Was Britney and Takashi’s Pop Magazine shoot really manga child porn protest art?

Britney Spears’ new Pop magazine photoshoot with famed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami already caused a small online stir due to it’s surprising and unique style, but now it’s set to make waves for a whole different reason, after popular gaming website Kotaku published an article today claiming that the shoot is actually a political protest around manga art that could possibly be labeled as child porn.

Britney’s two Pop covers depict the superstar dressed in a skimpy wedding gown in one and wearing a blue bathing suit in another, carrying a red backpack while striking an eerie, Lolita-esque pose. The same image is used on the cover of controversial manga “My Wife Is A Grade Schooler”, which was almost banned due to it’s depiction of underage characters engaging in sexual acts. Take a look at an excerpt from the Kotaku article, below:

Back when the Tokyo Municipal government was looking to ban the questionable depictions of underage characters in anime, manga and video games, My Wife Is A Grade Schooler, an out of print manga, was fingered as an example of a work that depicted young characters in an inappropriate manner.

When the manga was shown on television, yellow Post-its were used to cover the suggestive bits. However, the Post-its made the manga appear more suggestive than it actually is. The manga itself is considered a “gag manga” and even social criticism. It apparently isn’t as bad as it looks, and some said the way it was handled on TV was political scapegoating. The cover of “My Wife Is A Grade Schooler” (pictured) echoes the imagery used in the Spears’ photographs. Same red backpack, same blue bathing, wedding dress.

The references to “My Wife Is A Grade Schooler” are no mere coincidence either: Takashi and the author of the manga, Seiji Matsuyama, have been seen Tweeting each other about the relations between the shoot and the erotic Grade Schooler art. Matsuyama even referred to the Takashi shoot as, “Takashi Murakami x Britney Spears x My Wife Is A Grade Schooler collaboration”.

However, the most surprising part of the whole saga is that Britney herself may have been aware of what was going on. Not only do Pop Magazine directly refer to the shoot as “inspired by the manga artist Seiji Matsuyama”, but Britney herself even reveals in the accompanying interview that she was involved in the photoshoot and looked at certain manga chracters to get “a feel” for the vibe of the shoot.

“I loved working with Takashi…,” says Spears. “We looked at a lot of manga characters and artwork before we shot, so I could get a feel for what he was looking for. It was one of the most interesting shoots I’ve ever been on. He’s a genius!”

Certainly there would be none better than Britney Spears to make this type of artistic statement, considering that she began her career as an underage school girl channeling Nabokov’s Lolita.

The question that Kotaku are posing, is did Britney know how deep the connotations behind these photos ran? Was she trying to creative controversy, like she has so often done throughout her 12 year-career, or was she unknowingly used as the face of a political statement that was much more serious than she could have originally known?

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 2:46 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Becca

    this post is too long. your stan is starting to show (lol)

  • http://www.twitter.com/dsabadmofo Dsabadmofo

    i think she knew. her team wouldn’t let her do something unless they knew the full story.

  • Diego

    Its long because its thought provoking. It wouldnt surprise me tbh. Her career is filled with subtle messages and underlying meanings such as this. If true it really is genius haha

  • Angemecanique

    I’m not sure they knew it was refering to something that went that far. The girl in this manga seems to be 12-13 years old. Britney is nowhere neer that age. And lolita pose are very common in mangas…but if true, I would be very desappointed. Child porn (even drawn) is not genious at all.

  • Hermes

    I don’t know if Britney was really aware of what she was gonna be part of but I’m glad she did because any controversial thing is interesting too…a simple good-hair-and-make-up cover is just ok while this one is turning out to be the most interesting thing she’s done over the last years!!Manga world is fundamental for japanese culture…so nice we’ve been given the possibility to take a look at it!!love ya brit

  • marymag

    im sure she was just saying what she was being told to say by her handlers

  • meli

    I’d say probably yes she knew, but maybe not the extent. It’s easy to miss unless you know about the subculture of lolicon and things about anime and manga. Everything about this shoot went over the heads of most people in the pop music scene. There were a lot of disappointed fans saying it was nothing more than something Candies would do (really, do they think that NOW??), when Candies would actually never dare do something like this.

    One thing though, I think saying “child porn” while talking about it is part of the problem. The issue is if art can be concerned child porn in the first place. I do see what they were getting at. With those laws a lot of Britney’s early career and this shoot would be banned from what I’m understanding.

  • meli

    ^considered in the first place.

    Too early in the morning.

