Due to the level of their fame and income, most people don't seem to hold much sympathy for celebrities whom take their own lives. After news broke of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death via a drug overdose last week, while many appeared to mourn his demise, a majority of people appeared to show little to no sympathy - stating that the sad ending to his story was his fault and his fault alone. While Hoffman may have been the one to inject himself with the heroin that ended his life, often times I think there are a host of other factors at play in such situations, and unlike many people I personally know, I hold a great amount of sympathy for the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman.
I'm by no means a big-name celebrity, but would classify myself as an artist, whose mind tends to function differently than most. While I love expressing myself creatively and rarely ever lack ideas in order to do that, there are times the seemingly constant array of ideas overwhelm me with work and limit me in other areas of life. Due to this, while I've never consumed any illegal drugs - outside of marijuana on a couple of occasions during my college years - I do find myself drinking alcohol on Friday nights in order to slow down my creative thinking and to push me out of the house and into the social scene. If this didn't take place, chances are I would continue working at the computer and wind up becoming a full-time hermit. There are times when this attempt at balancing my professional and social life becomes next to impossible. There are times I get into a zone for a week, and even on Friday night, I have a difficult time getting myself away from the computer. Then there are other such nights when I may have one too many drinks and have a hard time ending my rare social occasion. Most jobs consist of specific times and specific assignments which to complete. Artists' minds are their jobs, and there are times when the lack of specificity with regard to guidelines allows our minds to wander a bit too far in one direction or another, which can lead to a number of problems. As the saying goes, "There's a fine line between genius and insanity."
Philip Seymour Hoffman and other big-name stars likely go through the same day-to-day issues that I and other lesser known artists do, but on a far grander scale. In addition to everything I already discussed, they have the media to deal with, the temptations that come with a lot of money, pressure, agents, critics, fans, stalkers, etc. Some are so well known, it becomes virtually impossible to go outside their home without being spotted and approached by someone. It's why some such celebrities will attempt to disguise themselves before going out. Most of these people whom approach such stars are curious and/or obsessed about their work and don't know them for who they actually are. While many people in this country, due to the NSA revelations, wonder how much privacy we actually have, it's still nowhere near the lack of privacy big-name celebrities possess. How would most of us react if we couldn't leave the house without reporters in our face? If we couldn't enjoy a quiet night out with some family, friends, or a spouse? If we wanted to go out and get a little crazy without worrying about news organizations getting a hold of footage and spreading the stories in the coming hours, days, or weeks? If the only place where we felt somewhat free from privacy invasion was in our basement, with all the lights off and blinds closed throughout the house?
The media and society, in general, are obsessed with celebrities. This is especially true in this day and age, where, with 24-hour news networks and the Internet, we report more stories than we know what to do with. While I wish Philip Seymour Hoffman and other such celebrities would resort to other means for their issues than drugs, I can understand why they do so. Not only is there a fine line between genius and insanity, that line becomes finer with a decrease in privacy.
I'm by no means a big-name celebrity, but would classify myself as an artist, whose mind tends to function differently than most. While I love expressing myself creatively and rarely ever lack ideas in order to do that, there are times the seemingly constant array of ideas overwhelm me with work and limit me in other areas of life. Due to this, while I've never consumed any illegal drugs - outside of marijuana on a couple of occasions during my college years - I do find myself drinking alcohol on Friday nights in order to slow down my creative thinking and to push me out of the house and into the social scene. If this didn't take place, chances are I would continue working at the computer and wind up becoming a full-time hermit. There are times when this attempt at balancing my professional and social life becomes next to impossible. There are times I get into a zone for a week, and even on Friday night, I have a difficult time getting myself away from the computer. Then there are other such nights when I may have one too many drinks and have a hard time ending my rare social occasion. Most jobs consist of specific times and specific assignments which to complete. Artists' minds are their jobs, and there are times when the lack of specificity with regard to guidelines allows our minds to wander a bit too far in one direction or another, which can lead to a number of problems. As the saying goes, "There's a fine line between genius and insanity."
Philip Seymour Hoffman and other big-name stars likely go through the same day-to-day issues that I and other lesser known artists do, but on a far grander scale. In addition to everything I already discussed, they have the media to deal with, the temptations that come with a lot of money, pressure, agents, critics, fans, stalkers, etc. Some are so well known, it becomes virtually impossible to go outside their home without being spotted and approached by someone. It's why some such celebrities will attempt to disguise themselves before going out. Most of these people whom approach such stars are curious and/or obsessed about their work and don't know them for who they actually are. While many people in this country, due to the NSA revelations, wonder how much privacy we actually have, it's still nowhere near the lack of privacy big-name celebrities possess. How would most of us react if we couldn't leave the house without reporters in our face? If we couldn't enjoy a quiet night out with some family, friends, or a spouse? If we wanted to go out and get a little crazy without worrying about news organizations getting a hold of footage and spreading the stories in the coming hours, days, or weeks? If the only place where we felt somewhat free from privacy invasion was in our basement, with all the lights off and blinds closed throughout the house?
The media and society, in general, are obsessed with celebrities. This is especially true in this day and age, where, with 24-hour news networks and the Internet, we report more stories than we know what to do with. While I wish Philip Seymour Hoffman and other such celebrities would resort to other means for their issues than drugs, I can understand why they do so. Not only is there a fine line between genius and insanity, that line becomes finer with a decrease in privacy.
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