IRONIC INTROSPECTION: translation- finding your self in the mix up of others (perhaps others pretending to be you, e.g. fakers); may be very beneficial for artists such as actors, writers and even singers- anyone who deals with fame, basically. Perhaps, for me and how I seemed to have understood, the number one enemy of celebrities’ identities is their own fame. Fame is like a cancer. It eats you up inside. Especially if it comes too fast, too quick and you have no one to ground you down.
Fame gives people a common shock. And it is like ice to your lungs. When you did not consider preparing for it and you get suddenly hurled in the spotlights, it is like being pushed into a pool of extremely freezing temperatures. Hypothermia paralyzes your lungs in 2 seconds. In medical jargon, your vessels constrict, disrupting blood flow, reducing oxygen delivery thereby deteriorating normal metabolism. Your brain becomes deprived of physiologic essentials and you submit to multi-trauma. This lethal chain is the same exact Pathophysiology with what can be the most dangerous price of fame.
It affects the person in so many aspects. However, I only focus on one- identity. A lot of factors contribute to this such as support, confirmation, experience, mental/emotional health, introspection/soundness of intellect or cognition, ability to establish separation and gusto or will to commit and otherwise,.. these are just a few of them. For actors, this becomes a particular challenge. Not having even just one of the things I just mentioned, may pose very huge risks.
Actors play different roles/characters of varying intensities, allure, fanatic and critical expectations… -an endless list, really. A hassle as it is already. But then things had to climb up another notch.
It was 2008 when I first opened Stephenie Meyer’s book, entitled Twilight. That was when I met Edward Cullen, the vampire… the tortured soul trapped beyond his lifetime... the secret ingredient to an immortal romance… and the single-handed prime who’s character description has universally forced ‘Prince Charming’ into permanent retirement…
As what I have read in a book review online, “Who needs a fairy tale prince with a pristine white horse, now that we have a modern vampire with a spotless silver Volvo?” He has perhaps altered and epitomized the ideals of what a perfect man should be, without being a “man” at all, literally speaking.
In my own opinion, the irony in Meyer’s brilliant concept (for that alone I commend her since I personally think her technical writing chops suck) is that people often fail to understand that there is a well hidden reason behind Edward’s perfection as a vampire. And that reason is simply because it’s just not possible for any human being to be such.
When I was reading the book, there were multiple points wherein I was about to go mental. I swear, I’m thinking it takes more or less one whole page just to accurately describe his eyebrows alone. I remember Robert Pattinson, (the wide-eyed British actor who plays Edward Cullen in the movie- need I introduce?) acknowledging his mixed opinions about how the hell he was going to give justice to Edward’s jaw line as it seemed to have one entire chapter dedicated to detailing how perfect it is. And he just had this authentic look of either astonishment or horror in his face.
Mr. Pattinson for me, is your dedicated “no-bullshit” kind of actor. He made it important to interpret the character as best he could and as what the already massive following of Meyer’s novels deserved. It seemed like there were 2 issues bugging him:
One: the vampire’s perfection and hype was all based on a first person’s perspective; a teenage girl’s narrative confession and obsession… Yes, Bella Swan’s alone. This he thought made Edward’s supposed perfection completely one sided. Of course some people would have to think Bella is a disturbed and perhaps misguided teenager. I’ll go out on a limb and say I think he agrees with the disturbed and misguided part (laughs; just me).
Two: So based on that first issue, how in heaven’s name would he interpret the character (with all his gloriously written assets) in such a way that the rest of the sane or non obsessive half of the audience will be convinced in agreement with Bella Swan?
I’d like to believe that on the day he had acknowledged these issues, he had already submitted himself to a complex challenge both professionally and personally.
In my own mind (though I’m sure others also agree) Mr. Pattinson was born to play this part… In fact now that I think of it, it would be very easy for me to believe that they could be one of the same. A few adjustments such as removing the immortality shindig and separating obvious fashion senses would have to be applied, as Edward is your clean cut squeaky immortal who fearlessly growls scaring the living daylights out of anyone, and… Rob… Well… He is your classic
So here is the part where I attempt to tie this all up together.
