Cringe-worthy

There are some public figures who make me cringe when I see them on a variety show, a talk show, or a late night whatever you call it show. One who affects me this way is Russell Brand, currently hyping the redeaux film, Arthur. Brand is not an actor; he's a performer. What he performs is a character he has developed as his public persona, and it's as phony as the proverbial $3 bill. His appearance is always disheveled in a contrived way; his conversation always walks the line between appropriate and so not appropriate, in a contrived way; his facial gestures are so over the top that they, too, are contrived to accent his outrageous commentary; and his speech is a farcical slur of sexual innuendo, accompanied with wink-winks, that is completely contrived. He is the class clown who disrupts the instruction for the rest of the students to bolster his own insecurity and lack of academic ability. Unfortunately, when Brand appears in a film, he's the same character he assumes for public appearances, a trend among the very young and inexplicably famous who occupy the pages of the print media, as well as the guest spots on the TV talk shows.

Who are these people? What are their credentials not just for the instant publicity and claims of fame, but their performance creds? What have they ever done, at age 16, for instance, to warrant the proclamation of famous, the appellation of star, of being touted as a person the rest of us should not just bow down to and worship, but use as models for our own lives? And, for crying out loud, who are these youngsters kidding when they "write" a book, especially the ones who allegedly pen an autobiography half-way through their teen years? Are we honestly to believe that is their work and not the trumped-up presentation of a media team? Does anyone over the age of 18 really want to know about the hardships and/or the struggle to become famous of a 14-year-old child? Where has the child learned his/her craft? Why is that child NOT attending school and mastering the basic skills with their peers? It takes more than raw talent to become a professional, and Russell Brand is living proof of that fact.

It also takes time.

Elizabeth Taylor passed away recently, an actress who began her career at a very young age. She did not, however, earn stardom until she had been proving her performance capability for well over a decade! Until then, she was simply a child actor cast in a series of roles that showcased her talent and potential. Jodie Foster also began her career as a child, but she matured her talent by maturing her self, too, including earning a college degree while studying her craft. However, many children who are given the opportunity to perform in a role don't make it beyond the one opportunity, whether it's on stage or in a film or at a concert. Auditions used to be known as "cattle calls" for a reason: herds of talented performers showed up to audition, but few were selected for the cast because it takes a uniquely talented performer to do the job justice, not just another anyone. The old saying, "Many are called, but few are chosen," is what separates the great actor from the run-of-the-mill performer.

Oh, lest I forget: TV has perfected the reality show genre wherein no one has to do anything other than recall the Terrible Two's and act out those infantile behaviors while the camera rolls. Voila: an instant star is born, a reality star who commands millions of dollars to continue to perform the same temper tantrums endlessly while touring the media outlets. Not only does that behavior become the career, but it also defines the individual, who then has to live up to the worst of their personal lives, and continue to live that phase of their life until they fade into the sunset. These "stars" go from riches to rags when a new crop of reality "stars" take over the TV season, unless, of course, they can finagle another reality gig, such as a career boost generated by a performance on a TV wrestling program.

When people read the novel, The Ugly American, they cringed to think that the portrayal by the novelist of an American tourist is the picture the world has of the citizens of what was then called the greatest nation. However, that portrayal of the worst in us has become the standard for the rest of us a mere 50 years later, and we endlessly confirm that portrayal through the media. How sad that we no longer believe we are the people an American President, John F. Kennedy, challenged to "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." We all used to be proud to be hard-working Americans, and we all had our stories of how we made it to the top through hard work that was both ethical and honorable, and which served as teaching tools for the generations coming behind us. Now? Make it big, make it fast, and make it all about me. The rest of you? Get the hell out of my way!!

Today, I cringe when I see the fawning media slobbering over a Disney contract child performer attending a premier, as if they are witnessing the second coming of Christ. I cringe when I see seasoned performers, such as Regis Philbin, Ellen DeGeneris, and Oprah Winfrey, sitting second chair to a Justin Beiber and pretending that they believe "the Beeb," whose career seems to be built upon a hairstyle, will go the distance they have already lived. I cringe when I see the best actors in the business, such as Academy Award winner Helen Mirrin, playing second banana to Russell Brand, whose biggest credential for his public standing is being married to another instant media sensation who created a publicity firestorm when she showed too much bosom for an appearance on Sesame Street.

I'd like to live long enough to see another American leader refute the mediocrity that passes as performance and challenge the American people to stand up straight, square their shoulders, pull up their sagging and bagging pants, and begin living life again as a proud people who know not how to get the job done by foreign workers, but how to do the job ourselves, from beginning to end. I'd like us to see ourselves again as world leaders, people who demonstrate through who we are and how we conduct our business that we are no longer the "ugly" Americans, but, once again, the proud people who set the standard for the rest of the world. I'd like to see Americans being proud of a job well-done, rather than making excuses for not doing the job that needs to be done because it doesn't pay enough.

However, that is not going to happen when kids allegedly from the Jersey Shore earn multiple millions of dollars for being drunk in public, talking trash, physically assaulting other people, acting like whores, and pretending that they are role models for today's youth. If they are showing the rest of us how to make a success of our lives, America needs a full body cleanse!