"Hollywood Entertainment Free of Charge"
May 1, 2003. EntertainmentMagazine.net
Are all things, even accused crime, fair
game in the world of Hollywood entertainment? Does a double standard
exist in that world, one in which the well to do is given special
treatment for their wrongdoings while the well to don't wait in
line?
Winona Ryder could argue a case against
that. On November 6, 2002, movie star Ryder was given a new title:
convicted felon. Nearly six months have passed since that label
was bestowed upon her following her very public arrest for shoplifting.
She could argue that Hollywood's elite is treated more harshly,
and certainly humiliated more publicly, than the people invited
into the courtroom through the courtesy of the media's camera.
When celebrities go to court, everybody
gets to watch. It's like watching a movie without paying the price
of a ticket. Inevitably, though, someone must pay a price.
Often, it is hard to separate the human
being from the being projected on the towering screen. We hold
them up to higher standards only to watch them inevitably fall,
as human beings will do. We forget that stars in Hollywood do
not exist to light up the sky, but simply to adorn the screen.
Their job is to make us believe they are
the characters they portray while the cameras are rolling. Yet,
when the cameras stop, the only people they are obligated to be
are their flawed human selves.
Celebrity trials have become a tainted
form of entertainment, reality television with much higher stakes.
The show begins when the flaws emerge, and the mistakes are magnified.
Through it all, celebrities are expected to smile for the cameras,
even the ones they can't see. In their world, they know there's
always a camera rolling. When they fall, someone will
be there to videotape and immortalize their stumble.
The question is, will anyone be there to
catch them? It would be easier for Madonna to make a successful
movie than it would be for a celebrity to find sympathy. Movie
stars, after all, are not like mere mortals.
The ground they stumble on is paved in
gold, protecting them from any cracks within the concrete. If
movie stars were just like moviegoers, what would be the point
of watching? Would we really spend $9.00 dollars + on a movie
ticket to watch someone just like us?
If that were true, we could spend that
money on a pair of cheap binoculars and watch our neighbors (there
may be some legal issues here depending on where you live). In
the end, what would be the fun of watching each other?
We need celebrities to be different from
us. While we may search for similarities, it is the differences
that are the most interesting. People who live among the stars
while the rest of us stand safely on the ground are much more
fascinating to watch than the guy on the block shinning his Chevy.
We may dream of being more like the stars,
but the minute they become more like us, we know the party's gone
on too long. When they fall from grace, a team of highly paid
professionals will be there to pick them up.
Yet, the question remains, do they ultimately
pay a higher price than even their expensively suited lawyers
command?
In Winona Ryder's case, the jury is still
out. Clearly, the events leading up to her sentencing were hardly
those of a shoplifting case. Did she deserve to be put on display,
as if she were playing a part in a movie?
Ryder's been publicly admonished for her
convicted crime and has done her community service. The case,
however, is hardly closed. Her career may not have been harmed
through all of this, but how has she been healed?
She continues to live under a microscope,
knowing that her every purchase is being
scrutinized (she may want to consider shopping online from now
on). Where is the joy in watching a star fall from the big screen
and crash to the earth beneath the rest of us?
More importantly, do stars shine as bright
when they fall from the sky?
Return to Film
Home Page | Music Home Page
| Meg's Home Page