The power of the name Edward Cullen is something a dedicated artist will need to understand completely. The commitment to deliver the role justice, becomes a real life issue. And Robert Pattinson receives all checks for all items mentioned. The fact that this stemmed from a famous novel-series doesn’t help the situation one bit. Before he even stepped in his shoes, heck- before he even put on his socks (no pun intended) – a bizarre new world full of glaring eyes (not to mention photobugs and a rabies epidemic) had already been gaining momentum. Like Bella is Edward’s own brand of morphine, Robert is the world’s new found addiction. People of all ages from all walks of life adore him with an unquenchable thirst like that of vampire neophytes.
Containing the character that is Edward has somehow become a progressive curse to the personal side of Robert. I believe that because of the dire gravity of the book, the potential to merge and lose his sanity and identity becomes likely. Everywhere he goes, every move he makes, the world demands a ticket to see it. The lines between the movie star and the humble heart is so blurred that I find it obvious (with the hope of being wrong) that he seeks some clarity and definition for his own, as he may very well know he indeed is starting to lose. The thing I like about Rob (as just Rob) is his transparency as a generally nice person. I admire his simple honesty and humility as much as I admire his outspoken fear of losing his mind almost all the time. Strangely, as I see it, I think he openly expresses his confusion with the world’s ridiculous obsession. He is a genuine person trying his best to master this as an art, not as a joke. You can see his drive to be taken seriously for his talent and what it is he can really deliver. Not how his jaw line or hairstyle looks to you. You see him immersing himself in his role, method acting and taking time to own it. Not be owned by it. I believe he seeks sensible support. Not rabid obsessions.
He brought Edward Cullen to life. Not the other way around.
Honestly, he shouldn’t be the only one walking that road to finding some vivid reality. Some of us badly need to follow through. We all to need to gain something worth owning like capacity for separation; real life vs. spotlights, scripts vs. personal conversations and real Robert vs. Edward with clan per clans of fakers. We need insight more than we need gossip. The man is being worshipped for very wrong reasons, and although it’s true that our opinions will not affect who he is to himself, it is also true that we can do more if we truly support him, by understanding who he is as a man, not as a character in our selfish fantasies.
Speaking of fictional characters…
I met an interesting person on Twitter once. He went by the name @greasysocks. He was very different. Straight from the get go, for some odd reason, people thought it automatically- he was another twitter-rpattz. His account was locked and people, started to send requests to follow him… like a pass to see his tweets for whatever purpose it may serve. Quite reluctant at first and perhaps indecisive in some occasions, he tickled the interests of growing followers. His “twitter circle” was a very entertaining edition to cyber space. But I must say, they were different from other twitter-fakers… different in a screwed up and sloppy sense (however it means).
The other fakes have flawless performances that either circle around flaunting information to prove they are real but prefer to be hidden – can you say stealth? *dies*(yeah right like calling each other by real name; defeats the funny usernames they have then- very stealthy indeed). Then there’s blocking and dropping people off their list if they’re integrity is challenged, getting mad if they ever get proven wrong. They are all in one linear strategy of convincing people that it is really them by making it look like they are making the effort to cover it- how do I not get why announcing “supposed” star schedules/agendas, locations and even shooting session updates are all steps to “hide” themselves because they are so real. (shh.. wink..)
Don’t get me wrong, they can be bloody hilarious but quite reckless as well. If you are out faking to be real, I guess in theory and logic, your number one enemy would be either yourself or the truth outside of you. You slip, mess up or get carried away and you also may have the most unfortunate luck of having someone bust you like a melon with a sledge ‘hammer’.
I seriously could not care less about them as they keep things entertaining, however, why is it that they get mad when you choose not to believe that they are real? What was the point of hiding behind a funny username, playing with photos, and “covering” up, then? Then they boot you off! (tsk)
I can’t blame them for whatever their mission is, but if they will not be careful, they will lead their followers to a ditch and make them feel like idiots. They may very well deserve to feel like such as who the hell in the right state of mind, would ever trust a twitter who hides under a different name (smart), locks and account (makes sense), follows only those they seem to know (very wise), accept followers (still fairly sensible) and tweet the hell out of each other using real names of actors, dropping hints and information, answer questions in an obvious manners of the star they’re supposed be, act pissy when people start to ask too many questions, and my personal favourite move they all have used is using the “for safety purposes” excuse when they do not know the answers or want to sound really authentic. (What? Huh? Excuse me? Hello?)
