Is Sheen Really Sheen?

 

If I hear one more titillating tidbit about Tinseltown's latest rogue, I am going to throw up. In the long litany of his recent resume, Chuck has attempted to kill his (latest) wife, gone on repeated drug-and alcohol-induced binges, frolicked with porn stars, and fought with the studio that has paid him millions of dollars over the years. And in between all those productive, healthy pursuits (not), has staggered from holiday to holiday, holiday after holiday, in the Carribbean.

Chuck, also known as Charlie Sheen, is a prime example of the ethical, sexual, and moral reprobates that the entertainment industry is producing.

His antics are nothing new to the business. There is a long list—and so little space—of men and women who have given themselves over to a depraved lifestyle. Heroes on the screen, they are heels once the cameras stop rolling. We're talking decades of decadence here, people. We know little of the sordid details, and this column is certainly not attempting to fill in the blanks.

Is there a place for drama? Indeed. Is there a niche for performances? Absolutely. I personally attend every play I can. Some of the greatest times in my life have been watching classic movies (mostly musicals, by the way). I am in two movies myself: In one, I play the western version of old Isaac in the Bible, and in the other, I am a macho Roman centurion.

In fact, my first foray into the acting business, apart from faking a headache when I didn't want to go to school, was being the wizard in the "Wizard of Oz," back in elementary school.

So, why the mess in Hollywood? Apart from the appeal of an acting career, what is the lure to such a degenerate lifestyle? You've heard of the famous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, haven't you? Let me suggest a name for another possible road: Compromise Causeway, a highway that leads to the point of no return. And without forcing my metaphor, it is likely one-way.

Easy money, global popularity, limited accountability, and incessant competition certainly are all contributing factors to a life of vice. Interestingly enough, professional athletes struggle with many of the same issues, often resulting in many of the same returns.

Even when I stand at a checkout counter in any grocery store, I am often confronted with this racy rag and that sleazy sheet, trumpeting the latest baby born out of wedlock, or who's dumping whom. I'm not sure why moral failure is presented as something glorious. When a man can't hold his liquor or his marriage, or when a man can't control his urges or his temper, that is something to ashamed of, not proud of.

Charlie Sheen is simply one in a long line of men and women who have slowly been sucked into the vortex of rampant promiscuity. He may or may not be a good actor; that's an individual opinion. His long-running television series (from which he has just been canned), "Two and a Half Men," has set him up for life. But what we see on the tube (note: I have never watched it; I have more significant things to do in my [rare] free time) is obviously not what is really going on in his world.

I suppose someone could argue that most of us have a public persona as well as a private persona. Good point, but at least my personal life—if I can make the application here—isn't marked (or is it marred?) by out-of-control parties, pastimes, and peccadilloes.

Our communities—and by extension, our society--are weakened by unfaithfulness, drunkenness, and wantonness. I repeat: There is nothing noble or honourable about men or women who are not under some sort of personal discipline. This is no mere religious diatribe; the mental and financial fallout is incalculable, but so few seem to make the connection.

It's quite ironic that "sheen" means "a gloss or lustre on the surface; radiance or brightness." It's too bad he who appears so bright on the outside is so dull on the inside.