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May 9, 2007
Can this relationship be saved in time?
If you're anything like me, you probably engage in the biggest spectator sport in the modern world - watching celebrities date and break up, usually in a spectacular fashion. Some people (namely people like me) will pay attention to some of the bigger relationship train wrecks only, and only when things get really out of hand. Other people may actually have some emotional investment in these celebrity dating episodes, hoping against hope that Brad Pitt really will take Jennifer Aniston back. When you're getting some voyeuristic thrills however, it's not really a question of "can this relationship be saved" -it's more like "will this relationship remain interesting to us non-celebs?" Celebrities seem to get over being dumped by chasing after another insanely bad relationship, so it's a never-ending cycle of tabloid entertainment for all.
I think one of the main reasons to watch these public bouts of extreme emotion is the same reason why otherwise normal people slow down while passing a car accident on the highway. It's almost instinctive, and when nothing draws a crowd like a spectacle (even if that spectacle revolves around the very private sex lives of the rich and/or famous). Let's not fool ourselves - people like Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise have a veritable army to keep prying eyes very far away from them, and there are plenty of personal details that escape the public eye. Mr Cruise's extremely public courtship of Katie Holmes was a calculated career move, pure and simple (unless Tom Cruise really IS that insane whenever he starts dating anybody). Hopefully Holmes sees that kind of exaggerated affection as lovable dating quirks, and not the actions of a Scientologist gone wild.
The other reason that these celeb romances draw so much attention is the fact that people generally expect different, if not better, behavior from men and women in the public eye. Dishonesty in a relationship (at least with "normal" relationships) is one thing, but when Ben Affleck starts lying to his wife, then it's headline news. It's kind of hypocritical and judgmental, but that's the way it works.
On the other hand, there's always a choice when you decide to make a public spectacle of yourself. If you're remotely telegenic, somewhat famous, and you decide to date another attractive semi-famous person, you probably know what you're getting into. You don't see William H. Macy gracing the cover of People Magazine with his latest conquest. Let this be a lesson to us all - leave the spectacularly messy relationships to the professionals!
Posted by Glen at May 9, 2007 2:53 AM