Do they really think we’re that dense?! No I think the better question would be, do people really just allow themselves to be dense? Some people actually do buy this rubbish.
I guess if it is all in the name of laughs and crazy internet bullshit, this would all be fairly tolerable. I must admit I get so much of a kick laughing from all the nonsense that goes on. Basically the majority of the people from the twitter neighbourhood that I belong to, share the same standard purpose. And that was for havoc, mad fun and extremely pointless games… Since I personally have some unknown yet obvious (go figure) talent at outing fakers, I never had the problem of falling into a ditch.
I was always confident with my own judgement whether or not people agreed with me. I wasn’t there of them or the fakers, I was there to exercise my mind. Playing hunting games was my way of fun. Reading between the lines, discovering slips, fishing for responses or tweets in reply to my riddles and finally feeling their confusion on my fingers as I type my tweets away- now that is what I call fun. Who ever said only fakes can stretch the interests of others? I vote bullshit and beat them in their own game. After all, we are all entitled to our own knack of fun, right?
But like a rug pulled out beneath me, my confidence was shook like a twig in a hurricane the moment I invested interest on one newly formed circle of fakers- @greasysocks and his band of brothers.
For the most part, I was convinced how this “job” will end, just like several times before… Frankly, I was starting to get bored.
But this was a very strange bunch. The more I engaged in them, the more they tickled me back to life. They were all over the place, as if they do not have the slightest clue what the hell they were doing. They were unsure who they wanted to be, switched pictures, opened dummy accounts… so much effort! (finally some worthy playmates, I thought)
They would bicker and argue about slip ups, tweet and delete, panic and be completely surprised. (of course these moves could still easily be an act)
I thought that if I was right again about this, they have to be the most dedicated fakers I have ever tweeted.
The “war” to reality and who snaps who back into it first, went on and on. In between all the twisted stupidity and fun, friendships were made. “Alliances” so to speak were formed. It was becoming an epic twitter story. These fakers were talented. They were actually very individual, original and the scariest part was that they’re also very consistent. When the real them had to be somewhere, the fake one had it covered. The tweets they had always meant something else and it took a while before I could really grasp the mechanics of what was really going on!
They never claimed to be real. In fact they were such dickheads they fail miserably at trying to be fakes who were faking it. (mind spinning) They became actual clowns of their own demise. The job was becoming too easy as they were doing outing on themselves admitting multiple times how fake they were and for some odd reason, I was starting to think I was under the impression that they needed me… and boom.
I caught the falling pieces in time. They were pushing me to finish my “job” with them, thinking that their immense stupidity would make me just give it up in useless abandon. They wanted me to tell my followers who listened and trusted my updates that their particular band of brother-gits were the fakest of all twit fakes that existed. What a very strange turn of events…
To make the long story short, it became the kind of situation where shit-bomb would be the most normal thing that could happen. I couldn’t do it alone, and people were offering assistance. It felt like twitter was becoming an online multiplayer game! It was hilarious! Of course, I would fail to share everything that happened here, as it’s just too much! I will forever be thankful to be one witness to the best idiotic events that I am sure will become milestones of twitter mental history!
In between everything, they made me open my eyes and learn a lesson from the games I loved to play until I reached a point where it was no longer important to me. For the first time ever, I got to know the people behind those accounts based on reality, not tweets. (this is going to turn into a fucking corny direction but if you have reached this point then you might as well finish this crap, idiot… lmao!)
One thing kept pulling on my nerves. Maybe at one point I may have completely considered the possibility that they were real… But I have chosen to leave it at that. I’m not saying I think I am right. Believe me, I can’t wait until someone proves me wrong… I’ll keep a light on for a challenger J
I hold on to two very important keys I acquired from what I now call “my final hunt” (omfg I crack myself up)
@greasysocks circle came on twitter for a very interesting and new reason, in my own opinion. They wanted to check out the fakers and see how they portrayed their real behalfs. They said they were only supposed to look but because of seeing how much fun these fakers had, getting away with bullshit and having the best of both worlds, it became very tempting. Funny talking about how they joined… because now, one of them has left. Goodbye @greasysocks.
