So first, here's a link to an AP recap of what's happened to Paris.http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/08/paris.hilton.ap/index.html. In brief, she was arrested for DUI, caught twice driving on a suspended license, sentenced to jail, released home after a few days because of an "unspecified medical condition" and then put back in. The above pic is her going back to jail. Nobody is saying what the unspecified condition is yet but people are hinting at something psychological. Oh. It sure is hard to know where to start with this one--First, I think it's as high as 80% of women in prison suffer with a mental illness. And research shows that prison is not a place to recover wellness for most of them, either. But I highly doubt that the impact of all this is a re examination of the mis use of incarceration. Second, I've always thought that paris had a very modern, yet to be classified illness, which is like a pathological and addictive need to expose herself to humiliation and recover. It's like a form of media bulimia, a binging, a purging, but we're all involved. The armchair psychologist in me would guess that at an early age she was shamed and traumatized--probably sexually--and that she is passing her entire adult life returning herself to the scene of that crime so that she can release herself from it, but, of course, doing nothing of the sort except damaging herself more and more with every go. I would have more empathy for whatever is ailing her if she wasn't also the emblem for our culture's celebration of emptiness. Her singular talent is building fame and wealth. That her ascent in the media corresponded with the ascent of the war against terror is not a coincidence---she's part of what distracts us from meaning, responsibility, and agency. Third, if they do announce her medical condition, and that condition is mental illness, we in the sport of mental health awareness might have to referree.
3 comments:
What I love is that NOW she has a condition that she is trying to address. Not when she is seen partying endlessly, not when she is completlely dysfunctional, not when the sex tape comes out, not when she takes $100k to show up at 16 year olds' birthday parties, but now. And I completely agree with you Lizzie that if this unspecified condition comes out and it is a mental disorder we as true mental health advocates need to do something to keep the focus of mental health viewed in a realistic light. Otherwise it's just another messed up celebrity hijacking the poster child spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
To follow up on your point Lizzie about celebrities and public figures citing mental illness as the cause of their ills, it is such a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it can bring much-needed publicity to certain conditions that many people struggle with. On the other hand, I detest it when people cite mental illness as the cause of their poor behavior (especially when that behavior is egregious and public) and then try to act as if they are entirely without fault.
Paris is an example. I am sure she's got major issues but more than anything she seems to be a self-absorbed, spoilt child with terrible values and a sense of entitlement. Thanks, but I don't want her as our poster child. Maybe it's because I am seen her on too many posters half-naked.
Media bulimia is my new favorite phrase.
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