Why are we all part of Alec Baldwin’s public good-bye?

Whether you agree or disagree with Alec Baldwin is irrelevant.

The shallow media has had a dazzling run slashing actor Alec Baldwin. Following his altercation with a TMZ paparazzi, Baldwin has been hit with an outcry of criticisms and cold shoulders from the public, and the media and entertainment industries. His personal New York Magazine article published yesterday was a lay-it-all-on-the-line account of his life over the last few years, and why that was the last time he will “talk about [his] personal life in an American publication ever again.”

But why should we really care?

Alec Baldwin’s daily life — coffee runs, bike rides — all the things you and I do outside of our four walls without interruption, is literally someone’s job to document and sell. Baldwin (and all celebrities) has been trailed by photographers and videographers, just to capture an inside snapshot. And the worse the image, the better the story, the higher the paycheck.

His public ‘I’m Done’ statement speaks beyond him and his career. Between the lines of the essay, a power struggle of human dignity vs. entertainment lurks.

As fun as it may be sometimes to get an inside human glimpse of celebrity life of these beautiful, talented and wealthy individuals, it is nothing but entertainment. And yet, isn’t it ethically wrong for someone’s personal life to be entertainment? Their lives are filled with as much a mixture of doubt and joy as anyone’s.

For all the mindfulness that has entered our culture, so has the degradation of respect for privacy.

Think about it. The shallow media (which has grown to include most major media outlets that used to focus more on straight news) lives off celebrities’ personal, often sacred moments. Like when Valentino issued a press release promoting the designer’s handbag that Amy Adams was spotted carrying into Philip Seymour Hoffman’s funeral.

People, just like you and me, are experiencing their most hurtful human events, not only internally, but throughout news feeds around the globe.

Moreover, this form of media is distracting us from what is really news, like pivotal events that are happening around the world, such as the uprising on the streets of Kiev.

Rather than informing ourselves on how to create a better world we are matching ourselves up to people. It’s petty. So, no wonder why people are saying our generation needs a good ass kicking, and Alec Baldwin is saying good-bye to public life. We are criticizing rather than encouraging. Degrading rather than supporting.

“The heart, the arteries of the country are now clogged with hate,” says Baldwin in his statement.

And in today’s viral society the exposure happens quicker and more often.

“You’re out there in a world where if you do make a mistake, it echoes in a digital canyon forever,” said Baldwin.

Luckily, the truth is, we all have a choice as to which voice we will let resonate.

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Celebrity Kids Vs. Paparazzi: A Bystander Tells All

image: Wikicommons

The post What Alec Baldwin’s ‘I’m Done’ Letter Is Showing Us About Media (and Ourselves) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Recently, I got caught in a paparazzi crush. It wasn’t the first time. I live in Hollywood, and I’m used to the occasional swarm. I think it must be similar to living inside a beehive or getting caught in a zombie crush. Creatures clearly lacking reason fly at you from all angles, pushing and shoving to get a picture of the latest celebutante or, much more rarely, an actual actor.

But my latest experience with the paparazzi was a little different. I was walking up a street in my neighborhood, more known for its hipster hangouts than hot Hollywood enclaves. Crossing the street, a car suddenly careened into my path. I did what any rational pedestrian would do – I dove the heck out of the way. A man jumped out. I looked around, expecting to see an accident. Why else would someone screech his car to a stop in the middle of the street?

Then I saw his camera. And other cars were slamming to a halt, blocking the intersection, scrambling to surround a black livery sedan. Within seconds, two huge bodyguards stepped out of the car. “Come on, guys, give us some space,” one pleaded as he waved his linebacker hands in a sweeping motion.

Seconds later, the bodyguards were holding back the photographers. It was like there was a terrible emergency and you needed to give paramedics some space to save a life. Instead, it was just mayhem, screaming – and me, highly annoyed I was stuck in this crowd. So I stomped my way through the paparazzi, walking straight past the bodyguards. They ignored me, clearly unimpressed with my glare and my stomping.

Just three feet away from the black sedan, the door opened; massive amounts of white blonde hair and a jaunty cap spilled out. I expected to see a Hilton or maybe a Kardashian in a wig fall out of the car. Instead, a toddler climbed out. He turned his little head towards the crowd of people screaming for his attention.

And then one of those surreal moments happened – you know, when time seems to slow down, the movie score rises up in a big, dramatic moment, and you think, “Is this really happening?” Little Man just stood there, brave and quiet, looking at the crowd. He was probably only alone on the sidewalk for all of five seconds, but again, we were in Movie Surreal Moment. Then his mother stepped out of the car and grabbed his hand. They turned together, ready to face the photographers together.

Me? I got out of there so fast I never got a good look at Little Man’s mother, though I have my suspicions as to who it was. I was unsettled. Little Man had looked so brave when he stared at the throng of photographers. He was a tiny Max looking at all the wild things. But there was nothing cool and Spike Jonze-y about this moment.

Yes, the public has a fascination with celebrities. And the likes of Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, Heidi Klum, and Gwen Stefani all signed up to be stars. But why are their kids Maddox, Ava, Violet, Leni and Kingston being pulled into it as well? (And why do I even know their names?) Won’t someone think of the children?

The California state legislature has responded. As the Huffington Post reports, a law was recently passed fining photographers up to $5,000 or a year in jail for breaking traffic laws or impeding the operation of a celebrity’s vehicle.

Sean Burke is the founder and CEO of the Paparazzi Reform Initiative. As he explains, “This new legislation we’ve supported imposes jail terms for paparazzi driving recklessly in the pursuit of a photograph. Their incarceration time can increase to a year if a child was put at risk during the car chase. We feel this new law will improve public safety in general and hopefully prevent anyone else from getting hurt.” Europe has passed even tougher laws, and now the children of celebrities are obscured in many photos.

After my latest paparazzi run-in, I marched home and vowed to avoid all celebrity child photographs. Two hours later, I clicked on a link about Angelina Jolie and was directed to a picture of her daughter. Fail on all ends. Celebrity, paparazzi, and the publicity machines that they serve seem unavoidable in our current culture. Yes, don’t look at the pictures. But better yet, support legislation to reign in this behavior. And be very, very careful crossing the streets of Hollywood.

Image: oddwick

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