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'Brutal Beauty: Oops WE Did It Again' examines the affects that the media has had on American female icons in the entertainment industry, including Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Whitney Houston and Britney Spears. Regardless of what you thi...nk of their professional work, the fact of the matter is that they all achieved massive levels of fame, felt enormous pressure to maintain that level of success, and went through personal struggles (psychological issues and/or addictions) which eventually overshadowed their careers. Garland, Monroe, and Houston all died before the age of 50. Living in the public eye with the never ending scrutiny of the masses drove these stars down tragic paths, which are all too familiar in the entertainment industry. Britney got lucky, but the tabloid industry is relentless when it comes to scrutinizing starlets. Unfortunately, it's not just tabloids who report scandalous stories though. Mainstream news uses such segments to draw in an audience and get people to buy papers. Mainstream media is all about profit. But if this continues who will be next? Lindsay Lohan? Amanda Bynes? When is enough, enough? We need to stop thinking like media hungry consumers and start thinking like compassionate citizens.
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This is a story that we already know. A star is
born, she works hard, becomes world famous, we build her up, and then the
pressures of maintaining that level of success tears her down before our eyes.
This is the story of little girls with big ambitions who never really got the
chance to grow up and get to know themselves. After achieving international
commercial success in the entertainment industry, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe,
Whitney Houston and Britney Spears gained fans and harsh critics around the
world.
In the entertainment industry, especially for
females, there is enormous pressure to look perfect, to have the perfect body,
and the most beautiful face, along with their talent. They have to keep up with
demanding schedules and smile all the while.
In order to keep their bosses happy, these women were constantly
pressured to represent and maintain a brand message, and keep up their public
image. In having to always play a part, they ultimately forgot who they really
were. This is a recipe for an identity crisis. In the case of these four women,
who became international icons, the endless ever increasing pressures they
faced lead to psychological issues as well as substance abuse, and in three out
of these four cases, an early death.
There is something
about the mystique of celebrity that intrigues fans and keeps them wanting
more. The entire tabloid industry exists for this very reason. Often times what’s
written about celebrities is gossip and speculation. Mainstream media in
America focuses on sensationalism because the goal is to make a profit, to get
people to buy that newspaper, magazine, or tune into that TV station. Regardless
of the accuracy of what’s reported, however, one can imagine that having to constantly
deal with rumors and paparazzi could drive a person crazy. In the entertainment
industry, it is common knowledge that with fame comes a lack of privacy. Some
say “it comes with the territory”. But when is enough, enough? Where do we draw
the line?
History has shown
us that being a star with lots of money does not guarantee a happy care free
life. When
these women remove their makeup and fancy jewelry, they are just regular human
beings, with thoughts, feelings, and insecurities of their own. They’re stars,
but we as consumers tend to forget that they’re people, just like the rest of
us. The rest of us though, don’t live our lives under the microscope of the media.
The mass media as well as consumers love to idolize these performers and
then scrutinize their every move. History keeps repeating itself in these
tragic stories of talented, successful women who lost themselves as a result of
tremendous face. Living in the public
eye with the never ending scrutiny of the masses drove these stars down tragic
paths, which are all too familiar in the entertainment industry.
Britney got lucky.
But who’s next? Lindsay Lohan? Amanda Bynes? How many times are we going to watch a young talent die before our eyes? It's time we stop thinking like media hungry consumers, and start thinking like compassionate and concerned citizens.
Works Cited:
Get Happy: The
Life of Judy Garland
by Gerald Clarke
My Story
by Marilyn Monroe
with Ben Hecht
Foreword by Joshua Green
Goddess, The
Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe
by Anthony Summers
Fragments:
Poems, Intimate Notes, & Letters by Marilyn Monroe
Edited by Stanley Buchthal and Bernard Comment
Good Girl, Bad
Girl: An Insider’s Biography of Whitney Houston
by Kevin Ammons
Whitney
Houston: The Unauthorized Biography
by James Robert Parish
The Exile of
Britney Spears: A Tale of 21st Century Consumption
by Christopher Smit
Rolling Stone
article “Britney Spears: Inside an American Tragedy”
by Vanessa Grigoriadis
Lynne Spears’
Court Statement regarding her daughter, Britney Spears in 2008
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