Thursday, August 5, 2010

Stephen King

Confession 1: I read Entertainment Weekly.
I know, I know. You are all silencing your gasps of sorrow and disdain. Experts say to clear your mind before bed. What better way to empty your head of all serious thought?
Confession 2: I am a huge fan of Stephen King. I even visited his home when I was in Bangor, Maine. My sister and I bond over cheesy made-for-TV movie marathons. I immediately connect with anyone who shares the same profound love as I for "Langoliers" or "The Stand."
In a "best of both worlds" scenario, Stephen King would write an article for EW. Coincidentally, he does.
His latest article had me giggling as he bashed the talking heads of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. As of late, there has been a debate about why Lindsay Lohan would receive more coverage than the Oil Leak in the Gulf. Good point.
Then, in a shocking turn of events (should have expected it from Stephen), Mr. King defended the coverage. Who would have thought the king of all things creepy is a softy?
He suggested that we don't follow celebrities because we are nosy and like to see the plight of the rich and famous and like to see them fail. We follow them because we sympathize. Because we really do want these people to succeed. Because we all know someone in our personal lives who has an addiction problem or an anger problem or is bad with finances.
Amazing Stephen King words it best, so I'll include an excerpt from his article published for the 8.6.10 issue, titled "Rush to Judgment."

"... I really believe that the majority of people - i.e., the ones without talk shows - are pulling for Lindsay Lohan, just as they did for Robert Downey Jr. No one wants to read another Health Ledger/River Phoenix/John Belushi story. Or about Rush Limbaugh OD-ing for that matter. Some of us may not like the guy's opinions (or trust his sincerity), but very few of us want to see him hauled out of a hotel room on a stretcher, covered by a sheet.
There's a perception that people buy the Enquirer or go to TMZ on the Web because they want to see the rich humbled (or jailed), the famous humiliated (or jailed), the beautiful turned fat and ugly by excess (or jailed). It's crap. The cynics may believe ordinary folks are spiteful and envious, but that's probably because they are judging others by themselves.
Rush, you need to revisit the Lindsay Lohan affair. Now that you're clean, maybe you even ought to reach out to her and give her the benefit of your own experience. We're all in this little boat of life together, and none of us are getting out of it alive. Is Lindsay Lohan's substance problem as serious as the spill in the Gulf? No. Is she a bit of a twit? Yes, but so was I at 24. So were most of us, probably including you...Man up and pass on what you've learned."

This article truly made me ponder - enlightened me a little to my own ever-curious mind. I hope you feel the same.

No comments: