The death of Cory Monteith on July 13 shocked the Glee community and fans worldwide. With the cause of death attributed to an overdose of heroin and alcohol, his long struggle with drugs is more evidence of a generation in trouble. Something has happened to the bold and beautiful young people who sing to us, meet us in the evening for our favourite TV shows and dazzle us on the big screen.
Without doubt, these celebrities have to grow up quickly. Is access to a lot of money while in their formative years the culprit in feeding their addictions? Social networking has definitely changed the game. Who do these budding stars turn to for positive role models?
Amy Winehouse died at 27, Heath Ledger at 28, Brittany Murphy at 32 and now Monteith is found dead in a Vancouver hotel room at 31. They all struggled with substance abuse. It may appear the spotlight cultivates this lifestyle, or more accurately fame exposes it. We could speculate, but most of us have not experienced the pressure of scrutiny and surveillance as these celebs have since they were teenagers, some even earlier.
The cautionary tales of famous people dying young is not a new phenomenon, nor are their addictions. Yet as a parent, I worry about the message that our current batch of teen and young adult celebrities are sending our children.
Young girls connected with the lovable red-haired Lindsay Lohan in Disney’s The Parent Trap and then again as the strong-willed, independent teen in Freaky Friday. We cheered for her to overcome bullying in Mean Girls and felt like she represented a wholesome take on stardom. She was nonconforming, the likable girl next door, a fresh-faced talent.
Now what do girls see in Lohan? The once positive role model has abused drugs, driven drunk, faced multiple arrests and has bounced in and out of rehab. What went wrong?
Peer pressure is taking place on a large scale, transferred through our celebrity-consumed culture. When famous people such as Winehouse drink to survive, or like Monteith use drugs to cope, the message is that it is acceptable to handle stress and struggle in this way. Somehow a crutch has become cool; rehab is an attractive escape.
The media never fail to propagate these messages; positive role models, on the other hand, are less newsworthy. None of us want more premature celebrity deaths. While I don’t know what will save the stars, my focus is on the generation of kids growing up hungry for role models.
Let’s shift the spotlight. Tell me more about America Ferrera’s mission to promote positive body image. Fill magazines with photographs of Jennifer Lawrence and her hips that make me and millions of other women feel normal. Let us hear more from Jennifer Hudson who models health and curve power. I want my daughter to look up to women like these.
I’d like to know about Emma Watson’s courses at Brown University or Natalie Portman’s experience at Harvard. Let’s get an interview with Dakota Fanning about her schooling at New York University.
Let’s see Nicki Minaj’s work with Get Schooled, an education-focused not-for-profit. Show us more photos of Justin Bieber with kids in the Make a Wish Foundation. Tell us all how Daniel Radcliffe, the Harry Potter star, successfully manages his neurological disorder dyspraxia.
I want to hear more from Matthew Perry, the Friends star, who has openly shared his lifelong struggles with substance abuse. He is a lucky one who avoided the list of the youthful departed. For Perry, rehab and years of treatment proved successful. He now is able to help others. His project, a transitional house for men between rehab and real life, called the Perry House, is making a difference.
Our generation of young people needs to be inspired. That’s what it comes down to. Let the media’s brainwash not be about human failings, but point us instead to the amazing individuals making this world and themselves better every day. Then maybe being bad won’t seem so cool.
Alexis Marie Chute is a visual artist, photographer and creative writer, and the mother of two young children.
