Celebrities as Role Models

[erpowers]

I guess for some parents it is hard to stop their kids from looking at celebrities as role models, but I do not completely see why some parents would want their kids to view celebrities as role models. I just finished watching a show on VH1 that listed 40 of the stupidest comments made by celebtities. Some of the comments were just foolish. The celebrities listed made mistakes concerning a number of things including geography.

[wryter2000]

1. I know

Our local news has a segment on young people who've struggled against horrible problems to graduate from high school and get ready for college. Those kids should be the role models, not someone who can swim really, really fast.

[Quantess]

2. Britney Spears as a role model, for example

Part of her marketing package back in the 1990s was being a wholesome, virtuous young woman, suitable to be a role model. A lot of people actually believed it, for a while. All that insisting she was a virgin was reminiscent of David Vitter insisting he was into "family values". In the end, David Vitter got his diapers changed by a prostitute, and Britney Spears' morals turned out to be far looser than average.

[blue_onyx]

3. I don't think she was ever wholesome

Her debut music video was her in a sexy schoolgirl uniform. She always walked a thin line between being a young, innocent, 17 year old girl and a sex vixen. At the time, it was pretty controversial and religious organizations even tried to get people to boycott her (which, of course, made her CD sales skyrocket). As to lack of morals...why do you think she lacks morals? I don't think she's done anything that would make her immoral.

[Quantess]

4. But don't you remember how loudly she insisted that she was a virgin, etc.?

Of course, that was because she and her producers didn't want any parents banning her.

"Morals" was a corny word choice. What I'm trying to say is that the drug use, getting intimate with an expectant father of someone else's baby (K-Fed), the marginal parenting skills, make her a little bit of a hypocrite after all the hype about her being such a virtuous woman.

But, I think it's great she's doing well and is having a successful comeback. I'm really happy for her.

[blue_onyx]

5. Actually I don't

She was asked a question, one time, about whether she believed sex should be saved until marriage. It was the media that talked about it endlessly, not her. She learned the hard way that if she gives them one piece of info, it will never go away. But like I said, I don't think she ever tried to be a "virtuous woman." She has played the role of a "lolita" ever since she first debuted.

As for the parenting skills, how could anyone know? Nobody sees how she is with the kids. And I don't think she was the drug addict people make her out to be. She was hospitalized twice, against her will, in mental wards last year. Although nobody knows for sure, rumor is she was has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. People who have this disorder often appear to be on drugs when they are in a maniac episode. I see her as woman who is dealing with mental illness while doing her best to get her life and career back on track.

I think it is the media and parents that try to make people like Britney into "role models." I grew up liking controversial people, like Madonna, and I never thought I should be just like her. I liked her and her music. I think parents should take the time to explain which people they should look up to as role models (Obama, for example) and those they should be fans of.

[Withywindle]

6. There's a big difference between a role model for skills and a role model for living.

It makes sense that a young aspiring athlete should admire famous athletes, and the same follows for musicians, actors, politicians, writers, etcetera. It makes sense to emulate the ways these people developed their skills - practicing regimen, influences, reading lists, etcetera.

That doesn't necessarily follow that these people have all the right answers when it comes to drugs, sex, ethics, etcetera. I think kids should be encouraged to understand that celebrities, like all people, have more than one side to them. It's totally possible to admire someone's talent while still realizing they might make some damn stupid choices in other areas of life.