By Sevanand Gaddala
Checking into rehab is the new trend now. In the past year, a slew of celebrities like Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Robert Downey Junior and Kate Moss have voluntarily sought help to kick drugs and booze.
This has opened up all sorts of debate and discussions and though no consensus has been reached, we – the ordinary people – can only look on amused as one after another, celebrities check into rehabs.
For a long time now it was considered shameful to admit addictions or even depression. But celebrities seeking help has added a whole new dimension to this issue.
Seeking help in a way smacks of arrogance. The subtle message sent out is that they are too special and their talent too burdensome to handle and so they need help to sort out matters.
We can only look on bemused as celebrities check into rehab to try and curb behaviour, which gets them into news in the first place and keeps them active in the fame game.
Another detrimental effect of celebrities doing time in rehab is the distorted picture one gets of their treatment and healing process. Most of them spend just two weeks to a month in a rehab centre, hardly enough time to get a complete or proper treatment. They just seem to pop in and out at will.
These stints also glamourise what should essentially be a private and introspective period. Instead, there is constant media glare and a dangerous, reckless lifestyle being highlighted.
The sheer number of celebrities in rehab also makes it seem like such stints are out of reach for ordinary people. Most people wouldn’t consider it as an option. People also don’t understand that even a month in rehab is just a start. True healing takes months, years and even a lifetime of commitment and fortitude.
The ugliest aspect of celebrities checking into rehab is the danger of it being a publicity stunt. There are many celebrities who are simply famous for being famous. They will never have a hit movie or a chart topping song. And the only currency for fame they might have is the attention they can garner by voluntarily checking into rehab.
But all this attention has also made the public more sympathetic towards our celebrities. We get a glimpse into the pressure filled, stressed out, cut throat world they live in. In essence, celebrities are people just like us except that the media creates an image for them, which they and the media keep trying to bolster up.
Actors and musicians have to spend a great amount of energy in short spans of time when they have to work for 10 to 12 hours a day or tour with the band for weeks on end. And an easy tempting way to cope with this is with drugs and alcohol. It is when they fall that they seem most human and, therefore, most like us.
There is no telling how long this trend of checking into rehab will last. But there is no doubt that it is just a trend and over time will peter out. After all, this is Hollywood.
(Sevanand Gaddala is a writer on cinema and can be contacted at [email protected])