I leave you all for three days to go off on a drama-free vacation to hang with some of my Irish friends and you tear the board to pieces. This is why we can't have nice things..
I'm going to approach this differently than most of you for one reason. I am an actress. I know how all of this works PERSONALLY. This is what I do. This is my future.
I thought the piece was done BEAUTIFULLY. Like everyone said- thrill of victory, agony of defeat. CNN is the layperson's news channel. NOT the 'cheer news channel'. When you watch news clips on tv, HOW many people do the usually interview in about the situation? ONE. Or, ONE of each (ONE layperson, ONE police officer, ONE etc) WHY? Because it's the easiest to follow. It's easiest to follow one person, or one of each type of person. And if it's a group of people, you always have ONE of each type. The sassy ONE, the funny ONE, the witchy ONE, the ONE with the troubled past. We as humans typically process one thing at a time. It's easiest. It also makes it easier to get emotionally involved. So in a 15-20 min spot trying to convey MONTHS of work/dedication/practice/anguish/hopes/dreams, how many people do you follow? ONE- one cheerleader (Maddie) and one coach (Courtney) of one team (SE). Can you IMAGINE how confusing Harry Potter would be if they routinely jumped perspectives? There's a reason it follows Harry (minus the few tidbits for embellishment).
Now- onto words. You have NO control over how they will edit you. Do NONE of us watch reality tv? Ever? Have we suddenly, magically forgot how we know that sometimes they edit things in for drama? Every time there's obviously a cut, things have been edited. Oh wait, there are cuts all the time instead of sweeping pan shots?? Exactly. My. Point. Not only that, but when you're interviewed, some questions are answered with I. It is grammatically sound. "Kristen, how often is the play rehearsed, and how often do you, personally, practice acting." 'Well, Soledad O'Brien- the show rehearses 3 times a week for 3 hours, and I typically practice an extra 2-4 hours per day.' Good Golly Miss Molly, I must be a soul-sucking demon of evil because I'm using the word 'I.' Woe is my soul to hell..and add my soul to a deeper circle if they cut out that first bit and just talk about me. Because * I personally saw to it to boost my own ego and demanded that they only use stuff about me. *INSERT SARCASM HERE, (there and everywhere)
Last- publicity. You. Don't. Have. A. Choice. 2-3 years ago (I'm very tired and can't be bothered to check), in my mind it went like this: "Hey team, come up with the craziest stunt you can. Whoever has the coolest, most innovative thing gets to put it into the routine." Annnnd bring us to now. Any time someone is individually visible and does something ridiculously innovative, it puts them in the spotlight. HOW many girls do you see on yahoo answers and other cheesy cheer wannabees ask 'How can I become point flyer?' 'How can I fly?' 'I wanna be a top person!' In John Tucker Must Die- 'He always likes girls who are on top of the pyramid.' Every sport stereotype has: HS Quarterback and Head Cheerleader who is usually the flyer. Publicity involves 20x the criticism you never asked for or wanted. Everyone who signs up for cheer does it because they love it. Because it's the only thing they could ever imagine doing. Same with me and acting. I'm not an actress because I wanna be famous. Fame can come with releasing a sex tape or trying to attach myself to some awful reality show. I'm an actress because I. LOVE. ACTING. I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else, so I drowned myself in college debt to try to do it professionally. If I had it my way, I'd NEVER do the fame bit. It involves lots of hassle, FAKE SOCIAL NETWORK PROFILES, STALKERS, PEOPLE HARASSING YOU ALL THE TIME WHEN YOU JUST WANT TO PRACTI-I MEAN, GROCERY SHOP, CRITICISM YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR, JUDGMENT YOU DON'T WANT OR NEED THAT IS COMPLETELY UNDESERVED, AND A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY KNOW YOUR LIFE AND FEEL IT MAGICALLY GIVES THEM THE RIGHT TO MAKE COMMENTS ACCORDINGLY. *ehem, sorry, my finger slipped on the capslock. It 'got stuck.'* Now, yes, good things can come from fame. You can use it to draw notice to problems/issues in the world. You can use it to incite change. But more often than not it involves misquoting for ratings, misquoting on accident that makes people angry, lots of hassle, issues, and back-seat driving criticism/commentary. GOD BLESS MADDIE for being the person people love, and the person people love to hate. Every time you waste a moment of energy on disliking her, that's a moment you'll never get back. And more often than not, she'll never know about it, or care. Makes you feel small, doesn't it.
'I would apologize for being particularly sarcastic or harsh if I felt a reason to be sorry. I'm not. This is an issue I myself might have to deal with someday, but I hope I don't. I don't want to deal with what she has to. Neither of us are asking for this, and what's worse? She's an underage girl. Being harassed by people who have the audacity to call themselves adults or at least delude themselves into thinking they're adult-like while slamming someone they don't know. She's like the Harry Potter of cheerleading. Except nobody died. Thank god, or we'd REALLY be in trouble..'