Smart Alec
Writing by treason on Saturday, 28 of April , 2007 at 7:58 am
It was on The View: Alec Baldwin, sandwiched between Rosie O’Donnell and Barbara Walters, revealed that he is willing to walk away from his career – just stop acting – because the tabloids have been so unkind to him. These professional gossips, says Baldwin, are people who are so full of “self-hatred and shame” that the only way they can manage their feelings is to lash out at others and destroy their lives.
Psychologists will tell you that actors, too, are full of the same self-hatred and shame, and they explain that this is why actors want to be other people and not themselves. Baldwin says it’s the tabloid types who want to destroy you and “reveal your secrets.” Don’t biologists call this symbiosis?
Celebrities and the tabloids are dependent on one another, that’s understood, and there are no complaints when the consequences of that relationship are beneficial for both parties. Yet when the relationship doesn’t work out… well, it starts sounding a lot like marriage. Or at least the Baldwin marriage. Aren’t these two trying to destroy each other? Aren’t they revealing each other’s secrets to the public?
I’m reminded of the pair, captured by the tabloids in happier days, when rumors swirled about the twosome’s political future. Remember the perfect photos of the perfect couple, and the stories that they were the next Bill and Hillary or Jack and Jackie?
There was, ironically, a nugget of truth there: like the other couples they’ve been compared to, Kim and Alec have had some marital issues. And just because the marriage is over, it doesn’t mean the drama has ended. And it doesn’t mean Baldwin’s political ambitions have been put to bed. It must have occurred to Alec that the infamous phone message he left for his daughter might put a damper on his political future. This would explain the mea culpa, the claim that he wants to put acting behind him, and the declaration that he wants to devote his life to exposing injustice perpetrated upon fathers – oh, did he mention he’s writing a book about parental alienation?
Generally when celebrities want to show the world that they intend to turn over a new leaf they sit down with Barbara Walters for an interview and one or both of them weep on camera. When Alec touched Barbara’s knee, she recoiled. Now if Barbara doesn’t buy your story, no one will.
The Baldwin brothers all seem to have issues, but Stephen seems to have found some degree of happiness in Christianity. Unlike the other Baldwins, Stephen isn’t so quick to criticize the current president. Is Stephen acting? I don’t think anyone would suggest that he’s a better actor than his brother Alec. Is Alec acting? It would appear so.
Baldwin has no qualms about saying things that might destroy other people – there’s a long list of individuals who have been skewered by him. Yet when he is the recipient of harsh words, he threatens to end his career. “I don’t need this,” he says. I’m sure George Bush doesn’t need the criticism, either, yet he doesn’t tell Barbara Walters that he’s ready to give it all up and head back to Crawford.
If Baldwin is still considering a future in politics, he might just want to study someone who knows how to handle bad press.
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