| Show take advantage of fame Martin Kaplan Special to the Los Angeles Times Juror It was a comment by No 8 that nailed the weirdest t aspect of it Even thou though h hes he's s sa said a superstar hes he's human Melissa Herard of Michael Jackson after his acquittal last week To me hes he's just a normal normal normal nor nor- mal person and you could say sayto sayto sayto to him Hey what's up p It made him real in my mind Whoa The notion that Michael Jackson is just a normal person is by itself breathtaking taking but the the fant fantasy sy of a casual friendship with him is stranger yet and cuts to the core of our cult of ty These jurors are not fools They knew about the dangled baby the bizarre plastic surgery the sleeping with boys the toxic entourage and andall andall andall all the other danger signs of narcissism Nevertheless they like the waving sign-waving fans outside the Santa Maria Calif courthouse and like the rest of us watching on TV at home were apparently willing willing willing will will- ing to give Jackson a chance to demonstrate that he has a normal even healthy relationship relationship relationship relation relation- ship with his own celebrity These days we all think we know what's behind the image curtain Des Despite i e the dreams bf marketers and press agents we are not merely marks for their cons pigeons for their mesmerism sitting ducks for their shoots uncritical cal consumers of their confected confected confected con- con narratives We know the payroll stars have to carry not only agent manager lawyer and accountant accountant accountant tant but also stylist publicist personal assistant personal trainer plus the high school friends laws in-laws stammers and ups suck-ups endemic to any sized decent-sized entourage We know the machinery it takes to airbrush photos approve interview bylines plant column column column col col- col- col items muzzle nannies appear humble and blame mug shots on tragic addic addic- We know about the romances faux-romances and why stars submit to them and the faux social causes and why they embrace them We know all about the big falls courageous rehabs rediscovered spiritualities spiritual spiritual- and staged plucky come come- backs Yet knowing all this we also know that stars are different differ differ- ent from us It is not their talent talent talent tal tal- tal- tal ent that creates that distinction distinction distinction tion but their celebrity itself Their famousness gives them theman an aura confers a magic on them They are not only magnets mao mao- mag mag- nets for our attention they are e magnets for our fantasies And of all the yearnings we project o on them the most potent is this If they knew us they would like us If we can believe that of our then we are capable of forgiving them just about any any- thing If we can maintain the fans fan's delusion that our stars would like to have a latte with us that that the only thing that's p preventing us from being friends with them is access then there is no crime w we won wont won't t consider acquitting T them them of that after all is what what mends friends are for In that sense we will all be J jurors for the Phil trial J just st as SS we were all jurors for MIchael Jackson Robert Blake ake aM Martha Stewart Kobe Bryant Mike Tyson O OJ J Simpson and all the other brought to the bar of Celebrities Continued on page 11 r Celebrities Continued from Page 8 justice From now to the end- end times cable news and the rest of the degraded infotainment infotainment infotainment ment industry formerly known as journalism will force-feed force us famous dant trial news like foie gras geese and we will feel as though we are spending as much time hearing testimony as the impaneled dozen in inthe inthe inthe the courtroom Although we may believe we are assessing the evidence deep down down or maybe shallow we will also be deciding whether the defendant is just a normal person whether we could say Hey what's up to the accused and not get treated like an insect or a stalker Audiences are juries Our saturated entertainment-saturated society society society soci soci- ety puts us in a juridical relationship relationship relationship rela rela- with all famous people people people peo peo- all the time Trials only heighten that drama We may pride ourselves on our antennae antennae antennae anten anten- nae for authenticity believing believing believing ing its it's possible to spot the difference between keepin it real and a star who's merely good at faking intimacy intimacy intimacy inti inti- macy with us But as Oscar Wilde Vilde said To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up |
