Youth Addiction In Hollywood

The entertainment industry is one that famously (or notoriously) privileges youth and beauty. This seems to be especially the case these days, particularly if one looks at the artists who are dominating today's pop charts: people like Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and Tokio Hotel.

Therefore, it is no surprise that many stars have decided to take measures to look younger. Nicole Kidman, for instance, is one high-profile actress who appears to have resorted to Botox or other fillers in order to rejuvenate her appearance. However, not everyone agrees that she succeeded. Stephanie Zacharek, a senior film critic at respected culture magazine Salon.com has written that she rather dislikes Kidman's new look. Other stars have taken somewhat more drastic surgical measures, as we can pinpoint with Rupert Everett and his brow lift.

In fact, the pressure to stay young-looking is so strong that people often say that those who never go the opportunity to grow old were, in a way, lucky. Entertainers who die young, such as Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Jim Morrison tend to be romanticized by popular culture. Actually, this is not necessarily a recent trend, and can be traced further back to people like silent movie star Rudolf Valentino, or (in the pre-cinematic era), to Percy Shelley, who, along with Lord Byron, could be considered one of the rock stars of English Romanticism. Such people supposedly have the "good" fortune to be immortalized as forever young and beautiful.

This pressure was memorably skewered in the comedy Death Becomes Her starring Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, and Meryl Streep. Here, a select few can buy and drink a potion that rejuvenates them and makes them immortal. Unfortunately, it does not prevent or repair injuries, so any people who try to take advantage of the potion risk being stuck forever with bodies that have fallen apart—a great metaphor for the predicament faced by people who get heavy plastic surgery done.

Of course, it is hard to say whether society affects celebrity culture to promote ageism, or the other way around. A cyclical scenario seems far more plausible.

Still, the emphasis on being and acting young is not all bad. It does have the very positive effect of promoting health consciousness. People may put in more effort into good nutrition and regular exercise, if it keeps them looking younger. Habits that age a person, such as smoking an excessive tanning, seem less attractive. In a way, vanity can lead to physical well-being. The desire to emulate a celebrity one looks up to can also lead to healthier habits. For example, around the start of the new millennium, Madonna's youthful figure helped to spark a yoga craze.

Still, it is important for us to occasionally take a step back to evaluate prevailing attitudes about youth and aging. These attitudes feed into and are fed by our popular entertainment. Not even the most beautiful celebrities can stay young forever. When we forget this, we put cruel pressure both on them and ourselves.