Don't want to sound like a party pooper. But if a fraction of the people pouring their souls out at Whitney Houston's funeral had stepped forward to help her through her drug-fueled descent - instead of buying the tabloids with the screaming headlines or furtively watching her shadow-of-her-former-self performance on a once-forgotten, now-prescient "reality" show - then perhaps we wouldn't be having a funeral today.
I'll humbly suggest it's time to rethink the the cult of celebrity at the core of an industry that seems to exist only to uncover the lurid details of those more famous than the rest of us. I'm not quite sure what the point of knowing about the state of Brangelina's marriage might be, or the reason Oprah's latest weight gain (then loss, then gain again...) has any remote connection to - or benefit for - my relatively anonymous life. But the tone, such as it is, of the celebrity news cycle is a pathetically sad comment on what we've become. If we cared at all, we'd spend less time peeking around corners and gossiping and more time helping those closest to us lead better lives.
Not that this will ever change anything, as it's only a matter of time before we watch celebridom "mourn" another lost-too-soon megastar. We seem to have no capacity to learn.
Carmi, she may have had help offered.. But u and I know that it takes the person to admit and commit to getting help... By law no one can force anyone to get help unless it can be proven that they are not capable of taking care of themselves...
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I quit buying any tabloids during the O.J. trials....secretly hoping they'd all go broke. No such luck, muck survives everything.
ReplyDeletecouldn't have said it any better
ReplyDeleteI agree with @Kalei's Best Friend... we have no clue as to what her 'friends' did or didn't do to offer help. I have a nephew with a problem and all attempts by those of us who love him to intervene have led nowhere.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel like this is not a celebrity problem, but a human problem and until we all resolve to make better personal decisions in our lives, we will remain in crisis whether it is drugs or other problems.
This has become a cultural aspect of the poor United States citizen. We are shallow and much like vultures only interested in the seamier aspects of shallow lives. Try to get a citizen to watch a history or science show and you will get a yawn. As for Whitney she had an addiction and too many around her were accommodating. If she was shopping doctors that may improve regulating prescriptions to those who are rich and famous and powerful, but this may not have helped her.
ReplyDeleteCarmi I agree...with you and the others who have commented here. We as a society keep the tabloids busy, we buy them. So they keep digging up stuff. There's a better personal decision that could be made; stop the feeding frenzy on gossip.
ReplyDeletePerfect words Steve... if only everyone would "stop the feeding frenzy on gossip."
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more Carmi. I feel that even when an individual is at their bottom there's still time to help them turn their life around, not purchase the latest rag which informs us of yet another broken down angel. I agree that one must want help, but if all people are doing is exploiting the rich and famous where does that leave them? Sure with a large bank account but the sad reality is it also leaves them with an empty heart. Nobody can say that they tried to get through to her, if they tried hard enough she'd still be alive in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt’s the same problem in the UK, and you are absolutely right that the celebrity mags and TV shows fuel the insatiable appetite for gossip.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Who died? Who's fat?
ReplyDelete