Don’t worry, I’m almost done. (lol impatient bastard you are)
So I will never say they are real, but I will also never say that they are fakes. (lol shoot me) Neither of these two claims are true. For now. (lmfao) I do not care what others say, as I never have since the beginning. We all have our own opinions. And I will stick with just mine.
When greasy left, one of his final tweets struck me like a falling grand piano from cloud nine. One of my strongest arguments that seemed to have always carried one hell of a punch, was why the hell would the real people these fakes were claiming to be, be on twitter. I mean I know, why the hell not. But honestly, come on now. Are you nuts? (lol) Because I think I am. Greasy’s grand exit was so friggin’ hysterical but was very moving and unbelievably brilliant all at the same time.
@greasysocks finally answered the one question that was stopping me from falling off my sadistic office chair and inch closer into becoming a complete git who denies the fact that she is turning into a fucking believer. Until he would give me an answer that made all the sense, I would hold on to that last straw of my sanity! I do not want to be a dense twitter fool (lmfao).
FOR THE SAKE OF UNDERSTANDING THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH, LET’S PRETEND HE WAS “REAL” FAKE ROB (goodluck) *lmfao*
Greasy talked in his closing about trying to find sort of avenues to exercise his creativity with the goal of solidifying his personal understanding of his own identity apart from the actor that he was and the “icon” that people think him to be. In his side trip for a fun “look-see” on twitter, he found a very convenient place that would address his simple need to see who he was in the eyes of others. We all ask why it is important then? And that if it at all even works that way, right? Right. Trust me, I don’t think that was what he meant. Twitter is the last place he’ll ask if he needed to remind himself who he is. But twitter fakes sure as hell show him how people knew him as “Rob”, the human being. He had the opportunity to be directly able to “measure” (I guess) the kind of attention people were giving him and if at all this was what he wanted to be taken as. Perhaps simple questions like, “do they love me because they believe my worth as an actor? or are they just love my hairs style and plaid shirt?”… aha? J
What have we been all talking about here? Nothing that ever gives credit to the one thing he wants to be remembered for. And no, it’s not his hello kitty knickers.
He told us to go to Basics. When we need to check how we look what do we need? An illusion. An image. A reflection. A double. A fake… Reflections, if we must be technical, isn’t really an illusion or a fake you. Because it’s your image just bouncing off a reflective material. (lol)
Do you think Robert Pattinson is a shallow man? Right. He is not J
Mirrors…reflections…fakes…will only tend to the physical aspect of who we are. I bet we would love to see a mirror that would not show who we are from outside of our skin, but person’s core. What we look like, is not who we are. And I’m pretty God damn sure, this was what @greasysocks meant...
I think he was talking about a different kind of mirror. One that reflected behaviour or understanding perhaps even insight…
Are the fake versions of him out only for laughs? Or they make the effort to give his name some justice (as what @mrhunker said) lmao *an impossible cause I say, too many cracks here*
If I faked Obama, before I would tweet something like “fuck you bitch, or go to hell,” id think twice. I know Obama is a nice person. He wouldn’t say anything like that.
If I faked Nicole Ricci, tweeting something like “fuck me I need your dick” would be perfect. I know Nicole is a trashy whore. She’d so say that.
If fake RPattz tweeted, “I’m wearing hello kitty knickers for you tom, fucking come get me. Who cares about the stupid premiere when we can make love all day?”
(funny right? Lmao!) does this mean then that we know rob's a drunk gay fuck who doesn’t take acting seriously?
- of course we know he’s not (seriously ok? Lol)
- sure it’s funny, but if you’d be Rob, do you think people take you seriously? No.
- how about respected? No.
- lastly, would you think people just think you’re an awesome punchline to a joke? Yes J
Would you just love to wake up one day and find that despite of your efforts to be better at what you do, this is all you amount to for other people who say they are your fans? (buuuwaaahahha now THAT is a big ass BUZZ KILL)
I think that was what the fuck @greasysocks realized…
So that means I’m saying he was real, right? Wrong. It just made me realize he wasn’t a fake at all…
(try that for a riddle) ha!
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