Since our last issue, we have lost two prominent figures in the entertainment industry. The two, who were deeply loved, died in a terrible accident. Paul Walker, of ‘The Fast and The Furious’ fame, was killed in a horrible car accident, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Oscar-winning actor of ‘Capote’ together with a number of other incredible films, overdosed on heroin. Now, people die every day, and celebrities tend to get more press for what they do, but barely do we really know the person. We may know who they date, what their favourite ice cream is, or even what brands they sponsor, but when they leave us, do we really know about them?
Recently, there was a polarizing article written by Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow. She continues to discuss how she was raped and abused as a child by the demonized Woody Allen. Stars have flocked to support Allen, but do we really know what happened? Hollywood is a city notoriously tight-lipped, and beyond his account, very few people have come out to defend Dylan. I’m not taking sides, but it got me thinking; what do I actually know about Woody Allen outside of Annie, and him apparently marrying his adopted daughter? There is not anything. What we know about these people is mostly based on media, public relations, managers and ‘unnamed sources’. Our opinion doesn’t really matter, as it’s based on facts that are shaped in such a way as to make it unreliable. I did not know that Hoffman had an addiction that spanned approximately a quarter of a century. How many of us know that he has strayed so far this past year, after his confession? I assure you, not much. When Walker died, within hours people were making outlandish comments about how a man who starred in such a film might be just as reckless in real life. The facts show us something else. That he wasn’t even the one driving, and what a caring and humanitarian father he was.
The searchlights are blinding, and when you fly near them, all of them look the same. White. It’s easy to think that simply because you are at all times in the news, at all times smiling, and at all times posing that you are proud of life. Don’t we think the same about Heath Ledger? He is a young man on the rise with a promising career, cut short by a cocktail of pharmaceuticals. The spotlight shines on them, but not through them. We lost so much because the people around them (forgetting the public) so easily glanced at the issues that come with fame. Addiction is a real problem, and not even an Oscar award can cure it.
We tend to jump on anecdotes when people die. Hours after Paul’s death, we hear stories about how he helped a young couple with an engagement ring. A story that makes us question our ignorance of a man people say has no reach, no talent, and no compassion. Aaron Sorkin came out and discussed his conversation with Hoffman, making us realize how painful living through any kind of drug abuse can be. These are real people who even have family, friends, and sometimes, painful lives. Celebrity or not, the fact is there are children now minus the dad, and perhaps right now, privacy is actually needed. In reality, we must keep this privacy going, because we should not know everything, except the pain of losing someone so loved, so soon.
