Many creative people actively seek fame, or at least endure it, as a way to further their careers. But fame can also be driven by hidden emotional needs and can lead to harmful expectations and distorted thinking on both sides.
Author JK Rowling, after her success with “Harry Potter”, commented that people wanted their emotions “to be very simple. They wanted me to say: ‘I was poor and unhappy, and now I have money and I am very happy. And it is what we all want to see when the contest winner wins the grand prize, you know. You want to see some jumps, so it’s all very smooth.”
But that is not his reality, he said: “The fact is that I was living a very pure life. There was no involvement from the press, there was no pressure. Life was very pure and it became more complicated.”
Paparazzi yell insults at featured actors to provoke a reaction, and some go even further. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his family once ran off the road during a paparazzi chase. Now the Governor recently passed a bill making anyone who commits an assault in an attempt to obtain a photo or video liable for triple damages and lost profits.
The recent Golden Globes (January 2006) provided another type of example. Actress Scarlett Johansson was interviewed by designer Isaac Mizrahi, who actually groped her, saying that she wanted to see how her dress was made.
She helpfully said later: “Someone I’ve never met before caresses me for her own satisfaction. Like I don’t know how a dress works. He’s a guy just starting his TV career and creating an exciting moment for himself.” I can’t be mad at him.”
But her outrageous behavior is indicative of how celebrities are often treated. If this had happened on a city street instead of a red carpet, couldn’t he be charged with sexual assault?
When you’re famous enough, it seems like you’re not simply a human being to some journalists, who seem to use fame as an excuse to set aside ordinary considerations of respect and propriety. People who “need” fame can put up with a lot of disrespect to get more attention.
Actress Virginia Madsen (“Sideways”) noted that Lindsay Lohan has been asked questions the media would never ask guys: “In every interview I read, someone would ask her about her weight and ‘do you throw up in the bathroom? ‘ I mean, no one asks teenagers, ‘Do you have pubic hair yet?’ Where a teenager will be asked: ‘Are you still a virgin?'”
Many talented actors have an ambivalent attitude about gaining or pursuing celebrity status, or simply high visibility with the public and decision makers such as movie studios, record companies, book publishers, and art galleries that can help them grow. in their careers.
Winona Ryder commented on being relatively out of the spotlight in recent years: “People in Hollywood associate movies solely with fame, and I didn’t enjoy working that way anymore. I’m much happier now.”
The promotional hoarding by movie studios and publicists can distort reality for both the public and the celebrity.
Lynda Carter was once voted “The World’s Most Beautiful Woman” and admits that “there was a brief period of time when I believed in the hype. Not ‘beautiful’ things, but I believed it was really important, And that didn’t last long.” a long time because she wasn’t feeling well.”
Natalie Portman warns: “The moment you accept the idea that you are above others is the moment you need to be slapped in the face.”
Robert B. Millman, a professor of psychiatry at Cornell Medical School, developed the concept of acquired situational narcissism to explain some of the grandiose fantasies and other distortions that people can fall prey to after reaching high levels of fame.
One of the problems is being surrounded by people who assure the famous that they deserve it. But as Millman pointed out in a New York Times article, celebrities really are different: “They’re not normal. And why would they feel normal when everyone in the world who deals with them treats them like they’re not? [“Acquired Situational Narcissism” by Stephen Sherrill, Dec. 9, 2001.]
Someone with a true narcissistic disorder may have a grandiose sense of self-importance, an exaggerated view of their talents, with fantasies about power, love, and success. But they can also suffer from unstable relationships, substance abuse, and erratic behavior.
Fame can also attack sensitive people. Johnny Depp said that he was so intimidated by his celebrity status early in his career that he “had to be drunk to be able to talk and get over it. I guess he was trying not to feel anything.”
But it can also be empowering, as Kim Basinger noted: “Because I’m such a shy person, having to live it out loud in front of everyone has made me a stronger woman, so much stronger, which has been a gift to me.” . in some way.”
Some actors acknowledge that being seen as “larger than life” and as characters they are only pretending to be can lead to unwanted reactions from other people.
Natalie Portman, for example, admits she had “a bad initial experience” when “The Professional” was released: “I’m very proud of the movie,” she said, “but it was weird for me to be seen as a sex object when I was 12. “.
Some people pursue fame to gain a sense of self and validation, and it can assume exaggerated importance. “I remember asking my therapist if it was time to die, because I thought no photo equals death,” Alanis Morissette once admitted.
Brooke Shields once said about being a public person her whole life that she “assumed it wasn’t taking its toll on me because in return I got positive things, validation, affection, compliments or whatever. Little by little I gave away a lot.” And at my age now, I’m done giving it all away. Because it’s not directly proportional to anything, except sometimes a feeling of emptiness.”
Several talented actors say they actively avoid too much attention. Sarah Polley has purposely stayed in Canada, not moving to Hollywood, even though she might help her career. She noted that an event like the Cannes Film Festival can be “an incredibly easy place to get lost… when you have three days with nothing but people asking you questions and taking an interest in you.”
With all the attention on “Brokeback Mountain,” co-star Michelle Williams recently said that she and her fiancé Heath Ledger could move to Amsterdam or Greece or somewhere “without paparazzi or gossip magazines, where we don’t have to feel so self-conscious.” because that is the death of a spontaneous, creative, real life. I can’t live my life like that and pretend it doesn’t bother me and everything is fine. It disturbs me deeply.” [Interview mag., March 2006]
Psychotherapist Sue Erikson Bloland discovers that there can be false expectations of high visibility and recognition.
In his article Fame: The Power and Cost of a Fantasy (Atlantic Monthly, November 1999), he noted that fame “is not a successful defense against feelings of inadequacy. We imagine our heroes have transcended the adversities of the human condition and they have healed their childhood traumas by achieving the extraordinary. We want to believe that they have reached a safe place of self-approval; that achieving recognition, success, can free us all from lingering feelings of doubt.”
Suzanne Somers commented in her book “After the Fall” on one of the potentially most destructive aspects: “Once you’re famous, you don’t have to evolve as a person. It’s not necessary or important that you read or think or make corrections.” in your personality. Nobody cares! Just keep the profits rolling. There is no need to advance spiritually and emotionally.”
But growth, he adds, “is the greatest gift we can give ourselves as human beings, to constantly evolve, to be the best person we can be, to tune in to our feelings and face ourselves in all our nakedness and look again.” really who we are.” are.”