to who she is now?”
Eilish and her music help represent many things that people of our generation are dealing with — mental health struggles, grief, feelings of alienation and an unwillingness to “just fit in.”
It’s clear from the film that Eilish’s family members play a significant supportive role in her life, rather than a predatory one; it was already well known that she writes songs with her brother, Finneas, but the film documents how she also leans on her parents for emotional support. Filmed over two years, it follows Eilish (now 19) as she struggles with depression, Tourette syndrome and the demise of a romantic relationship, alongside her quick rise to fame.
“Are you ready for the next level of superstardom?” a journalist asks Eilish at a point before the album’s release.
“No,” she says.
Though, as the documentary suggests, having a stable familial support system keen on protecting her as a person rather than promoting her career — which not all young women in the industry have — seems to at least alleviate some of the pressures.
As an artist and a young woman, Eilish and her music help represent many things that people of our generation are dealing with — mental health struggles, grief, feelings of alienation and an unwillingness to “just fit in.”
Eilish is aware of and in control — as much as is possible — of the narrative about her, even though others may not always like it.
“I feel the dark things,” she says in response. “Why would I not talk about them? To have a song that is describing exactly how you feel is just the best feeling in the world.”
She’s also a person continuously being placed on a pedestal in front of millions of people, adding to the stressors of everyday problems we deal with.
For instance, Eilish’s style choices — which are a deliberate rejection of the norm for young women in the industry — were partially intended to force the focus onto her music, but her decision to simply cover her body as she saw fit actually drew criticism from people who seemingly thought her choice to avoid skin-tight clothing as a teenage girl was either intended to distract from a problem with her body or draw attention to it.
The discourse around Eilish’s style — and her unwillingness to be overly sexualized — was a continuation of the superficial and disgusting double standard reserved for women in the entertainment industry: They are damned if they show too much, and damned if they show what people deem too little. So whereas a young Spears was portrayed as “provocative” (and in control of her sexuality and choices, even though those style choice and the choices to be provocative were often being made for her by the adults in control of her image) Eilish’s refusal to be body-shamed and oversexualized at an early age, and to actually take control of her image, subjected her to unfair discussion just the same.
Still, as the documentary makes clear, Eilish is aware of and in control — as much as is possible — of the narrative about her, even though others may not always like it. And, though her parents do help intervene with the studio at times, she is equally and increasingly capable of pushing back against decisions when it comes to her work. Early on, she states wanting to self-direct her music videos — and achieves that goal with her song “everything i wanted.”
“The World’s a Little Blurry” uses Eilish’s idol-turned-friend Justin Bieber as a juxtaposition of a child musician who was able to mature from the mistakes he made. Along with Katy Perry, it offers them as examples of veteran performers who offered mentorship and support to Eilish, having gone through the period of fame that Eilish is experiencing in the film. Their experience, and willingness to provide apparently nonpredatory support, allows Eilish to relate to them and find understanding for situations outside of the realm of her family’s experience or understanding.
Of course, while there isn’t a definitive resolution for what’s next for Eilish and her career, the documentary nonetheless manages to feel complete without it, given her already-intense trajectory. Instead, it simply ends with her 2016 breakthrough single, “Ocean Eyes,” symbolizing both a concert’s end and her journey coming full circle.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
