It's the end of the world - well, sort of. This week, Oprah ends her daytime reign. She's hanging up her microphone and putting her set in mothballs, and the whole world, it seems, is in a tizzy. Her celebrity BFFs seem to be taking it the hardest of all. Watching their tearful two-part tribute to Oprah, a cavalcade of famous people, including Tyler Perry, and First Friend Gayle King gushed over Oprah, praising her success and her generosity of spirit.
And it's only fair that they, the celebrities, should make such a fuss over the woman who, in many cases, saved or revived their careers. It was Oprah who helped to make these often vapid, one-dimensional characters into fleshed out human beings who are just like you and me - save for the ridiculous amounts of money and fame. She was their Mother-Confessor who granted forgiveness in her Harpo Studios confessional. When Julia Roberts needed to clear the air over her failed marriage(s) and the sordid romantic triangle that became the basis for her current wedded bliss, it was to Oprah she went. When TV mom Meredith Baxter needed to tell her story of marital abuse, it was to the loving arms of Oprah that she flew. When Tom Cruise wanted to let the world know that he wasn't crazy and was, in fact, just a regular guy, head-over-heels in love with little Katie Holmes, Oprah's was the only couch worthy of his now infamous sofa jump.
With Leno and Letterman and Kimmel and Conan on the air, you'd think that Oprah would be rendered unnecessary, but you'd be wrong. Oprah created her own little universe, complete with its own jewel-toned palette of smartly-dressed, enthusiastic audience members who provided a backdrop for the spinning of celebrity tales of hurting and healing. To be a celebrity guest on Oprah meant a rigorous course in Oprah-ese, a language built on new-age, therapeutic discourse where people "named their truth," and had frequent "a-ha moments".
Now, that's not to say that your celebrity appearance was strictly about your own personal "journey" - no, there was always room for marketing, like those times when the entire casts of the latest Tyler Perry movie would take the stage.
I know, it may seem as if I'm not sad about her departure, and, in fact, I'm not. But it's not due to personal animus - it's just time. I don't need Oprah to tell me how much celebrities are just like me and you because, guess what, they're not. They live in a highly-competitive environment of constant scrutiny and little privacy, all fearing that "the next big thing" will end their careers. Where newspapers and blog sites have huge, blaring headlines about their 10-pound weight gain or their thinning hair. That Oprah, herself, is one of these celebrities isn't lost on me. Her interviews with these celebrities have seemed more like highly choreographed conversations between friends, and so there's no danger, really. And maybe that's why Oprah's ending it. Maybe, she had her own Oprah "a-ha moment" and realized that if you can get a President elected, you don't need to sit down with yet another celebrity to hawk their tell-all book...I'm just saying:)
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Putting the "Real" in Reality
With the announcement of the new cast of "Dancing with the Stars" (Wendy Williams - how YOU doin'??) and the introduction of yet another set of plump-lipped, tacky tarts clawing at each other in the "Real Housewives" franchise, it's clear that the Spring 2011 Reality TV season is upon us. And, like the award season that has just ended, capped by last week's Academy Awards, there will be some clear winners and losers in some of the more anticipated contests - will Ne Ne reign down blows on Star Jones in "Celebrity Apprentice?" And which of the returning baddies will be the last one standing on Survivor: Redemption Island?" But there's one reality show that tops them all and it stars Charlie Sheen, his Goddesses, his ex-wife, and his two adorable sons.
Perhaps you've seen it - on "Extra", or "Entertainment Tonight", or E!News or "The Today Show", ad nauseum and ad infinitum! The Charlie Sheen show is the hottest ticket in town, it seems, and everyone in the media has a finger in this poison pie. From his off-kilter Tweets to his intimate and sprawling 2-part interview with "The Today Show", Sheen has put the "real" back into Reality TV, with the reporters happily joining in for their 15 minutes! The interviews on "The Today Show" were some of the worst, with the reporter treating this like high camp, instead of a person's mental illness on public display. Sheen himself seemed to be in on the joke, too, smirking and grimacing with perfect comedic timing. Every now and again he'd put on the "reasonable man" voice, you know, the one you use in a sitcom when you're about to reveal something serious and weighty, only to be followed by a zinger that sends the studio audience into fits of laughter - and scene!
