by Tyler Hersko
Justin Bieber had one helluva 2013. His list of activities included: public urination, a pit stop at a Brazilian brothel, international monkey smuggling, a bizarre outburst against Bill Clinton and — perhaps worst of all — the horrific discovery that the pop sensation may have used a dangerous narcotic known as marijuana.
As Bieber has matured, so has his image, but few would say for the better. Unfortunately, the new year has not been kind to the world’s richest teenager. Bieber was incarcerated last Thursday after a brief stint of drunk (and apparently high off of pot and prescription drugs) drag racing in the wee hours of the morning. While he was released shortly after, all signs are pointing towards the devolution of the kid that created “Baby” into nothing more than a large, irate prison inmate’s “baby.”
Oh, I’m sorry. Is that funny? Well, it shouldn’t be.
After all, if you’ve heard the same joke ad nauseam, it loses its luster. And Bieber’s yearlong public breakdown is hardly anything new. There’s a disturbing trend of child superstars who “grow up” into dysfunctional and self-destructive adults.
Amanda Bynes? The star of Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” (R.I.P.) was only recently released from a mental hospital. Her mother still has indefinite control over the 27-year-old’s well being.
Britney Spears? Jesus Christ, don’t get me started.
At the time of this writing, one of the first Google results for “Lindsay Lohan” reads: “Is Justin Bieber Headed for Lindsay Lohan Land?” Oh boy.
Bieber’s little public meltdowns are as unexpected as they are humorous. This is a loaded question, but if social media feeds and a plethora of terribly written news articles are any indication, it needs to be asked: Why are people deriving pleasure from the needless breakdown of an innocent kid whose only fault — prior to the shit hitting the fan, anyway — was creating some mediocre pop music that provided immeasurable enjoyment to an unprecedented number of music fans?
Excuse the self-righteousness. I have no intention of defending Bieber because, at the end of the day, he’s still the jackass that pissed in a hapless janitor’s bucket and egged his neighbor’s house. That said, few would argue that the downward spiral so common of child and teen celebrities is anything but a coincidence.
Instead, I prefer to shift at least a portion of the blame on what I like to call the “corporate music machine.” That is, the record labels and companies with a blatant disregard for artistic integrity that churn out the same post-processed garbage in the vein of Owl City or One Direction with the intention of making easy money.
I’ll spare you a lengthy socio-psychological lecture on the impressionability of young adults and instead raise a second question: If you take a child or teenager and thrust them into an environment where their every action is endlessly debated and train them to do nothing other than sell records, concert tickets and merchandise, what exactly do you think is going to happen?
It isn’t going to last. Indeed, it’s probably going to blow up in your face.
Yes, people should be accountable for their own actions, but it’d be foolish to ignore the influence pop culture has on consumers and celebrities alike. Post-Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus, for example, has been a rather outspoken critic of the stifling aspects associated with child stardom.
During an interview on “The Conversation,” Cyrus lamented that “I feel I was so trained in my interviews to be All-American or whatever…I guess I kind of realized that my whole life isn’t one giant press junket.”
Like Bieber, Cyrus attracted her fair share of controversy last year, albeit of a different sort. Once a Disney star and heroine for young girls everywhere, 2013 Cyrus was infamous for her new sexual image and single-handedly making “twerking” an actual thing. As a result, she was subject to a great deal of backlash, with many critics decrying her supposed status as a role model.
If Cyrus is put into perspective, her biggest crime is having some really shitty looking pigtails. She’s done nothing that countless celebrity women before her haven’t done, and that’s really not a bad thing. The only difference is, Cyrus used to be on a children’s television show.
So, here’s a third and final question: Why, given the history of young stars and starlets publicly self-destructing, do we as a society allow such individuals to become role models?
It’s not just an issue for the celebrities in question, though watching the Biebers and Spears of the world ruin themselves is hardly a minor problem. When such celebrities are shoved down the throats of every pop culture consumer, they become dominating factors in our lives.
For the average individual, I’d argue that plastering young stars over media outlets has an inherent tendency to create unrealistic expectations that are no less poisonous than advertisements perpetuating feminine body shaping or the importance of masculinity.
If this sounds like an issue bigger than Bieber’s brief jail stint, then you understand my point. The entertainment industry’s perverse obsession with turning child celebrities into cash cows is not only severely detrimental to the life of the child in question, but is also a festering cancer to society as a whole.
Whether you want Bieber and his ilk to stop making music or simply disappear altogether, we as a society need to take a stand against the corporate music machine.
OK, I know that isn’t going to happen.
So, how about a compromise: The next time a wildly successful young adult has a mental breakdown, just try to remember that it’s merely par for the course.
Tyler Hersko studies journalism. He can be reached at thersko@http://archive.archive.nevadasagebrush.com.