Thursday, Cleveland, Ohio

What is it about show business that deviates from the norms of every other industry when it comes to the standards demanded of workers in their employ? Conduct that is consistently detrimental to their own image and, by association the image of the company would result in consequences and separation from the organization. But not so in Hollywood. It seems that outrageous behavior by actors in public, no matter how flamboyant carries little or no employment consequences. In fact, it appears that making the news - even if it is for illegal behavior - only elevates the public awareness and profile of the person and this benefits the enterprise.

Our latest example is the young out-of-control actress Lindsay Lohan who was arrested yet again for driving drunk and possessing cocaine. This professional performer is not two weeks out of rehab for previous incidents of driving while intoxicated and here she is again in the Hollywood headlines. And what are the consequences for this aberrant behavior? Pathetically the answer is often an elevation of the offender’s fame. Even if its bad news, for celebrities the result is frequently an intensification of of their notoriety. And then the attention that comes with it, in the end, all comes back in work, money and ever more privilege.

This is all the sad saga of American popular culture and our obsessive yearning for celebrity. Finding our identity vicariously through the famous who we aspire to become ourselves is a curious American illness. And unfortunately it is highly contagious.