You may not remember Mara Wilson. She was a child star in the 1990s, and appeared in movies such as “Matilda” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.” On February 23, 2021, Mara Wilson finally opened up on the mental illness and sexualization of her (then) contemporary, Britney Spears. Mara Wilson puts the blame directly on the Hollywood film industry.
In an article by Melissa Roberto for Fox News, Mara Wilson revealed many things about the Hollywood gossip media.
Setting Up for Failure
In her interview, she encapsulated the narrative by saying that the Hollywood narrative is based on the idea that “anyone who grew up in the public eye will meet some tragic end.” It is a wish fulfillment.
In the interview “Wilson shared one of her earliest memories of being publicly shunned after a journalist referred to her as a ‘spoiled brat’ in an article when she was just 13. She noted she was ‘ruined’ at the time despite having been “trained to seem, to be, as normal as possible — whatever it took to avoid my inevitable downfall.”
The same gossip columnist accused Wilson of hating Spears. While she competed against Spears for many film roles, the two did not have a contentious relationship.
Another journalist once went after Wilson in a sexual way. Though Wilson’s parents “prepared her” for the scrutiny by having her wear clothing such as knee length sundresses, the media began to sexualize her by the time she was six. Wilson credits her family with saving her from the same downfall that happened to Britney Spears.
If the media was unfair to Wilson, it was exponentially worse to Britney Spears. Wilson’s observations come in the aftermath of a television documentary (Framing Britney Spears) about the descent of Spears into drug abuse and mental illness. The documentary highlights the conservatorship that was set up by the courts with Jamie Spears (Britney’s father). The conservatorship has unraveled into a major court fight.
In comparing her life to the more famous Spears, Wilson said:
“Many moments of Ms. Spears’s life were familiar to me. We both had dolls made of us, had close friends and boyfriends sharing our secrets and had grown men commenting on our bodies. But my life was easier not only because I was never tabloid-level famous, but because unlike Ms. Spears, I always had my family’s support. I knew that I had money put away for me, and it was mine. If I needed to escape the public eye, I vanished — safe at home or school.”
Shouldn’t Happen to Anyone
There is no doubt that Britney Spears was sexualized by the media, both Hollywood and mainstream in every way possible. Without going into indecent detail, I would only refer any reader of this post to go back to news stories about Spears around 2005 – 2009.
As Spears was mentally melting down, Hollywood was more than happy to drag her into deeper illness. This did not let up as Spears got married and had children.
While she still battles for control of her life and money, the same industry that sexualized and taunted Spears, is now seemingly contrite. The media ugliness that surrounded her apparently got pangs of embarrassment in the light of the MeToo movement. Mara Wilson still acts, primarily on television where she feels she has better control over the narrative.
From an ethical point of view, and as someone who teaches on topics such as sexual harassment, I am struck by the disingenuous nature of the industry.
Though characters such as Harvey Weinstein are clearly despicable, what of those in the Hollywood media working as (Wilson describes) as “grown men commenting on our bodies?”
Is there no ethical filter in Hollywood or is it a matter of “sex sells?” How are we to view Hollywood’s mock outrage? And, more troubling, will this again happen to another six-year-old child waiting in the wings?
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