Only, this isn't a sitcom, where, in the span of 24 minutes, problems will be solved and then the credits roll. A line has been crossed. Hell, I wouldn't be the first to accuse an actor of being delusional, of making a character that he plays a part of his actual identity. And some actors will readily admit that they share lots of qualities with their on-screen alter-egos. Friends of the late Heath Ledger spoke of the extreme emotional demands that he faced when he portrayed the maniacal, murderous Joker in "The Dark Night". It seemed that the fragile line between real and unreal eroded to a point that it caused distress in the late actor.
So what does that mean for the Sheen Machine? Well, it could mean that he's taken on the persona of the glib, womanizing man he portrays on "Two and a Half Men" in some sort of Vulcan mind-meld. He has, literally, become the character. But some would argue that the character he plays on television is loosely based on the reality of Sheen's own indiscreet past. So, then, which Charlie Sheen is the REAL Charlie Sheen? Wow, I'm having one of those Absurdist Ionesco moments, again! I'm just saying:)
Perhaps you've seen it - on "Extra", or "Entertainment Tonight", or E!News or "The Today Show", ad nauseum and ad infinitum! The Charlie Sheen show is the hottest ticket in town, it seems, and everyone in the media has a finger in this poison pie. From his off-kilter Tweets to his intimate and sprawling 2-part interview with "The Today Show", Sheen has put the "real" back into Reality TV, with the reporters happily joining in for their 15 minutes! The interviews on "The Today Show" were some of the worst, with the reporter treating this like high camp, instead of a person's mental illness on public display. Sheen himself seemed to be in on the joke, too, smirking and grimacing with perfect comedic timing. Every now and again he'd put on the "reasonable man" voice, you know, the one you use in a sitcom when you're about to reveal something serious and weighty, only to be followed by a zinger that sends the studio audience into fits of laughter - and scene!
Only, this isn't a sitcom, where, in the span of 24 minutes, problems will be solved and then the credits roll. A line has been crossed. Hell, I wouldn't be the first to accuse an actor of being delusional, of making a character that he plays a part of his actual identity. And some actors will readily admit that they share lots of qualities with their on-screen alter-egos. Friends of the late Heath Ledger spoke of the extreme emotional demands that he faced when he portrayed the maniacal, murderous Joker in "The Dark Night". It seemed that the fragile line between real and unreal eroded to a point that it caused distress in the late actor.
So what does that mean for the Sheen Machine? Well, it could mean that he's taken on the persona of the glib, womanizing man he portrays on "Two and a Half Men" in some sort of Vulcan mind-meld. He has, literally, become the character. But some would argue that the character he plays on television is loosely based on the reality of Sheen's own indiscreet past. So, then, which Charlie Sheen is the REAL Charlie Sheen? Wow, I'm having one of those Absurdist Ionesco moments, again! I'm just saying:)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Big
The other night, I watched a very uncomfortable exchange. Let me set the scene. It was the Late Show with David Letterman during his interview with actor/comic Kevin James. James was on the movie tour grind promoting his latest movie, "The Dilemma", and Letterman, apparently, was on his own voyage to the land of Jackhole as he savaged James at every turn about his larger-than-most body. Each question was like jamming a fork into the thigh - violent, rude, and intrusive. Did you have to shop at a big and tall shop? Did you know you were so fat? What the hell??? That the former "King of Queens" star didn't haul off and slap Letterman should settle the matter of whether we larger folks have self-discipline once and for all!
While the statistics continue to tell the story of how we, as a country, are becoming larger, with the constant deluge of hurtful remarks aimed at the obese, I figure that we must be a country of chunky self-loathers! That same night of the Kevin James interview, a quick trip up and down the cable box yielded even more fat fodder, including George Lopez whose opening monologue was especially nasty. All that was missing was the Kirstie Alley reference, but I'm sure somewhere, someone was on it!
As the country is taking a pause to clean up the chorus of coarseness in political discourse, maybe we can take a beat and lay off of the fat jokes. Heck, even the term, "fat joke" is intentionally dehumanizing because that ridicule is an exercise in the hatred of fat people. I feel like Charlton Heston screaming about Soylent Green - it's people!!
