Barring those tribes residing in the depths of the Amazon, the name Britney Spears has become a household name to every human being living on this planet. Since young she has been in the limelight, joining The New Mickey Mouse Club at the age of 11. By 1998 her first single Hit Me Baby One More Time reached number one and sold 9 million copies and as they say the rest is history. Or is it?
Every day one only has to turn on the television, browse an online newspaper or even take a quick glance at the magazines whilst lining up in the supermarket to see Britney's face. And this is not even America. To say that the paparazzi hounds her is an understatement. It has gotten to a stage whereby they have become her shadow, always there irrespective of the occasion. Her every move is photographed and her every action and reaction dissected by a group of so called entertainment journalists who constantly feign care and concern that she is further spiralling in her physical and emotional state. And when she breaks down do people put down their cameras and console her? They simply click away because hey, the don't call it the money shot for nothing.
Is it therefore any surprise that she has lost custody of her children and is constantly acting in a questionable fashion? Put any sane human being through the relentless barrage of camera flashes, autograph seekers, tabloid papers and magazines and see if they can come out unscathed. Perhaps such a gauntlet should become the new training course for any aspiring soldier wanting to join the SAS.
Such a media circus leads me to question the status of celebrities and the consequence of their actions. After all, given that they live their lives under the microscope of media scrutiny they do not really have a choice as to whether they are considered role models. Take sporting stars for instant. Just this week both AFL great Wayne Carrey and NRL superstar Johnathon Thurston have been in the headlines for domestic violence and drink driving.
As such, the usual criticism that follows is that they are being poor role models not only for the kids who look up to them but to the society that has always "held them in such high esteem". But what if all they wanted to do was play footy, or sing or act and not become a role model to everyone around them? The point here is not that domestic violence, drink driving or neglecting your kids is anything tolerable. The point is every day people go through such troubles. And celebrities are every day people. Yet they are not allowed to make mistakes because hey, we all know that every twenty year old who can hit a wide receiver on the run with a sixty yard throw also knows how to live a respectable life whilst receiving so much money that he doesn't know what to do with it. After all, you can only buy you mom so many houses.
Unfortunately there is no solution to this vicious cycle. A new sensation will always emerge with the innocence of a newborn babe. Then the media will shower praises on this newborn babe with so much frequency that with this new found fame that they are transformed from newborn babe to hottest babe overnight. It is at this point whilst they are riding their pinnacle of success that the very same media that built them up will wait in eager anticipation for them to fall. And when they fall, and fall they will, the media pounces dragging them into the abyss of eternal negative scrutiny until they spiral out of control. And at the end of the day when they OD, enter rehab for the umpteenth time, sight irreconcilable differences or reside in the slammer the media will still be there searching for the smoking gun that caused them to fall.
Headlines for exclusive stories will question "What went wrong?" whilst side stepping the irony that the hands that take the photos or write the stories are also the very hands that gave these celebrities that little nudge when they were living on the edge.
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