Head Trips

Fame is like being the stiff at your own funeral!

Overdosing yourself is not the sort of behavior that should be rewarded. I say that as a Heath Ledger fan - giving him an Oscar for overdosing disgraces his memory more than anything else. I'm not sure he would've wanted it that way. He seemed like a basically decent and good natured guy: so I don't think he would want his career cheapened with the idea that he won for something other than his performance, nor would he want the message sent to other young actors that death can be a shrewd career move. Ledger's performance as The Joker outclassed Jack Nicholson's. Had he lived and kept performing at that level then he would've been the guy in Hollywood. Had he kept improving as he did from Brokeback Mountian to Dark Knight, then in ten years we would've been saying "Brando Who?" As it is in 10 years people are gonna look back at Ledger and say "Oh yeah, he's the guy who OD'd and then won an Oscar". 

The implication being that ODing was a major factor in his winning the award. Maybe it's some sign of Hollywood's collective sense of guilt (remember River Phoenix? Johnny Depp got to wear the blame - scape goat style - on that one for a while, so Hollywood wouldn't have to face responsibility for the milieu they created. Depp may have owned the Viper Room, but who packed it full every night and made it a fashionable place to be?? The Viper Room didn't exist in a vacuum but as a response to a milieu that doesn't look over your shoulder while you're having fun. Drugs is a big part of the fun). Then again clumsy gestures, like crude humour and simplistic politics, are among of Hollywood's specialties!

Is Hollywood power structure more of a nervous system?

Oscar Night was a great night for the family of Heath Ledger. His mother and father flew in from Australia to honour his memory and claim his award on behalf of his daughter Matilda. They're so busy claiming stuff on her behalf that it'll be wonder if they leaving anything for her to claim, when she comes of age (the Heath clan has a reputation for being acquisitive - one of his uncles even got arrested for stealing farm equipment down in Australia, only months after Ledger's death). Had her father lived then that wouldn't be a problem.

Ledger goes down in history - the guy who won because he OD'd

Heath Ledger became a Hollywood causality. People who live that lifestyle seem to share a reduced life expectancy, along with air traffic controllers and pro wrestlers. Some might argue that abnormal personality types are attracted to the profession, and that they were more likely to off themselves in any case. All stars egos aside, there are other pressures that contribute to the fatal Hollywood head trip: there's the constant flattery of hangers on, the pressure and mind games of agents and managers, the unrealistic expectations of the studios, and of course the mutual mind fucking of the rich, famous and idle. Then of course there is drugs.

His moment of triumph? "Well Heath I'm sorry you couldn't make it tonight"

Heath Ledger died of drugs, and he was the latest in a very long list. Drugs are a part of the Hollywood scene the way cocktails and cigarettes were for 1950's middle class suburbia. They are a way for aspiring actors to explore their 'consciousness' and there by potentially improve their performances. They are away to escape the constant pressures associated with the high powered big money lifestyle (wrong hard play hard). They're a way to loosen up and escape inhibitions so that the Hollywood player can more fully participate in the fast lane lifestyle. They're away to fit into tho the drug saturated LA milieu. They are also an excellent way to go off your head. 

It helps if you're crazy, and there are ways to help the crazy along!

Observers can't help noticing the sometimes bizarre behaviour of the glitterati. While some of that is attributable to the personality quirks of person who crave fame, a lot of it might be caused by deliberately induced chemical imbalances. Just take a look at the following documentary for more info.

"You've gotta go out of your mind to use your head". That's like saying you've got to blow your brains out to open your mind. The only sane answer to that would be "You first" and hand them back the loaded revolver. After listening to some of that drugged out prattle it should be obvious where the New Age started - surprise, surprise!

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