Now, I realize that for some of you it's a hard habit to break - either making fun of larger people or laughing at jokes told by others about us lovely large folk. And you're not helped by some larger folk who use self-deprecating humor to cover up their own insecurity about their bodies. Humor, after all, is supposed to help people feel comfortable. But, you see, the math doesn't add up: if a larger person uses self-hating humor about their bodies to make other people feel better, nobody actually wins here. The larger person has just reinforced their own feelings of lack of self worth, and their thinner conversation partner only feels awkward at being in the presence of someone who obviously dislikes themselves. So let's just stop!
While we're at it, here are several more changes that may help end the siege on my more Botticelli-esque brothers and sisters:
While the statistics continue to tell the story of how we, as a country, are becoming larger, with the constant deluge of hurtful remarks aimed at the obese, I figure that we must be a country of chunky self-loathers! That same night of the Kevin James interview, a quick trip up and down the cable box yielded even more fat fodder, including George Lopez whose opening monologue was especially nasty. All that was missing was the Kirstie Alley reference, but I'm sure somewhere, someone was on it!
As the country is taking a pause to clean up the chorus of coarseness in political discourse, maybe we can take a beat and lay off of the fat jokes. Heck, even the term, "fat joke" is intentionally dehumanizing because that ridicule is an exercise in the hatred of fat people. I feel like Charlton Heston screaming about Soylent Green - it's people!!
Now, I realize that for some of you it's a hard habit to break - either making fun of larger people or laughing at jokes told by others about us lovely large folk. And you're not helped by some larger folk who use self-deprecating humor to cover up their own insecurity about their bodies. Humor, after all, is supposed to help people feel comfortable. But, you see, the math doesn't add up: if a larger person uses self-hating humor about their bodies to make other people feel better, nobody actually wins here. The larger person has just reinforced their own feelings of lack of self worth, and their thinner conversation partner only feels awkward at being in the presence of someone who obviously dislikes themselves. So let's just stop!
While we're at it, here are several more changes that may help end the siege on my more Botticelli-esque brothers and sisters:
- Eliminate the B-roll fatties! - If you've ever watched a news program, then surely you've seen the B-roll fatties. You may have even been one yourself! Whenever there's a story to be covered on dieting, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc., et al, you can count on seeing video images of bodies captured from the shoulders down walking down crowded city sidewalks, or down grocery store aisles. These faceless bodies will be plus-sized and if the cameraman can get the prize package of one of these people struggling up a flight of steps then SCOREEEEEEEE!!! It's like a silent movie, but the soundtrack is the voiceover from a 115-pound news anchor tossing to commercial with the insistent news music bed playing underneath. Enough!! News producers, if you're doing a story about fat people, don't stalk us like it's friggin' Wild Kingdom. Man up and actually interview a larger person. Talk to us! Yes, you'll get some "no" responses, but you'll eventually get a yes.
- End the Airline Injustice - The friendly skies declared war on the plus-sized decades ago, as far as I'm concerned, when they designed those damn bathrooms. But they took the war to new heights with the introduction of the "second seat" requirement for more shapely passengers. Let's be real, if airlines hadn't been so greedy - smaller seats and smaller seating radius to insure max numbers of passengers and max profits - we wouldn't have that guy from those Jay and Silent Bob movies suing major air carriers for violating the civil rights of larger citizens!
- Hollywood, Come out of the Husky Closet!! - Were you as shocked as I was when uber-manscaped Ryan Seacrest made public the photos of his former plus-sized self?? There he was, a chubby child, and look at him now. In fact, I should have been tipped off that he was a former big guy. He has an astonishing amount of discipline and energy and he always seems like he's not really at ease with people. I want to know about the other Ryan Seacrests because maybe hearing their story will help a larger person who's feeling nervous about setting a healthy weight loss goal. And no, Renee Zellweger, this does not mean that we want to hear you wax philosophical on you force-feeding yourself so that you could pack on some curves for those Bridget Jones movies. Watching you play "fat" was as grating on my nerves as hearing your faux-Brit accent must've been for my British peeps.
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