And there, flashing up onscreen as the music continued, was a girl with a full, brushed fringe, excitedly announcing herself as ‘BRITNEY!’ alongside the other notable recruits announcing their arrival: ‘JUSTIN!’…‘CHRISTINA!’…‘RYAN!’
As with every show’s opening, ‘mouseketeers’ bounded and skipped onto the set of an American diner before a studio audience made up of giddy children. The staple diet of the family-oriented content for these half-hour variety shows comprised comedy sketches based around school and home life, or parodies of family game shows. Its skits were classical Disney—promoting messages of sharing, goodness and kindness. The upbeat tempo of pop music song and dance was weaved around a theme-for-the-day. It was colourful, bubbly, fast-paced and fun, appealing to the milder sensibilities of the early nineties.
Looking back now, the show smacks of low budget but this was an era when cable television was a premium and video gaming hadn’t completely entranced children with the now-seemingly basic Sega Genesis game system and the Nintendo Game Boy. ‘Mouseketeers’ reached into living rooms throughout America, inviting viewers to be part of the Disney family and allowing them to relate to the likeable, everyday personalities of the kids who had brought Mickey Mouse Club back to life in 1989, reviving a format first launched by Walt Disney himself in 1955, before ABC dropped it after a four-year run.
In 1993, the show was aired Monday to Thursday at 5.30pm. It was the most-watched afternoon series on the Disney Channel, which reached 5.6 million cable subscribers and its popularity was reflected in the mailbag: an estimated 250,000 fan letters were received during its modern-day run. But that popularity created a punishing schedule for Britney and friends, with demands that would be asking a lot of a seasoned pro, let alone an eleven-year-old. A real graft lay behind the ever-happy smiling faces in weeks that comprised three days of rehearsals followed by two days of filming.
They were long, intense days, demanding three dance production numbers and two on-location music video-shoots each week, alongside the comedy skits, parodies and promotional work. And all educational needs had to be accommodated, too. Britney lived like this for the four months between May and September filming, and then returned to Kentwood in time for the show’s airing. What amazed both her tutors and coaches was that she kept smiling throughout. There were many backstage dramas, as might be expected with a bunch of pre-teens and adolescents working together in a creative environment. But Britney is not remembered for being crabby or throwing tantrums. Choreographer Myles Thorough good says: What struck me was her attitude: it was exemplary. She was a true workhorse with a great energy. If I remember anything about Britney it was her intense focus—and her smiling face.’
For the first time, Britney learned on the job about working with TV cameras, lighting and top musical directors and choreographers. She grasped the concepts and imagery applied to dance routines and how they were intended to relate to the audience at home; she became ever more mindful of the connection between artist and audience; that the folks at home needed to relate to the themes within each routine or music video. If the likes of Britney, Justin and Christina walked away with one creative message it was, quite simply, ‘Know your audience and relate to them’. This in itself, as would become clear with her first hit single ‘…Baby One More Time’, would provide an invaluable education for the years ahead.
Disney policy also dictated the kind of things that were appropriate to say and laid down rules about good conduct. ‘Mouseketeers’ were expected to uphold the same squeaky-clean behaviour as Mickey and Minnie. They were told that projecting the proper image was essential and that their public conduct reflected on Disney’s image. Here was Britney’s first lesson in commercially minded PR: wholesome, clean, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-the-mouth behaviour. She was listening to her elders and doing exactly as she was told; being trained in how to sing, dance, hold herself; conduct and help ‘sell’ a corporate image. The unspoken message was clear: behave this way, follow the rules, keep everyone happy and success will follow.
As Chuck explained: ‘Everything had to be very wholesome and exemplary. She practised how to sign autographs, how to flash the right smile, how to answer questions. These kids would be sent out into the theme park to do “meet-and-greets” with adoring fans and so they underwent training in the Disney technique, as young ambassadors of Disney’
A picture starts to emerge of Britney as an eager-to-please, malleable young girl who auto-responded to whatever direction she was given; an actor in her own life receiving offstage direction. Believe in God, and you will be protected. Perform for Mum, and you will be secure and make her happy. Sing, dance and cartwheel, and the talent contest shall be yours. Conduct yourself accordingly and you, too, can become part of the Disney magic. She was continuing to grow and be shaped by an environment with constant directions from outside of her. It’s unclear, if not doubtful, whether anything in Britney’s development emanated from her core, naturally and authentically. It seemed that everything was invested in the reverence she displayed towards adults, and the performance she created.
Chuck Yerger noticed this was a tendency that carried over into her school work: ‘She was absolutely insistent about doing everything the correct way, in line with what her teachers expected back home. The reverence she showed towards teachers was striking.’
In the US, he says many teachers adhere to ‘procedures’ and ‘ways of doing things’, such as essays having to be written on specific lined notebook paper; punch holes should be three, not four for a ring-binder; all submitted work should not only carry a name but the period of day that the piece was written; blue pens for this, black pens for that. It is an educational code of discipline that fusses over small details. Life at Park Lane Academy was clearly no exception—and Britney was adamant about honouring it.
Chuck further explained: ‘She knew what pen should be used, and in what ink; where her name should go and the precise width of the margins. I asked her why it was so, and she said, “I have to do it this way. My teachers will not like it, if not.” She was very much aware of her teachers’ expectations and her goal was to please them. So we learned to trust Britney and followed the requirements she gave us.’
Britney the pupil was forever punctual, perky, polite and pleasing—and never slacked on her homework: ‘She always delivered. The very idea of not doing homework and giving an adult the chance to say, “Tut, tut, tut—you’ve disappointed me” was unthinkable to her,’ said Chuck.
However, such conscientiousness doesn’t suggest Britney was a teacher’s pet wanting to impress with an academic brilliance. What Chuck observed was more of an unquestioning trust in her elders. This was also mirrored in her compliant performance mentality.
Chuck recalled: ‘In all that she did, Britney gave the distinct impression that if an adult says do something, you do it. She truly felt that all adults and people in authority were good people, who had her best interests at heart. If a responsible adult says, “This is how it should be” then she believed that person. It really was that inconceivable to her that anyone could steer her wrong and she carried that mind-set into her early performing life.’
All this most likely stems from being raised in an out-of-control environment so all these unconscious behaviours are an attempt to feel in control. She can’t control her feelings or her parents so she chose to control her pens, the way she wrote, the way she does things. It brings order. Children really do need boundaries and limits, and I would think Britney was trying to be good because she wanted to be liked, because she wanted peace. She was looking for an authority figure but there wasn’t one at home so she looks around her other environments. Her reverence is a need to look up to someone, someone in authority, someone who gives her instructions and control. It’s not as conscious as that—more of an impulse as a response to what had happened around her but it makes her especially open to the instructions of anyone around her in a position of trust. From properly representing the image of Disney to adhering to rule systems from school, Britney would have been so mould-able because she didn’t have a developed sense of self. Consequently, you are liable to become what people ask of you. She would be the sheep that followed, as reared in childhood.
It all confirms Chuck’s initial impression