My Mumbling Thoughts

This past week I have been watching way too much TV.

Way too much.

I used to not like American TV. When I was away (and even a bit before I left), I hardly watched any TV, and the time I did spend in front of it, I mostly watched British reality shows. Whenever I'd come back home and flip on the telly, it was too much for me to handle in one go. American TV, if you're not used to it (or have been away from it for a long period of time), can be very In Your Face at times and is DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA all the time. Our morning news channels, our entertainment channels, our reality TV, our sit down sitcoms, everything. It's always very over the top and can be a tad over dramatized.

BUT, once you get used to it, god it can be addicting. I can't get enough of it now, and for the past two weeks I have relinquished any kind of responsibility to finding a job or doing any kind of productive writing, and have instead taken to watching anything that's on TV. And what have I learned in the past week that the television has taught me?

We are all crazy.

And it's cool. But we're all definitely bat shit crazy.

Just this past week, I've watched countless episodes of E! True Hollywood Story. Oh my goodness y'all, I love this show. I have always loved this show, but when you watch so many back to back, it can really have an effect on you. I watched one about kidnappings, which frightened me so much, now every time I hear a noise in the house I swear it's some pedophile trying to break in to kidnap me and keep me locked away in some motel room for months. I watch all of these stories about famous people who have hard times, and either manage to overcome it and make extraordinary comebacks, or eventually lose their battle with the limelight and are forever remembered as an icon who left a prominent mark on the entertainment industry.

One of my favorite episodes is the one about Christina Aguilera. When the pop stars like Christina, Britney, Mandy and all of the boy bands were first emerging, I was going through that phase where everything pop was retarded, and so I never admitted to liking her music. I thought she was just some air head pop star and I was showing how cool I was by not buying her albums, but instead listening to Linkin' Park and screaming about how I felt misunderstood. Little did I know that I'd eventually morph into one of her biggest fans and grow to admire her as a person and acknowledge her amazing talent. Now I can say that I am a full fledged Christina fan, and have boundless respect for her.

This week was also the premiere of Oprah's 24th season, and she opened with a two-day show and a very candid interview with the legendary Whitney Houston. I had been waiting for ages, as most of the world has, and I was eager to hear what she had to say about her seven year absence.

It was awesome.

That interview with Oprah and Whitney Houston was awesome. And I don't care what anyone else says.

Bless Whitney Houston, for being so open, so honest and just telling it like it is. Her voice was a little scratchy, and it sounded like she could have done with some water, but I totally understood where she was coming from. Her life is obviously ten thousand times bigger than mine, so her stories were on a much grander scale, but nonetheless it was the same. I related to Whitney. I felt where she was coming from. I knew what she meant when she said that she used drugs to cover up the pain, how she can sometimes have the desire for it, and trying to take it one day at a time. I knew what she meant when she was talking about her attraction to Bobby and how they had passion for the passion, and how the relationship eventually became destructive. She was trying to find herself, like we all try to do. She just had to do it very publicly and was criticized every step of the way.

When E! updates her True Hollywood Story, she will be one of the entertainers that makes it out to the other side.

Then there is of course, this past Sunday's antics at the 2009 Mtv Video Music Awards with Kanye West showing how much of a dick he can be. I watched on as it happened live and cringed, and felt so horrible for sweet Taylor Swift who was so genuinely shocked and excited. And then not so excited.

I rarely get too upset or thrown by things that famous people do these days, because I'm like, meh, they're famous. But this whole hullabaloo really upset me, because it was rude and humiliating to Taylor. Regardless if people like her music or what their opinions were about who should have won, it was her moment and he ruined it for her. I don't like rude people, and I certainly do not like Kanye West (although his songs are damn catchy).

People are saying that it was staged for one reason or another, but I don't care either way. On Sunday we all saw Kanye West make an ass out of himself and now he's having to live with the aftermath. He even stated on Jay Leno that he was going to take some time off to reflect on himself, which I think is probably for the best. We all need that kind of time. Whitney Houston took seven years. I'm taking time off now. There's nothing wrong with it.

These famous people, these superstars, these icons, these legends - they're all people. They're all humans who have problems just like you and me. They all have talent (well, most of them) and we place them up high on these pedestals and then set unimaginable standards for them to constantly live up to; no wonder most of them go off the deep end and lose themselves. I can barely live up to my own expectations, let alone everyone else's. Why should we expect them to be any different? But we do, and then we judge them.

It must be hard to live under those bright lights and try to please everyone. I used to say that it was their choice to be famous, so they have to live with the consequences, but I don't think that anymore. In some cases, yes, people are simply famous because they're famous, and bring on a lot of unwanted attention to themselves. But musicians, actors and other famous personalities are just trying to make it like the rest of us. They make movies, or they sing songs. That's their jobs, we should let them do it and give them some peace. Otherwise we end up tearing down the people we helped raise up, and that's not good for anybody.