Alternative Families: Focus on Families in the
Spotlight
By Amy Santiano
Alexandra Arnold
Alexandra Cruz
Mariah Jacobs
However,
while we entertain ourselves watching these people argue over the dinner table
or vacation together, it is important to remember that there are so many
celebrity families that have real life problems just like the rest of the world,
and some that have other problems we cannot even fathom. It is definitely worth
glimpsing into how these people balance family and fame, especially with an
emphasis on the children involved.
There
are so many different types of celebrity children, and while they carry the
stereotype of spoiled brats, there are many unhappy and troubled celebrity
children as well. It is important to remember that these children are in the
spotlight not by choice but because of who their parents are.
There
are also celebrity children who follow in the footsteps of their parents and
try to establish their own individual fame. Whether it is the influence of
uber-successful parents or another type of pressure, a lot of celebrity children
are perfectionists who end up in a bad situation as a result. Drew Barrymore,
while successful now, struggling with drug and alcohol addiction at a young
age. River Phoenix was not able to overcome his problems and died of a drug
overdose at age twenty-three.
The
odds of divorce, infidelity, and substance abuse are much higher when a family
is in the public eye also. Some celebrity marriages last just months, and many
break up after years together and families made.
In writing the blog I forgot to include my sources. They are as follows:
ReplyDelete"Happy Celebrity Families" (articlie) nypost.com/p/pagesix/celebrity
ivillage.com/big-celebrity-family
Interesting perspective that we haven't really covered in class so its nice to see it being brought up here.
ReplyDelete-Jenn & Max
Can you think of any celebrities that have been able to manage their careers and families successfully in the Hollywood limelight? How do you think they were able to do it?
ReplyDeleteDid you find any facts about children growing up with parents who are celebrities who try to keep their children out of the spot light verses children who are always on camera and in the spot light?
ReplyDeleteAlso, do you think that there is more pressure to follow in their celebrity parent's footsteps versus a child's who's parents are not celebrities or do we think they there is more pressure because the media is covering their life so we see it first hand. Where as the we don't see the pressure of following in the parents' footsteps if they are not in the spot light?
Paparazzi invades the lives of celebrities. I truly feel bad for them, they are basically being stalked and exploited for doing things that non-celebrity families do on the daily. The example of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes is perfect- ever since they had their child, Suri, they have been under constant social pressure... everything they do is scrutinized by the public. It's no wonder they've fallen apart. Yet, celebrity couples like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who have two daughters now, have managed to stay out of the garbage magazines by keeping their private life private, and they're still together. It's interesting how fame can make or break a family now. They lose sight of what is most important; the children. They are the ones who end up suffering the most in the end.
ReplyDelete