How is it that a person in the public eye can transform their image to make everybody like them again? It is actually more difficult than one might think. It is not as simple as having the person stop a particular behavior.
Publicists and other members of the Hollywood machine work overtime doing damage control. Every television appearance and each magazine interview a person in the public eye makes is very much calculated.
Lindsay Lohan, 25, recently embarked on a comeback tour, starting with television interviews on NBC's "Today" and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," culminating in a hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live," her fourth time hosting the show.
I actually like Lindsay Lohan. I think she's a talented and truly fascinating person. In fact, I've written about her career before. I am not one to discount people. I personally believe that just when you least expect it, people can actually surprise you.
On Thursday, Lohan's interview with Matt Lauer on "Today" aired and ended up leaving me hopeful for the fate of her career. Lohan appeared on the show, looking significantly older than when the majority of America last saw her.
No longer was Lohan's hair auburn red, but now her strands are bleach blond, nearly white. Her raspy voice let out, "I regret the choices that I've made, but I'm grateful for where I am today because of them," when host Matt Lauer asked about her checkered past, as well as a possibility for a comeback.
Celebrities market themselves as a brand name, so they are essentially selling an image that can be reproduced through various mediums. Hollywood determines the value of a star by using a "Q Score." This marketing tool measures a brand's public awareness, as well as their positive and negative Q scores, which explains which percentage of those surveyed had a positive or negative opinion of the person.
But could there be a double standard in play here? Hollywood is notoriously harder on women than it is on men. As men age, society deems them to be wiser or more worldly. But no film producer wants to cast a 55-year-old woman as their lead ingénue. But more so than just looks, Hollywood is tougher on women who make mistakes than the men.
Robert Downey Jr. is arguably one of the most talented actors of his generation, but it was not that long ago that any attention from the press he garnered was for his arrests and multiple addictions. It took him quite a long time to overcome his troubles and restart his career, but he did just that, with time.
Now, Downey Jr. is one of the most successful actors in Hollywood, along with the most talented actors of his generation. But people expected him to make a comeback eventually. It seems when Lindsay Lohan makes the same mistakes, she is seen as a "ruined woman." It seems a little archaic, especially for an industry that prides itself on being progressive.
Hollywood is full of myths and urban legends. In fact, if you don't die a legend, your memory becomes an urban legend. It is full of people who come and go, and nobody is truly home. It is as if everyone is on a permanent break from the real world.
The places where the bright lights don't shine are not as pretty as the movies make them. There is an entire dark underbelly to the city, fueled by those who have become victims of the Hollywood machine. As a society, we love to put people on a pedestal so we can swiftly bring them back down to earth.
--Lindsay Lohan has had her share of ups and downs in her career.
Robert Downey Jr. is among several celebrity comebacks.
This graph shows Lohan's Q score based on brand awareness and postive Q.
