be the justin bieber you want to see in the world
where I talk about Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
hey folks,
I have a weird relationship with music/tour documentaries. I always think I’m going to hate it but then when I’m watching it I enjoy it so much. It combines so many things that I love – human interest stories and concerts.
I recently watched Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry and at first, I thought, ‘she’s so young what insights could this documentary possibly yield’ but boy was I wrong. The interesting thing about Billie Eilish is not only that she is so young and talented but that she was raised in a family that fostered that talent but also provided her with love and positive support (I’m looking at you, Jamie and Lynn Spears).
The documentary begins when Billie is 16 and she is going viral for her performance of ‘Ocean Eyes’ which was written with her brother Finneas. And from then the documentary juxtaposes her going through ‘normal’ teenage things like getting her drivers license, going through her first heartbreak etc, with extraordinary things like writing and recording her debut album, performing at Coachella, and winning Grammy awards. It almost feels like a Disney movie about a teen pop star.
But through all of this Billie and her parents are extremely honest about how difficult the journey has been, about how real her emotions are, and about Billie’s mental health struggles. And even though the edit might be in their favour I got the vibe that they treated Billie seriously, they listened to her and they gave her an immense amount of support.
There is one adorable anecdote where an interviewer is asking Billie who she feels about the way her fans feel about her, and she shares a video of herself at 12/13 years old lamenting about how much she loves Justin Bieber and she is worried that no man would ever compare to him. It’s so cute. But then Bieber became aware of the fact that she’s a Belieber and he hops onto the remix of ‘bad guy’ and he starts to take Billie under his wing.
And their mentor/mentee relationship just becomes so cute. He sends her encouraging messages and they even show him video-calling her after her Grammy wins telling her how proud he is of her. As someone who was also young when he rose to fame, but perhaps did not have the support system that Billie has, him stepping in to help her manage her fame and to give advice is admirable and lovely.
This whole sequence in the documentary just made me think about my own experiences with mentors and the people who made me who I am today – who supported me, who encouraged me, who gave me advice. In the same way, I thought of those who put me down, who discouraged me, who let their own bitterness and insecurities out on me. And it helped me to choose the type of person I want to become in the future. Billie will have more of a critical success than Justin, but that has not stopped him from taking her under his wing, and vocally supporting her. And that’s what a mentor should be, someone who helps those who are starting on the path that you have already trodden on, without forcing your own ego into the conversation.
I hope their friendship will continue and that Billie continues to have a consistent support base as she enters her twenties. She’s such a talent and so earnest, she deserves every success that comes her way.
You can watch Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry on Apple TV Plus here
P.S: I’ve been on vacation, so I haven’t published a lot, but I wrote this review about the film The Tender Bar which stars Ben Affleck and is directed by George Clooney.