Selena Gomez is one of those celebrities that I grew up watching. From Barney, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Princess Protection Program to Selena Gomez & The Scene and her solo albums, and now as an influencer and mental health advocate, I’ve always been such a fan of Selena and looked up to her as a person. So when I found out she was releasing a documentary that she had been working on since 2016, you can imagine how excited I was to watch.
The documentary starts in 2016 just before Selena’s first show of her Revival Tour. Right off the bat, she shows us how much she is struggling. We see the young Selena talking about how she hates how her costumes fit, she didn’t like the practice performance, how she feels like she’s letting everyone down, and really just being so hard and unkind to herself … it’s heartbreaking. The rest of the documentary proceeds chronologically through Selena’s life, showing her struggles with mental health and Bipolar Disorder, Lupus, and the pressure that comes with her career.
The film does an excellent job of highlighting how important making real connections with people is to Selena and how much she values philanthropy. Throughout the film we see her prioritizing visiting friends in her hometown and talking to people and really making an effort to connect with them, and honestly, these scenes really seem to be when Selena is at her happiest. The only other time we see Selena this happy is when she is in Kenya.
While in Kenya, we see Selena making some real connections with the women there. The women she meets are focused on themselves and their education first, and not worried about finding a man or settling down. It seemed like Selena was really inspired by this and honestly, so was I. These women know their worth and the value that they each bring to the table and I feel like this was something Selena needed, and was enlightened to see. We see her so impacted by her time in Kenya that she truly wants to stay there, but is reminded that this life is, unfortunately, not her reality, but they plan to make a quarterly Kenya trip as a compromise.
After coming back to the United States, a scene that really stuck out to me the most was a scene where Selena is being interviewed. The interviewer asks great questions that allow Selena to discuss the impact she hopes to have on others through music and to elaborate on her passion for philanthropy, and after she’s done answering the interviewer replies, “Okay, that’s it for me,” then walks away. To which Selena replies to an empty chair with the most heartbreaking tone, “Wow, thank you. Appreciate it. Felt like you really understood.”
After making her way back to her dressing room we see her breaking down, calling the interview the “F—ing dumbest thing ever,” and admitting how “cheap” and “like a product” the entire interaction made her feel. This really shed light on the reality of being a celebrity and having everyone want answers and quotes from you without those same people really listening to what you have to say. Especially to Selena, who again and again shows us how much she values a real connection to others, I can see how interactions like this would be emotionally draining. Not to mention how alone I’m sure this would make her, or anyone, feel.
Other parts of the film highlight all the other aspects of fame that take a toll on Selena’s health, both mentally and physically. It shows Selena being harassed by the paparazzi (about Justin Beiber specifically but also other topics), struggling to escape her past with Disney, dealing with the repercussions of her Lupus and Bipolar Disorder diagnoses, and still trying to find herself in the chaos that comes with being famous. In my opinion, finding confidence in yourself is hard enough, but trying to do so in the spotlight is a whole other ballgame, and I felt that this film really captures the ups and downs of it all.
In conclusion, Selena Gomez’s My Mind & Me is a must-watch for anyone who has grown up with Selena, as I have, and for anyone who has had a hard time dealing with mental or physical health conditions. The entire film really puts everything into perspective and highlights the steps that Selena took to really understand and overcome the obstacles that were thrown her way.
