Celebrities must set better example

November 15, 2007

By: Rosemary Boeglin <rboeglin@hilite.org>

Celebrities are an enormously important part of American culture. They are read about in magazines and tabloids, searched for on the Internet (cough… PerezHilton.com), and watched on the television. Where they lead, Americans will follow. To some extent, these “in” people control much of the way we live our lives and by doing this, they brainwash us as to what is or is not currently appropriate and trendy.

In some ways, this is not horrible. Actors like Leonardo DiCaprio have made it cool to care about the environment by supporting research for Global Warming and other eco-related issues. U2 star Bono has spearheaded the Product (RED) campaign to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries. Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie is a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commission for Refugees and has done humanitarian work all around the world including refugee camps in Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Africa.

These are examples of stars using their power for good, not evil. If this was the norm, then celebrity impact might be a positive part of American culture. Unfortunately, these are three extraordinary people amidst a large group of disappointing examples for our society to model itself after.

In recent years, there has been a new trend of messages that Hollywood has begun to send out to the public. Stars and the media have begun to glamorize the truly unglamorous. Lets get a couple things straight: the ghetto is not fabulous and rehab is not a quick fix for poor public behavior.
Both of these issues are serious ones, and with the media presenting them as the “in” thing, it shines an inaccurate light on grave situations and takes away from their weightiness.

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines ghetto as “a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure.” During the Holocaust, ghettos were areas where Jews were often forced to reside. There were squalid living conditions and they symbolized the unfair oppression of innocent people. Now, the ghetto remains a place where opportunity rarely flourishes and living is anything but easy and fabulous.

Why is it then that Hollywood glamorizes the ghetto as being fabulous? The only thing this is doing is trivializing the grave conditions that many Americans have to live with every day.

In the past year or so, checking into rehab for any number of unsavory activities or displays of character has been the “quick-fix” for today’s celebrities. Ex- Rep. Mark Foley checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility after a series of scandalous e-mails were exchanged between him and a number of unidentified teenage boys. The perfect excuse, huh?

Who else has chosen the route to rehab? Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Britney Spears and Mel Gibson just to name a few of the many stars who have chosen this way out. So, what is the problem with celebrities going to rehab as a means of apologizing for their behavior without actually having to own up to their actions or even really change their ways?

The problem lies in the fact that rehab is a facility that should be used for people who have hit rock bottom and have chosen or are being forced to change their reckless behavior. It has begun to turn into the must-have accessory for stars when in reality rehab is a last resort for alcoholics, drug abusers, anorexics, etc.

What does this celebrity rehabilitation entail? According to the official Web site for Passages Malibu Rehab, they offer spiritual counseling, deep tissue massages, acupuncture, hiking and a view of the Pacific Ocean with first class tennis courts. Don’t forget the gourmet chefs who prepare meals for patients three times a day, and the common practice of having patients scrub floors and wash toilets at rehabilitation facilities might be construed as too demeaning for patients, so they just hire someone to do that. Don’t worry though, they can afford it with the up to $68,000 dollars that’s charged for a month long visit to resorts like this and some of its contemporaries such as Wonderland, Beau Monde and Promises.

In the end, America’s fascination with the ways of the elite has left the common citizen victim to the ignorance of the privileged, most of whom don’t know and would never dare to ask what life is truly like in the ghetto, or what the real pain is when having an addiction and having to check into rehab because it has spun out of control.

It is important that we see celebrities for what they are—forms of entertainment, not a model of behavior or of thought.

Rosemary Boeglin is a reporter for the HiLite. Contact her at rboeglin@hilite.org.

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Updated by ychoi · Filed Under Perspectives 

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