Week after week, something bizarre comes out of Hollyweird. Unsatisfied with merely making questionably bad entertainment and earning millions of dollars for doing so, the people who frequent the place seem to be adept at making ludicrous and self-serving comments or statements that strain credulity to the point of breaking. These are the same people who seek to lecture the rest of us on things like global warming, wars, politics and other social issues as if they're experts on the subjects. Let's examine a few of the perpetrators' comments.
First up is Tom Cruise, who infamously said that his job was as hard as fighting in Afghanistan. Luckily, Mark Wahlberg came out and, without mentioning Mr. Cruise, slammed the statement for what it was: A narcissistic, fatuous and warped celebrity who's been far too coddled for his own good. Mr. Cruise kept a somewhat low profile after Mr. Wahlberg criticized him anonymously, which was probably the best public relations move he's made in quite a long while.
Next up is the irrepressible Gwyneth Paltrow. She's a veritable cornucopia of mind-boggling comments which many would have thought had crested with her joint announcement with her estranged husband about their separation that they labeled as a conscious uncoupling. She's managed to alienate working moms, single women, American men and who-knows-what-other groups with her boneheaded statements dressed up as sophistication. Her pretentious announcement, however, caused a backlash in the ether where, apparently, she's been called some unflattering names. Undaunted and clearly demonstrating a complete lack of understanding or learning from her past mistakes, Ms. Paltrow has now likened what she's endured to being through a war. Not surprisingly, this has generated even more negative commentary, this time from veterans. For someone allegedly so sophisticated, Ms. Paltrow evidences a complete lack of awareness of the problems her mouth causes her.
Kanye West, no stranger to imitating a lightening rod, compared what he does for a living to those who actually put their lives at risk in their jobs, like police officers or military personnel. Much like Ms. Paltrow, Mr. West was unaware that his comments might draw some fire from people like cops...which it did. Oftentimes, as already seen in the cases of Mr. Cruise and Ms. Paltrow, the retorts are pithier and sharper than anything the celebrity was complaining about.
What amazes me is that these celebrities actually pay publicists whose jobs is to make sure that publicity about them is favorable and then they sabotage the work they pay very well for and complain about the results. To suggest that these people have god-complexes isn't much of a stretch.
Even when celebrities aren't dodging imaginary ordnance they manage to utter silliness dressed up as wisdom and sophistication. Jim Parsons, the actor who capably portrays Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, once said that some role (I forget which it was), nurtured his soul. Perhaps it did, but I tend to believe Mr. Parsons was unintentionally engaging in hyperbole. Waxing poetic about acting, to me, is simply silly. I'm sure Mr. Parsons enjoys his profession. But to elevate what he does to nourishment is -- and I can only use the same word over and over -- silly.
Part of this stems from The Actor's Studio, a show that takes itself more seriously than anything or anyone other than its host, James Lipton, who acts like he's the Wizard with the audience getting a peek behind the curtain. The amount of talk about their craft -- it's a job, people, and not a terribly challenging one at that -- and how much they have to get into the role, how much they have to understand the character's motiviation and how much of a character is themselves, is positively foolish. And the audience, comprised largely if not entirely of people anxious to join the celebrity on stage to talk about themselves in the same tones, sits breathlessly hanging on the celebrity's every word. Very little substance is discussed. A whole lot of pablum is passed off as knowledge. The only worthwhile thing about the show is the occasional backstory the celebrity shares with the audience.
I'm not envious. I wouldn't and couldn't act or perform in any way for entertainment purposes, at least not intentionally. I can't act. I can't sing. I can't dance. I'm under no illusions that somehow I'm better than the celebrities at what they do. That's not the point. What I excel at compared to them is having a firm underpinning of reality, a perspective that doesn't look into a mirror and the certainty that there are better and more important things and people in this world than myself.
(c) The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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