Placing Blame, Pointing Fingers
by Drew Kolar
A friend got me thinking this weekend during a night out at the bar. We somehow got on the subject of stars in the media, particularly one that has been having a rather rough time with her life. The statement that was the main kicker, however, was that "Britney Spears is the next Anna Nicole."
Indeed, I'm going where practically every journalist has already gone—no matter if they’re a political news anchor or a gossip columnist, talk show host or New York Times front page featured writer. After all, it's what the public wants, right? It seems that these days, the world just can't get enough of the media frenzy that is Britney.
Yes, sweet, innocent little Britney, the little Southern girl who won hearts on Mickey Mouse Club, grew up to have a successful pop career, grew into her body and into skin-tight outfits (if she wore anything at all), fell in love with Kevin Federline and mothered two children before a tumultuous divorce, and ultimately grew to discover the party lifestyle that she is known for today.
Poor little Britney, whose life has been ruined by a mix of booze, drugs and paparazzi following her every move-and documenting each moment she forgets to wear underpants. But everybody wants to watch, so they keep filming. Everybody wants more, so she gives them more. But has poor little Britney given too much?
It seems like every other day, the AOL welcome screen features the familiar face that I have grown to know by heart-I mean, she's broadcast enough that you can't help but recognize her, especially at her worst. It seems like everywhere you turn, some celebrity is being exploited, ultimately causing them to crash and burn before our eyes. Britney is the most recent, but she isn't the last. Not even a year ago on February 8, 2007, a similar case of exploitation came to a tragic end with the death of Anna Nicole Smith.
"Celebrity," after all, fascinates us "normal" people, at least according to the tabloids. Who doesn't want to get inside every little detail of a star's luxurious, "above-the-law" lifestyle? We also ultimately seem to get some sick pleasure out of watching these god-like beings fall from grace, and any crazy story like Britney's is particularly wild and fascinating.
The ultimate question, however, is where to place the blame when a star's life is ruined. Though they did sign up for being in the "entertainment industry," does that mean that they signed over their privacy to the world as well? Do we ask too much of them? Do the paparazzi go too far in their pursuit of a sellable picture? I'm sure Princess Diana would have a lot to say about hot car pursuits and running from the paparazzi, if she were with us today. Some photographers also go to great lengths to get the most risqué pictures they can-a growing trend in UK tabloids are the topless beach photos of well-known starlets.
Of course, many stars manage to stay out of the major spotlight, and their lives turn out fine. Alanis Morissette and Ryan Reynolds succeeded at keeping the details of their relationship and eventual breakup under wraps through the entire ordeal. Well-known couples like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt filter the information that gets out about them and seem to humor the press with just the right amount of attention to keep them from prying further. The rumors are always flying, but different people handle things in very different ways.
But what makes Britney so special? She seems to get the most attention. She does do some crazy things, of course, but it seems like nobody subscribes to the "ignore it and it will go away" theory anymore. All the attention surrounding Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan has died down now thanks to the craziness of Brit, as well as the newly-unfolding story of Britney's pregnant little sister Jamie-Lynn. It seems that out of all the big party girls, Britney is the biggest mess, and therefore the one to push to her limits for the purpose of entertaining the world.
Now I'm not going to go all "Leave Britney Alone" on you, don't worry—Chris Crocker did a good job of that a few months back on YouTube. The point is beyond that. It's not our job to baby her or take up for her, but perhaps as a general population, we should re-think our definition of "entertainment." While it is ultimately hilarious to watch the needless drama unfold, it is definitely healthy for Brit (or any of our favorite stars, for that matter) to be under the constant watchful eyes of the media. Being the butt of every joke just makes someone even more upset, and if you combine that with the feeling that you have to still keep people entertained, the results-as proven through past drug overdoses and suicides among celebs-can be deadly.
Kurt Cobain of Nirvana felt too much media pressure and took his own life at the height of his band's popularity. Ironically enough, it was his widow Courtney Love who would, many years later, be the one under the real media spotlight, with her crazy drugged and drunken antics and bad parenting skills. Now, she chimes in every once in a while, through her MySpace page, on the state of the entertainment industry and its power to ruin lives. Almost every one of us can probably name five celebrities off the top of our heads who have been exploited to the point of near-insanity. Maybe it's time to stop trying to live vicariously through the fame of others and start doing something bigger in our own lives, and take a lesson or two from those celebs who are savvy enough to keep their healthy distance from the vultures that are the paparazzi.
