Icon or Iconoclast? Celebrity throughout our ages.

Originally written 10/20/06

Being in our early 20s, we're now at the age when we've been alive long enough to witness the progression of basically a generation of celebrities. We're from the era of children who were raised on TV and TV tag; that is an equal proportion of media and the outdoors. While children today are being raised exclusively with technology, I feel as though we have a better grasp of reality.

This leads me to my first question: What the fuck has happened to our favorite celebrities? I was never into tabloids before VH1 recently over-took, some would say destroyed, my life and now I'm completely entranced by the seemingly endless changes in celebrities who were once picture-perfect icons.

Today, I ask you, "Icon or iconoclast?"

Tom Cruise
Here's a guy who was once the poster-child for Hollywood. He can now be seen on morning talk shows psycho-babbling about things he knows nothing of and calling people "glib", on daytime TV jumping on couches while professing his love for someone half his age and on magazine covers with his co-stars in life, Katie and Suri. Tom, do you even know the origin of Scientology?!?!

Brad Pitt
Once dubbed "The Sexiest Man Alive," I feel as though Angelina Jolie has transformed our favorite stud into an egotistical recluse. Both the quantity and quality of Brad's recent films have plummeted and, aside from baby-making, the most we've heard of Brad include the following: 1.) He was quoted as saying that he would not marry Angelina Jolie until it was legal for homosexuals to marry and 2.) issues regarding Hurricane Katrina relief. While both are noble efforts :::cough:::, who the fuck do you think you are?! Oh Brad, I long for your Jackass days again...

Britney Spears
What took Tom and Brad 10-20 years to ruin, Britney accomplished in just 5 short years. When I was in high school, she was "IT"; guys wanted her and girls wanted to be her. Suddenly, the cracks began to show after her much publicized split from my personal fav, Mr. JT (what you got for me?). Rumors of heavy smoking, drinking, partying and late-night dance-offs in hot LA nightclubs swirled. She got married randomly in Vegas and then she got married randomly in real life, which was the beginning of the end because someone said, "Let there be 'Chaotic.'" And now, she has dark hair, a white trash lifestyle and 1,000,000,000.3874 babies.

I can totally understand why reality shows like "Breaking Bonaduce" are wildly popular. They completely exploit not the icon, but the iconoclast. We have these images in our heads from childhood that stick with us throughout our lives. When what we've known deviates from what we're seeing, it's like sensory input overload (i.e. pure devastation).

What I guess I'm saying is that we really need to promote the cultivation and development of some really great publish relations people so that our children won't feel the same devastation we feel when a childhood icon goes from just that to an adulthood iconoclast.