4 years ago at this time, my goal was to get involved in the entertainment industry. I wanted to use the skills that I felt like God had given me in music and theater to be able to do ministry in a place that you couldn’t just do regular “missions.”
Tonight, I watched a documentary that reminded me about why I had this desire.
I was invited over to a mutual friend’s house for a party and they watched the Taylor Swift Documentary that just came out. At first, I was intrigued and excited. I like the real story side of things like this. Seeing the behind the scenes of how someone got to fame and the work that went into it.
But as the documentary went on, I started feeling the hopelessness that was going on in this girl’s life. The documentary hinted at it throughout the beginning part. She was doing all of what she did because she wanted to please people. She thought performing her songs did that. But as time went on, eventually, people started saying some mean things. It got to the point where she was completely disillusioned by what she was doing and why she was doing it.
She disappeared for a year. She thought people wanted her gone, so she left out of sight of the public eye. She started to create a life for herself that didn’t revolve around people-pleasing and making sure other people were happy, she sought after doing what she wanted to do.
This gravitated even more into doing what she believed was right. Getting involved in elections and equal rights movements. She was tired of being quieted and wanted to make her voice heard. After all, she has her thoughts and ideas, she has a large following, why would she not tell others what she believes.
It’s an odd thing to me the many double standards we have about these people who are stars in the limelight. We tell them not to be involved in politics because we just like them for their entertainment value. We tell them they haven’t walked a mile in a normal person’s shoes so they should stay doing what they can do well and not talk about things that they have no idea about.
On the other foot though, people are obsessed with these stars’ life. They want to know everything down to the nitty-gritty details. What are their morning routines, how do they think to create the art they do. We want to know everything about them, but only the parts that we like to see.
And let’s be clear, people are turned off by the politics of these stars on both sides of the parties. I’ll be the first to admit that the “right” or conservatives don’t always react in a kind way against people who come out supporting a differing belief than we have. On the other hand, it would also be foolish to say that the “left” or liberal doesn’t often react in a negative way to conservative sides coming out in the celebrity’s lives.
I believe these “stars” have every right, just as much as all the “normal” people to express their opinions and vote and make decisions. Even if it was true that they’re out of reach with the public, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get to talk about it.
In general, I like to think about if this person were a member of your community, would you say the things that you do about them. This is what destroys these people. People will say all kinds of hateful stuff about famous people because there aren’t any consequences for them. But what if someone you knew very well, let’s just say your mom, was all of a sudden made fun of, attacked for expressing her feelings, and judged for something she didn’t even do? That would be completely wrong and infuriating yet we people do that to the celebrities all the time, and they often don’t even have any facts besides what they heard from someone else.
I say all of this though as a leadup. The truth was, as I watched this documentary of this girl’s rise into fame, and to some extent, power, I couldn’t help but realize, even where she’s at now is going to lead to a life of discontentment and sadness.
She seems to have gotten rid of the people-pleasing mentality (on the outside at least) though I’m sure it’s something she will eternally deal with, but even without that holding her back, she’s still seeking security and identity in things that are ultimately not going to satisfy her. Whether that be a relationship with someone, whether that be self-love, whether that be family, etc.
These things may give her temporary satisfaction and hope, but just like the life she was once in — trying to people-please constantly — led to misery and sadness, so will everything else she seeks. They may bring joy for a time, but in the end, the emptiness will never be satisfied.
The only thing that is going to bring long-term joy and contentment is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because everything else is from this world and we live in a broken world. Unless you look outside of this world to the God who made you, you will never escape the brokenness that is this world.