Real

by Ruth Woodhouse

Created on: May 18, 2008

The media just loves celebrities! After all, they know that a considerable percentage of the general public is just itching to hear the latest gossip on them. What's more, there are a significant percentage of celebrities who frequently provide them with the kind of sensational material they delight in being able to pass on.

Lately it seems there is hardly a day goes past that there is not some outrageous report in the media about something one or another of the young starlets in particular has been up to. Can it all be for real? Sure it can!

Maybe some of the things we hear are blown out of proportion and I'm quite sure that many of the glossy magazine publishers gild the lily a lot because they are trying to churn out so many titillating articles every week. The headlines can be downright misleading when you actually read the content. Also, one has to wonder how many stories are actually fabricated from the most subtle snippet of rumour or innuendo. It's all in the interests of selling magazines.

Nevertheless, I believe that by far the majority of the really bizarre stories we hear about celebrity behaviour are probably real. What's more, I doubt they are often, if ever, staged for sensational purposes. That's really not necessary because these people just act this way naturally anyway.

So many of these young starlets are essentially spoiled brats whose lives are under the media spotlight. You would undoubtedly find plenty of spoiled brats living in the real world who behave quite outrageously too. We just don't hear about them all the time.

Occasionally one will come to the attention of the general public - like a certain 16-year-old Australian called Corey who has had way more than his 15 minutes of fame since earlier this year. While his parents were out of town he had advertised a party at his house on MySpace. The hoards of hoodlums that descended on the place had trashed the house and, with his parents due to return, he had taken off rather than stay and face the music.

This belligerent young man with an attitude that stood out even more than the trendy sunglasses he refused to remove for interviews, was entirely unrepentant. He should have been given a good kick up the backside, along with an appropriate punishment to make him think long and hard about his deplorable attitude. What's more he should have been ignored by the media, instead of giving him a misplaced sense of heroism. However, his infamy continues to gain exposure in various ways.

So when starlets behave sensationally, they are really just reflecting the atrocious behaviour of so many young people in our society today. It's just that their whole lives have become a stage. Let's face it, the average celebrity has the paparazzi following them around constantly, snapping pictures of them doing the most mundane things - like shopping and, in the case of the girlfriend of a certain young prince, even finding a parking ticket on her windscreen.

So the media are bound to be not far away when they do something more sensational - and you can just imagine the way they rub their hands with glee when they scoop the pool, so to speak. Obviously the most diligent and persistent won't have to wait too long to score a big one first-hand.

It needs to be recognized too that celebrities are under phenomenal pressure - much of it completely beyond what any human being ought to be expected to cope with constantly. They have precious little privacy and it's no wonder that it all gets too much for them and they behave in socially unacceptable ways.

Much of their behaviour undoubtedly relates to alcohol and drugs. Again these are things that are enormous and complex problems today in many areas of society - so it's hardly surprising that those who are most in the public eye will display signs of being badly affected by them.

In conjunction with these issues are those related to their relationships. Once again, it's no wonder at all that they are under such immense pressure. Relationships require consistent nurture. A lot of celebrities just don't have the time or the lifestyle that allows them to give their significant others the kind of attention it takes to keep things healthy and harmonious.

Relationships generally these days are under enormous duress - and if you got behind closed doors in countless homes you would find plenty of people behaving badly. They are just fortunate enough to have some privacy that's not allowed these celebrities.

What's more, the fact that many celebrities are living such unreal lives that don't promote healthy relationships, adds significantly to the issues. The world they live in is in so many ways far from normal. No wonder they often behave badly.

I have often said that dysfunctional families and individuals seem to be the norm these days. Few families would be able to claim that everybody functions smoothly in accordance with whatever the society norm, ideal or model would be in every area. If ever there's anywhere this phenomena is most apparent it's on the stage of celebrity lifestyle.

Besides, many celebrities are by nature artistic people who are probably inclined to behave more irrationally, emotionally and explosively than the average person. They are also more inclined to be eccentric. Just because they are very talented doesn't mean they are very normal. Indeed quite the reverse can be the case.

While normal and balanced personalities can be artistically talented, it has to be said that those who are the most brilliant are often inclined to have difficult temperaments, mental health problems and way-out ideas and responses. Some of the greatest achievers throughout history have also been extremely difficult people to live with and have even found it difficult to live with themselves - let alone their demons.

Where would the world be without such outstanding and often radical, even downright crazy individuals? Where would the paparazzi be? Their jobs would certainly be far less interesting - and I guess many people's lives would be too. Whilst many of us get really fed up with hearing the latest sensational report about Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan or Paris Hilton - to name but a few - it has to be said that few people don't pay any attention to the lives of the rich and famous.

We've been paying them attention for decades now - and they have always provided the media with a wealth of sensational material. It's just human nature to be interested in what people do and to find the things they do entertaining and amusing. The fact is that these people, above all, entertain us on the stage of their own lives as well as on that of their professional careers.

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