In regard to the attention the mainstream mass media give to the celebrities of highest recognition among the public of late, I find the reasons for which these celebrities become the focus of analysis by the media for public view to be multiple. I think that the main reason these celebrities are said to be ‘out of control’, is because they are doing things that break the image which the media have otherwise regularly banked on. However, bad behavior solicits attention as well. Celebrities such as Ana Smith, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and others will either play along with the image they have invented or rebel against it in a fit of defense or revenge against the public eye. It is possibly a conscious tease to those of us who focus so much of our attention to scrutinize and judge the personas we feel that we know, and perhaps we do. Nonetheless, I find the paparazzi to be vampires who really don’t care about their subjects’ mental health and the individuals of focus overall. These celebrities may in fact be trying desperately to assert their own choice and behaviors and we react often unfairly by deeming them ‘out of control’. Despite their “superstar” status, these celebrities really have no defense against photographic invasion other than assault charges filed by the celebrity, if the court recognizes them as such; and of course incidental measures taken through personal expenditures.
So is shaving your head (as Ms. Spears has recently done) a crime worthy of being deemed out of control? No, men and women can shave their heads if they want to. Is inability to parent effectively a crime, exposed by leaked audio and video? Well, not necessarily, unless someone like “Octo-mom” (as she has been named) incriminates herself against child protective services as appearing negligent if she cannot raise eight kids all by herself. In my opinion: who can? – But that’s another topic of discussion.
Let’s not forget how to separate actual crimes from strange behavior. To many of us, certain behaviors caught by news cams and paparazzi’s make the people look foolish, hence, negative publicity is almost unavoidable. Given the heights they have reached and the profits some celebs have gained, gossip columnists, image critics, publicity people etc., can easily blackmail and manipulate celebs in a profit mill, by the threat of increased exposure and loss of privacy. When your commodity is fame, as a celeb, you don’t know how to control supply and demand- that’s a big problem with an out of control and money-hungry expose. A citizen has a right to spend money, party, etc. within the law, but the media likes to take license in judging how much or how little freedom a celeb chooses to engage in. Courts and the public generally are eager to regulate that as best they can. But with media frenzies and increasing numbers of celebrities, the system fails.
Such level of fame and wealth is foreign to the vast majority of our population, yet we seem to know, when a celeb is ‘out of control’. We think so anyway. But, all too often, that determination is based on one photo where the celeb had a rough night. That is hardly fair when you look at ‘normal people’ and how ‘out of control’ they look on a more frequent basis.
The court should never be the arm of a punishing, misunderstanding and jealous populous. Nor should serious offenses be taken too lightly. That’s my opinion.
Why feel sympathy for these celebs? Well because some need care, some become victims of obscure murders as did Ms. Monroe, some fall victim to complex government plots, and others don’t know how to shield themselves from the public lives they’ve made a living from. Their very lives are often manipulated in part by the public for its own entertainment value and personal pleasures.
Another celeb who seemed ’out of control’ and associated with criminal gangsters, met a similar fate to that of Monroe. A talented actor and authentic musician, he was robbed away from my generation and his murder is yet to be solved. He spit into cameras and exuded tough-gangster mentality. And he was wrapped up in “thug life”. I speak of the late Tupac Shakur. Another singer who met his end – as did Mr. Cobain, who took his own life. That is a way of disengaging the public, which seems to be a difficult task for some of today’s celebrities, as it was for many those of past. The better celebs get at protecting their privacy, the better for all; because we don’t want them dead; and we want them “exposed” fairly, in the manner of their choosing.