Like most everyone else I've been watching the Charlie Sheen drama unfold over the past few weeks. How can you not see at least one interview, he's on any and every media outlet that'll have him. And they'll all have him because it means a spike in their ratings. I don't know what's worse; the fact that the media will bend over backwards to get him on their programs or the fact that so many people seem to be consciously tuning into these shows. What does it say about us as a society that we barely paid attention when this man was happily married with kids (and one can assume sober) but that we can't get enough of his latest fall from grace. I can't believe how many people think the whole thing is funny and are listening to his radio station and watching his online rants. I've talked to some people who think the entire thing is an act and he's just fine when he's off camera. Others have argued that if he wants to f*ck up his life and his career like this,and in a very public manner, then why shouldn't we watch? He's an entertainer and he chose to do it this way and no publicity is bad publicity and so on. What I don't get is why you'd wanna watch someone fall apart this way.
I'm no expert but I have a number of friends who have dealt with addiction and/or mental illness, a lot of the time they go hand in hand. In the few pieces I've seen about Charlie Sheen (or Carlos Estevez, his given name), I can't help but think that I've seen this movie before. A close friend of mine was working as an actor about five years ago and started dabbling in drugs a little bit in his free time. He quit those before they could really take any kind of control because he didn't like how he felt when he was high. A few months after that he started behaving very erratically and mouthing off towards people as if the whole world were there purely to serve him. After a month of this behavior he was fired and again dabbled in drugs and alcohol and began alienating everyone around him. The entire time he made it a point to say he thought he was fine and everyone else was overreacting. He spent a good six months doing all of this before he finally got help and was diagnosed as being bi-polar. He's much better now and medicated and happy and everyone who loves him is very thankful he got help before he went off the rails completely. I genuinely think Sheen is in the middle of some kind of manic episode and he's headed towards the ultimate point of no return if he doesn't get help.
People seem to forget that what Sheen is doing isn't just about him and his porn star girlfriends. He has a family that raised him and are concerned about what's happening to him now. And having been with him his entire life and career they know much more about what's going on than anyone else. He also has five kids, two of whom were taken away from him last week. No one's done a story about the toll this public breakdown is taking on them and no one could know how it'll affect them in the long run. People also forget this is a guy who has a history of being violent towards women but he seems to get a pass on that cuz of his so-called "bad boy" reputation. The producers of his show clung to him through all the earlier brushes with the law because ratings mean more than anything. In a way, they are also a part of what's going on with him now. Had they fired him when he stepped outta line, like any other employee at any other job would be, this might not be happening now. But ultimately the situation is a nightmare of Sheen's own making. Even if he doesn't know or admit to the possibility of mental illness, he knows he's an addict and that's a major contributor to his current state. I don't feel sorry for him, nor the hookers he's had issues with (they chose to be with him knowing of his reputation), nor the most recent ex-wife who was on board with him being a great father until just recently. I feel sorry for his kids (even the grown one) who will no doubt be dramatically affected by their father's actions. And I feel for his parents cuz I can't imagine what it's like to want to help your child so much but have your hands completely tied. I'm pretty much disgusted by the media attention and hope he gets help soon, rather than the alternative, for the sake of his family.
