Miners' New Survival Trial

Sun Herald

Sunday May 21, 2006

SARAH MACDONALD Sarah Macdonald is a broadcaster with ABC Radio.

I HAVE briefly felt like an A-grade celebrity. While living in India, I found myself famous for simply being white and was occasionally circled by a mob screaming for my autograph. There's nothing quite as exhilarating, or as hilarious, as being treated like one of the Beatles - but I found the experience became a hard day's night pretty quickly.

Tonight, when Brant Webb and Todd Russell tell - and sell - their story to Channel Nine, they will transform from "heroes who cheated death" to fully fledged celebrities. They seem sensible blokes who value family, footy, friends and a sense of humour. However the spotlight is warm, the sycophants are circling and the pressure to perform is building.

It seems Australians increasingly feel that a life lived quietly and humbly is worth less than one lived in the public eye. Most journalism students I meet want to present the television news rather than gather it, Big Brother contestants now compete for fame as much as fortune and tens of thousands will again audition for this year's Australian Idol. I can understand the initial attraction to fame's fawning fans and excellent pay but I'm not sure the gain is worth the pain.

More than ever, celebrities are public property. Things can get creepy, unsettling and even dangerous when an unstable fan becomes a stalker. Celebrities also pay the price for being a commodity that's traded and paraded for titillation. Magazines, gossip shows and newspapers demand intimate details of those they write about. Tonight, Tracy Grimshaw will no doubt ask Brant and Todd the question many of us want to know: "What did you do for a toilet down there?"

Life got more intrusive for fishing and football celebrity Rex Hunt last week; to beat a tabloid to the story, he went on radio to reveal he paid for sex.

Australians are setting higher standards for their stars. Russell and Webb have already copped flak for making their chequebook joke on The Footy Show but from tonight they'll have to meet the expectations of millions of strangers.

Fame is more fleeting than ever and perhaps that's good. Except that many celebrities struggle when they return to "normal life". Former star athlete Darren Clark struggles with bipolar disorder but he told The Sun-Herald losing fame had made things harder. "Once the circus is over, the caravan moves on and there's no more slaps on the back. I miss it."

There are many ex-celebrities who realise life is just as worthwhile when no one knows much about it, and there are some, such as Cate Blanchett and Hugh Jackman, who ride fame and fortune with humour and perspective. Hopefully Russell and Webb will enjoy the notoriety. But when the show is aired, they have cashed their cheques and returned from America, I hope they'll happily retreat. Otherwise they should follow the advice of Bono: "Celebrity is ridiculous but it is currency and I want to spend mine wisely."

© 2006 Sun Herald

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