I know a lot of people out there are sick of hearing about Charlie but I for one am not. Why?
Because in a way, he is actually winning!
How, you ask. Well the main reason is this: he did not follow the usual busted celebrity process of checking out from the public view, going to rehab for a few weeks (or months), then coming back and making a formal apology to everyone in the world, pretending to be truly sorry and then regaining his original respect prior to the event.
Instead he subverted this whole process. He metaphorically stuck his middle finger up at mainstream media and basically said, "Screw you, this is ME and if you don't like it bad luck." It was a real Rage Against The Machine moment ("F..K you I won't do what you tell me!" - 'Killing In The Name'), completely punk, and the kind of renegade behaviour we haven't seen from any popular artist in a long time. And in Australia at least, he has gained a lot of respect.
Australia has a long tradition of rooting for the rebel. Its history is steeped in anti-authoritarian sentiment (though this is showing signs of changing in the last decade or so). And one Australian radio presenter from Nova FM, Scott Dooley, aka Dools, has formed something of a friendship with Charlie in recent weeks and the Aussie audience is loving it!
Check out this 40 sec clip of Dools and Charlie Sheen creating a short film together at Charlie's "Sobre Valley Lodge": http://www.novafm.com.au/video_operation-greyhound-sneak-peek_110517
The clip is part of a short film they're making together on a "secret" project Charlie has in mind ... I think it's got something to do with getting his Greyhound bus back from the Warner Bros Lot. But Dooley also scored many other audio interviews with the star in which they are clearly getting along like a house on fire. Check them out on the Nova website to hear many different sides of Charlie Sheen and his apparent appreciation for someone actually getting what he's doing.
However, it's not just Australia that has fallen for Charlie's charms, the rest of the world seems to support him too. Why? Because he has connected with regular people by being HUMAN. He has connected with them by showing them that he is flawed and not being embarrassed about it but instead being proud of it, embracing it even. That is what makes Charlie Sheen's recent publicity so profound in the world of celebrity.
So often we mere mortals are presented with the glossy shine of celebrity status, many of us feeling unfulfilled for not reaching the same kinds of highs (excuse the pun) in our own lives, all the while imagining these people have flawless lives. They don't. And Charlie Sheen proves it without apologising. That is a refreshing approach to a very stale and outdated view of celebrities and their usual terribly insincere public apologies.
In the beginning I thought Charlie was off his rocker, but it's clips like this and the Funny or Die one that make me think he's sober and in charge of his career. He really seems like he's cool with making fun of himself and that he's having fun with it.
ReplyDeleteHe's also making smoking look cool again.
I absolutely agree Cardiogirl. It's great to see him having fun with the media circus and using modern media tools to keep his career alive. As a long time smoker, he is making it look cool but believe me, it's not :P
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