In our time

I really don't care about Britney Spears, but her latest breakdown strangely fascinates me. In a long, sensationalistic story about her run-in with the police and her subsequent hospitalization, the UK tabloid News of the World ends with these paragraphs:

Freed Britney Spears is set to reveal all about her week of hell next week on a TV show.

She will bare her soul to celebrity shrink Dr Phil McGraw, a top daytime talk host, after he dashed to her hospital bedside and did a deal yesterday.

“My meeting with Britney leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention,” he said in an exclusive statement to Entertainment Tonight and The Insider.

She records the show tomorrow for screening on Wednesday. News clips are predicted to pull a world audience of more than a billion. A pal said: “It was all Britney’s mum’s idea.”

The image of Dr. Phil racing to Britney's bedside to do a TV deal that was all Britney's mother's idea ... Words fail me. It's too perfect. Tom Wolfe couldn't make this stuff up.

Comments

[william]

If America had a terrorist attack on wed night and the dr Phil show on Britney aired my bet is on the Britney show getting better ratings than the terrorist attack.

Who said give them circuses and treats and you can own them.

Got to go entrainment tonight is on. Never miss it. I have heard that Paris is dating Britney’s ex k-fed.

[MarkL]

Britney is a horrible example of what fame does to someone who's not prepared for it or properly guided by a mature and experienced mentor.

[Michael H]

CBS had numerous promos during the football game about Dr. Phil's scheduled appearance to share his wisdom about Britney on The Early Show tomorrow. I’m sure he won’t miss the opportunity to plug his special.

I had commented in an earlier thread that Britney's travails were illustrative of "adventures in consciousness", but in all honesty, it's a tragic story. This all being viewed by the good Doctor and Britney's family as an opportunity to additionally line their already gilded pockets says more than the English language has the capacity for, to paraphrase MP. I’ve felt for some time now that Dr. Phil should explain the psychology that allows one to enrich themselves upon other’s plight. I’ll be sure to tune in for that program. Maybe he could invite Brit’s mom to share her parenting wisdom as well, now that she’s tabled her book.

As for Britney herself; with everything that's transpired to this point, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see her precede most of us into the afterlife. If so, she won't be the first celebrity to fall victim to the trappings of wealth and fame, nor the last.

[william]

As Emmanuel states somewhere in Emmanuel’s book one that wealth and fame can often be greater struggles in life than poverty. She appears to give creditability to this statement. This may be one of the most watched shows in the year 2008.

Hey I have heard that Johnny Carson’s most watched show was tiny Tim getting married on his show.

near the end of the roman era of power there were 135 shows per year in their large arena to keep the citizens happy.

[Art]

As for Britney herself; with everything that's transpired to this point, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see her precede most of us into the afterlife. - Michael H
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have my own theory as to why so many celebrities seem to leave this life early. If the purpose of life is to become a separate, unique, individual once these celebrities become so well know by so many people they have fulfilled the requirement of having a separate, unique, self. Perhaps the collective consciousness of the human species knowing who they are helps in that requirement. Solidifying the self.

[Kevin]

I have to disagree with Art's supposition regarding those who seek fame and celebrity and its consequent effects on the brevity of their lives. The primary motivation for fame is attention, the seekers hoping to alleviate their feelings of insecurity by becoming "somebody". Those who manage to achieve their goal, to whatever extent, discover that their sense of security does not rise, the holes are not filled by mass adulation or the material trappings of wealth. The importance of the approval of others to the individual sense of self-worth can be seen from the earliest years of development when a child will perform whatever particular action with the plea "Mommy, Daddy, look at ME".The responses of attention by parents are a critical support mechanism to the developing psyche of the child. If it is lacking, the child will look outside of the family structure. Is there any wonder why those who feel the need to put themselves on display as performers have such high rates of drug/alcohol abuse, divorce and suicide? There is not a large percentage of those who need to become entertainers that the psychological community considers to be "well-adjusted". A famous quote from the late Marlon Brando illustrates the self-absorbtion of such personalities, when he said that an actor is a person who, "if you ain't talking about him, ain't listening".When the many tragic and unhappy accounts of such people past and present are taken into consideration, it would seem to indicate that the purpose of our lives is far more than to separate ourselves into "unique individuals" who are all too often shown to be grasping, needy, shallow, superficial and emotionally crippled;persons who, we could successfully argue, would not seem able to add anything significantly positive to the collective consciousness.That such people leave this life comparatively quickly appears to have more to do with self-destruction than attainment of purpose, unless they have a predestined purpose to act as examples for those of us who aren't misled by the superficialities of celebrity.

[Teabinge]

It's certainly good for Dr Phil's business BUT he may also do some good för Britney.
Presumably, Britney has gotten a narcissistic problem amongs other possible emotional problems (due to the exploitation of her false identity, by media and by us consumers). To bring this into focus with the limelights on would interact with her psyche differently from merely having a conventional therapeutic contact with her. A greater impact on Britney, so to say. Hopefully it's for the better.

[Michael Prescott]

In his book The Soul's Code, Jungian therapist James Hillman argues that entertainers and artists can best be understood as possessed by a daimon - not a demon in the Judeo-Christian sense, but an inborn calling that prompts them to become the person they were meant to be. He gives countless examples of famous people who were driven, almost against their will, to seek the limelight. He suggests that their frequent emotional breakdowns are a result of the subconscious conflict between the psyche and the daimon. It's as if the person were being ridden like a horse to the point of exhaustion and collapse.

I'm not endorsing this thesis, but it is intriguing. The book makes fascinating reading, if only for its many insights into the nature and price of fame.

[Michael H]

"If the purpose of life is to become a separate, unique, individual . . ." - Art

I suspect this is a flawed assumption, Art. It's the idea that we're somehow separate that causes all of humanity’s problems in the first place - from Britney’s and other’s self-destruction, to Dr. Phil’s massive ego, to terrorism, war and genocide. My best guess is that our purpose is not to become separate and unique, but to realize our essential unity.

[Barbara]

I'm not sure I'd agree with The Soul's Code's thesis either, though it looks like an interesting read, and I never cease to be amazed by which people (or why) actually make the news or become celebrities. I wonder, though, if some child stars (and pretty heiresses) don't sometimes become so accustomed to attention that they'll do anything to keep the focus on them, even if it's bizarre or illegal. Others seem content to retire into obscurity --- or to make a real, serious, adult career for themselves, as Ron Howard has done. I'm not sure any of them is to blame for taking the wrong road, once they've been set on a course as children, since the rest may simply be a roll of the personality dice, or learned coping skills.

They say the mark of true character is how we behave under stress, but many of us never have the opportunity to learn how to manage stress properly as kids. It seems wrong to put all the blame on the individual in those cases, though I think we have to be legally accountable for any harm we do.

[J. Carson Black]

Certainly grist for the mill. ;)

[Kevin]

Michael's mention of Hillman's thesis is certainly interesting. In my 20's I had rejected much which Jung had put forth, particularly his concept of the collective unconscious, but was later compelled by personal experiences to reconsider this. Today I have a decidedly different opinion of that concept, though I have reservations about the ubiquity of the archetypes. I had not considered the idea of the daimon(with which I have some little familiarity)in the case of Spears, but I agree that the notion has some fascinating aspects on its own.I know it was considered as more a "guardian angel/advisor" by the Greeks who put forth the concept (Socrates' daimon comes to mind) than its derivative "demon" with its negative connotations. A number of experiences have made me wonder whether I have had "daimonic" interventions of my own, but that's another story. I suspect that too few "wanna-be's" will take this public meltdown as a cautionary tale, but that is another (very old) story, as well.More's the pity.