Over the weekend, I saw an episode of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.” I heard about this show in passing while watching other cheesy VH1 shows, and I sorta shrugged it off. “What reality shows will they think of next?” I guess there was a little bit of shock and appall regarding the show–people ranting about the ethics of exploiting D-List celebrities in their vulnerable moments.
After seeing the first two episodes, I think it’s great. I’m not the only one.
It’s not easy to watch. It’s really painful to see former “Grease” tough guy Jeff Conaway slumped over, drooling, rambling incoherently and then screaming in pain as the drugs work their way out of his system and then watching him make 57 different excuses as to why things needed to go exactly his way.
Rehab and addictions are ugly, and this show shows it. But I’m sure as it continues, we’ll see some touching moments. I hope one of those moments is Daniel Baldwin dropping the lies, the program-speak and getting real. He’s a freakin’ robot right now, and Dr. Drew is SO on to him. I can’t wait for the confrontation to come, when Daniel is called to the carpet on his phoney-baloneyness.
People, many whom I’m sure haven’t even seen the show, criticize how people are being exploited because, I guess, you can only reveal your true self and your inner pain when in private. But is that really true? Teenagers across the Internet post videos on Youtube talking about their eating disorders, their depression, their self-abuse. People are blogging, with their real names and their real photos, describing their history of sexual promiscuity and drug addictions. Whose to say that no one is feeling better when they share?
I have my own things I keep to myself. Sometimes I think about writing a little more personally–really talking about hopes, fears, pain, sadness, disappointments, dreams. But I still find myself going to the old pen and journal–that’s where the deep stuff goes. But whose to say what I’m doing is any better or more therapeutic? I think I’d feel more real and more authentic if I could share some deeper stuff with others. I think we’d all benefit if we could be more truthful about our fears, our disappointments, our sad moments, our dreams and our wishes.
A panel of experts may disagree.
But until then, I’ll watch “Celebrity Rehab” and hope for the best. I’ll also hope that the show goes a long way in helping people feel more comfortable about discussing what we feel must always be kept quiet.
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