In the September issue of InStyle magazine, Jennifer Lopez had some non-enlightening things to say about parenthood. “It totally changes your perspective on everything,” she says. “You don’t come first anymore. There’s somebody else you care more about than yourself.”
I’m not saying that these things aren’t true. I’m saying that it shouldn’t be considered printworthy. What parent hasn’t said the same of their experience? I think I myself said it somewhere on this blog recently. It seems likely that this was part of some larger interview, where Lopez was asked to relate her feelings on being a mother. And seen in that context, she said the same thing most of us would have, so it’s not her response that I’m commenting on; it’s more the prevailing attitude that celebrities’ opinions are somehow more worthy of notice than those of the general public.
One thing she did say that made much more sense to me as being newsworthy, is later in the interview: “But now I’m at a point in my life when I just don’t feel the need to put out anything unless I totally, absolutely feel it says what I want to say.” Not enough celebrity parents take their own notoriety into account. They seem to forget that they’re constantly under a microscope, for good or ill, and that their children are watching them the most closely of all.
Look at the way Matt Damon chooses his projects. He was offered a lot of money to lend his voice and likeness to the video game adaptation of the “Bourne” series of adventures, but he took issue with the level of violence on display and said “No.” He understands that public perception, while not necessarily indicative of one’s true being, is still very influential, and therefore must be protected.
This is something that Angelina Jolie should also take into consideration. It’s notable that she’s on some sort of crusade to give better lives to underprivileged children by adopting them (or whatever it is she’s doing), but her choice of movie roles leaves something to be desired in a mother figure. Now, obviously I’m not saying that she should be barred from roles that involve violence and/or sexuality, but there are ways and ways of moderating that, and she’s a big enough star that she should be able to take some control of her career.
Jennifer Lopez admits that she understands this, and her children are young enough to afford her a new chance to redefine her image. Bravo to her, and we all wish her and her twins well.
