Parents' Guide to Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life

This music documentary goes to incredible stylized lengths to present an entertainer who has learned from his past mistakes, is sorry, and is ready to move on. The biggest problem with Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life is the context. As producer of his own documentary, Brown devotes far more time to the negative impact his terrible actions had on his musical career, and far less time to the cycle of domestic violence he experienced as a child that carried over into his actions as a man. Instead of a genuine discussion about violence in general and violence toward women in particular, such depth is overlooked in favor of various celebrities speaking to his talents as a performer.

Which leads to the question: Why was this so-called documentary even made? Brown's fans have obviously forgiven him, or the cult of celebrity makes him beyond blame to them. At the beginning of the movie, while backstage in a packed arena playing video games, Brown talks of how he no longer wants to be seen for his crimes and courtroom appearances but for his artistic abilities, and then the entire second act of the movie is devoted to these very crimes and courtroom appearances. It makes no sense. Does he want forgiveness from those who still think jail time and some contrite words were not enough? It's hard to believe any skeptics will be taken in by the carefully crafted presentation. Is it an attempt to show Brown's side of things in contrast to how the media covered him? If that's the case, what amounts to a movie-length infomercial about Brown's musical career with so many fawning testimonials from other performers reeks of desperation. And while there's some mention of real issues of domestic violence, the common issues child and teen stars contend with, anger management, and what someone who committed terrible wrongs must do to earn forgiveness, so much of it is made to portray Brown as some kind of "comeback kid," as if he just climbed back to the top after losing his voice for several years. A real opportunity to have a discussion of how to find ways to end domestic violence is squandered, and what stands in its place is self-centered damage control and an inability to see a bigger picture that goes far beyond the career of an entertainer.