Losing Sight of Reality

Even though we finish reading Speak, by Louisa Hall, quite a while ago, there’s one question that stayed in the back of my mind: Do actors and actresses lose sight of who they are due to the version of themselves they have to put out for the media? On page 176, Gaby wondered if she would forget who she is if she pretended to be okay. I felt that this scene was very significant as Gaby whole-heartedly wanted to be cured. She knew that there were people out in the world that fought the same battle as she and was able to overcome it. When Mary 3 proposed that Gaby pretended to be okay so she would be able to leave her room, Gaby seemed appalled. This made me realize how relevant this issue is.

Many people find themselves pretending to be okay or pretending to be someone they are not. Gaby’s question about if she’d remember who she was made me think of all the people wearing masks in today’s society and if they have forgotten who they are. In my Foundations of Psychology course, we discussed the Stanford Prison Experiment. Here, volunteers were assigned to act as prisoners or prison guards in a simulation prison. Just over six days, both prisoners and guards seemed to forget they were just pretending and either acted extremely cruel or mentally broke down. This connects greatly to Gaby’s pondering and shows that her concern was valid.

This scene also caused me to wonder if celebrities that are constantly in the public eye ever lose sight of themselves - or if that is truly how they would behave alone. It seems that we see Disney child stars developing bad habits after leaving Disney. This makes me wonder if during filming television shows, movies, and meeting fans, they pretending to be innocent for so long that once they had the chance, broke out of the gilded shell. I’d be very intrigued to see a study focused on past rogue Disney celebrities and their explanations and opinions on the industry, their behavior, and the expectations that surrounded them.