Thursday, January 10, 2013
LINDSAY LOHAN, PAUL SCHRADER, AND BRET EASTON ELLIS WALK ONTO A MOVIE SET... And it sounds like a joke, and it kinda is, but it's mostly sad, which is also why I haven't had anything to say about the much-discussed-elsewhere, equal parts enlightening and frustrating Elizabeth Wurtzel essay in New York magazine on the state of her world. Watching troubled people in free-fall is difficult, and Wurtzel's self-awareness only goes about 80% to where she needs to be.
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I read the Times piece this morning, and while I don't have much to say about it other than the already stated "it's mostly sad," it's one hell of an engaging read.
ReplyDeleteIf you like this Times piece, you should consider reading "The Devil's Candy," about the making of the Bonfire of the Vanities. Riveting stuff.
ReplyDeleteIf you like this Times piece, you should consider reading "The Devil's Candy," about the making of the Bonfire of the Vanities. Riveting stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Wurtzel even gets to 80% in that piece.
ReplyDelete",,,Wurtzel's self-awareness only goes about 80% to where she needs to be." What a remarkable comment for the husband of Jennifer "I'm not crazy and you're not nice". Weiner to make.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgO_2QHBghA
ReplyDeleteI feel like she is viewing the rest of the world through a thick glass divider. It's very sad...anyone who has never been in a deep depression will never truly understand how it feels, but she does a wonderful job of explaining it with her writing. I do like her writing, though sometimes I want to scream at a person like that and say, "ugh...we all have problems; get over yourself." But I don't think she has the ability. I used to be very close to a person who was clinically depressed, and on his better days, he tried to explain how it felt. It's a lifetime sentence that can only be managed with prescription drugs, but sometimes it takes years to find the right drugs. And then suddenly, those drugs no longer help, and for months you have to experiment with new treatments. It's very sad to witness. If nothing else, she's enlightening people, and maybe that will help someone who is experiencing the same feelings.
ReplyDeleteI read that article a few days ago, wavering between pitying her and being infuriated at her entitlement and passivity. For example: I could understand that she had trouble dealing with a crazy woman she was leasing an apartment from, and that she needed to call her (frequently name-dropped) boss to help her out of the situation - because the article was somewhat about her frozen adolescence and inability to handle the adult world. But I lost patience when she says that she then ends up in an apartment she hates, because she somehow couldn't say no to it, and the broker put down *her own money* for the deposit. (What broker does that?) And what person can't say, "This apartment is awful, let's keep looking."
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has struggled with (and still does) with depression, I have empathy for her. I understand how dealing with the complexities of every day life can seem overwhelming. But it can be very hard not to resent her early success, or the way she casually goes to law school just for fun, and then finds a much desired job with a high-profile boss almost by accident.