Wednesday, September 4, 2002
|
Wednesday, September 4, 2002 |
|
Let's see if Britney has some real guts By MONROE ROARK I like to consider myself a well-rounded man. That means I read People magazine and Entertainment Weekly, but I get news about the world from other sources as well. In today's society, which is riddled with insane celebrity worship, that's saying something. The pseudo-serious topics covered in People are a frequent source of amusement in my house. When a headline expresses breathless amazement about how moms in Hollywood manage to juggle their careers and children, with only a handful of nannies and personal trainers and a few million dollars a year to sustain them, my beautiful and brilliant wife (who drives 60 miles round-trip to a 40-hour-a-week job and still excels at her most important job: Mommy) goes off on a sarcastic rant that leaves me in stitches. Believe me, if she were the Kelly on "Live with Regis and Kelly," it would be much more entertaining. The concept of average people actually looking to the entertainment industry for role models and guidance on how to live their lives is astonishing to me. Alas, the letters to the editor in each issue of People show that such a culture is alive and well. The idea of drawing my own role models from Hollywood is extremely limited. If I or my family is threatened in a public place by three or four thugs, then I will try my best to treat them as Steven Seagal would. (Notice I said "try.") If someone breaks into my home at night intending to harm us, I will retrieve my .38 and pretend that I am Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood. That's about it as far as my own Hollywood role models are concerned. One of the latest issues of People has Britney Spears on the cover, apparently giving her the opportunity to speak out to her fans on her own. The teaser on the cover mentions how she is dealing with her stardom, her parents' recent divorce, her own breakup with her boyfriend, and get this how she has the "guts" to take a break from her career. Hey, Britney. You're 20 years old. You've got a hundred million dollars. How does it take guts to take a couple of years off? I think most Americans who live from paycheck to paycheck and raise families would have a little trouble sympathizing with you. But since you asked, Britney, you want to know what would really take some guts? I've made a short list. The next time you sing on television, do it with only acoustic backup and no microphones. Then we could find out if it's actually your own voice we're hearing on all of your records and broadcast performances. If you really want to push the edge of the envelope, wear a dress. No, that's not a misprint. If you want to be taken seriously as an artist, stop dressing like a whore. As crazy as this role model business in the entertainment world can be, it's the way of the world, and when you reap $100 million from a world of adoring fans, you owe them a little bit more than just the music. Think about that the next time you see a crowd of 8- and 9-year-olds trying to dress (or undress) like you do. I wonder if you, or your parents, have really stopped to think about what is happening with your career. Has it ever really occurred to them that their underage daughter has, for the past several years, been an object of unbridled animal lust for millions of men of all ages? Can Mom and Dad possibly be proud of that? If you want to do something else gutsy, stop backpedaling on the virginity issue. You're the one that brought it up, although it seems now that you're sorry you did it. People magazine is not above the reading level of most young teenage girls, and they're smarter than you think. They'll read into what you don't say, or won't say, as much as what you do say. Please understand me, Britney, I don't begrudge you wanting to take some time off. You obviously can afford it. Just don't give too much of an impression that it's some sort of sacrifice. What you do with the rest of your career will be much more important.
|
||