  • Floptina is my new alter ego of this era hahaha

    Wow only brit who can do this, usual 4 other girl, but HUGE when britney done it

  • TRUTH

    THE MANGA ARTIST FORGOT BRIT BRIT’S LIP SYNCING POSE. WOULD FIT HER AS LOLITA OR AS A WEDDING BRIDE. JUST SAYIN.

  • Lisa

    I don’t think Britney and her people were thinking that deep into this photoshoot. I love BritBrit, but she has never come across as deep to me. Her team are who put these messages into her music or photoshoots. I think she just says “yes” to anything just to be polite, even if she doesn’t know what the heck is going on.

    Anyways, congrats BritBrit on your engagement!!! I hope this marriage works out girl, you deserve a man that’s going to treat you right.

  • JayCred

    Who seriously gives a shit? If it’s no news about her new music then it’s just garbage like this. Trying to cause more problems just cause of her name.

  • Prince

    i really don’t care just give me a new album

  • Ethan

    ^ lolololol. I second this.

    xD

  • Jesse

    I see the connections, but can someone explain to me how it would be a protest? Ok So Britney and the young girl who stars in the manga are wearing the same outfit…that has nothing to do with protesting art depicting child pornography. If anything it’s a homage.

    Second of all there is no way Takashi sat Britney down and was like “Oh hey Brit…so this manga depicts young girls sexually and is super inappropriate in every way, so we are going to mimic this.” It was probably more along the lines of:

    Takashi: So Britney, this is what a typical Japanese manga character looks like. Any questions?

    Britney: Where’s my starbucks?

  • Diego

    Do ya’ll really think that low of brit? As if shes some mentally handicapped blow up doll that cant think or act or do shit for herself. It might surprise u as to how much of the image she portrays is actually her doing.

    This shoot is being blown out of proportion. Most anime..manga..japanese video games feature these voluptous sexy women that act like kids. Which means most of us have participated in this ‘child porn’ as we partake in viewing all that. Its just a subculture thing over there. And having brit do this as americas biggest pop star and featuring a big asian subculture such as this is a kind of east meets west thing as well as a play on her entire career…young female pop star who is both voluptous and grown up. BOMT video anyone?

    Ya’ll are crazy if u think britney would in anyway partake or support something promoting child porn

  • http://www.theprophetblog.net The Prophet

    Well, the Kotaku article mentions how when they put those post-it notes over the manga, it made it appear worse than it actually was, and that it was used as political scapegoating. They also said that that type of manga is actually “gag” manga and social criticism, so maybe the ‘protest’ was against them doing that, and not actually the other way around as in supporting child porn. Nobody has been misrepresented in the media more than Britney, and she has often been held up as the face of many problems, whether it be overly sexual teen stars, celebs gone too far, lip syncing etc etc, so who better than her to represent this image for Takashi?

  • Jesse

    Ah! I think I understand what you are saying now. It’s almost like Takashi is paralleling the controversy between the reaction to Britney’s sexuality and the reaction to “My Wife is a Grade Schooler”.

    I have never seen My Wife is a Grade Schooler personally, but I have some friends who are familiar with it. I inquired them about it because of this topic, and from what they say it almost seems as if the series is making fun of the oversexualization of younger girls in Eastern culture. I can see how it would be clever if Takashi compared the post-it-notes making the manga’s imagery seem more obscene than it is, to the public exaggerate Britney’s sexuality, and actually putting the blame on her for teenagers acting more sexual.

  • LaLa

    this is just silly, new Music pleaseee…
    no need for starbucks nor this lame photos

    LaLaLa…

  • Travis

    If her next album’s photoshoot and video are as interesting as this, maybe it could top Blackout! Circus didn’t do it for me, gorgeous but very unoriginal…

  • busterbeam

    it isn’t “making fun” of anything – that’s pure nonsense. it’s a softcore porn manga involving a 12 year old girl involving a lot of innuendo that isn’t REALLY graphically sexual but is clearly meant to be erotic.

  • busterbeam

    it isn’t “making fun” of anything – that’s pure nonsense. it’s a softcore porn manga involving a 12 year old girl involving a lot of innuendo that isn’t REALLY graphically sexual but is clearly meant to be erotic.

  • busterbeam

    it isn’t “making fun” of anything – that’s pure nonsense. it’s a softcore porn manga involving a 12 year old girl involving a lot of innuendo that isn’t REALLY graphically sexual but is clearly meant to be erotic.