Americans love to think of film and television stars as ordinary people. We hold dear to this belief, because if it’s true, it means the only thing between us and them is a bit of talent, work and luck. In order to keep this dream alive, we mere mortals require that stars tow the line. If they get too big for their britches (think: Tom Cruise) we reserve the right to put them in their place. Perhaps they’ll rise again, but only after eating some serious humble pie and begging for forgiveness. Enter Charlie Sheen. If his recent antics tell us anything, it’s that stardom is very different from every day life. Not only that, says Neal Gabler in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, but Sheen is breaking this contract intentionally, even flagrantly. He’s loving his porn-star, cocaine-infused rock star life – and you’re not, because you're different. And that’s just fine with him. Is this the real reason people are griping about Sheen – because he’s broken the contract and revealed our dreams as total fantasy? Is he just walking the walk of fame unapologetically? Or might he be the next star desperately seeking absolution and rehab?
Guest:
Neal Gabler, author of "He's Charlie Sheen, and you're not" for the Los Angeles Times; Journalist and Senior Fellow at the Norman Lear Center at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC