Laura Kurk: On Hollywood

So is it possible to have a column about Hollywood without being all gossipy, dishing the dirt about celebs and creeping for funky photos?

I dunno. . .guess we’ll see.

In all seriousness, that’s the goal. There is good stuff going on out there in Hollywood. But even among the negatives, there’s stuff to learn. So we’ll talk about things that can help you, not hurt others. Things that you might find interesting, and might be fodder for gossip all across the web (who can resist a Kardashian, really?), but we’ll stay focused on the ways we can learn and grow from what we see happening in Tinseltown. . .while we giggle.

Also, in my first On Hollywood column, I introduced The Lola, an award I’ll bestow on a worthy celeb each month. Check out the column to find out all about The Lola.

About laura

Laura Anderson Kurk bets she has more cringe-worthy teenage moments than you and she’s willing to share them all to make you feel better. She’s the author of the YA novel Glass Girl and its upcoming sequel Perfect Glass. She lives in College Station, Texas with her husband, two ginger-headed kids, and 50,000 college students.

Visit her at her blog Writing for Young Adults or on Facebook and Twitter!

Travel light: Working together for good…without fear

Without Fear by @LauraKurk

The post you’re reading right now was written in April. A week and a half after the Boston Marathon bombings and a week after the tragic explosion in West, Texas (one hour north of me). At the moment, our nation is still reeling. Maybe by the time this post goes live, we will have had some good news, some optimism returned. Maybe. I pray that’s so.

Right now, this is the past me talking to the future you, and, right now, I’m sad.

I’ve had a hard time coming up with any news about Hollywood that feels important enough to matter to you. It’s difficult. Because you don’t want to hear about celebrities living large and acting silly. Just ninety miles north of me, families in West are laying their loved ones to rest and they’re having to worry about members of the Westboro Baptist Church who’ve threatened to show up.

I want to celebrate the heroes from Boston. Like Carlos Arredondo, the man in the cowboy hat who saved Jeff Bauman’s life. Did you hear the story behind Carlos? He was only at the race that day to honor his sons–both fallen soldiers who had fought for our country.… continue reading

Is Hollywood paying attention to domestic and dating violence against women?

domestic and dating violence against women, by @LauraKurk

What a sad time it is for women . . . for girls . . . in this world. Really, there are so many horrific stories happening all at once that sometimes I feel like we’ve gone back to the dark ages when women lived in fear every day. Most disturbing of all, perhaps, is the media’s reaction and the public’s reaction on social media.

After the verdict was handed down in the rape case against the Steubenville High football players, Twitter went wild with posters who sided with the perpetrators. The site Public Shaming listed some of the worst tweets in the moments just after the verdict. CNN gave a shameful six minute report detailing the sad loss of football careers and the ruined futures of these players. Who raped a girl. And recorded it.

Rehtaeh Parsons, the teen in Novia Scota who died on Sunday, April 7, after the battle of her life, tried to stand against the same type of attack. She was the victim of an alleged rape by four boys. Then she watched as her attackers emailed pictures and video of the attack to other teens. They posted the evidence on their Facebook walls.… continue reading

He wants to put his story next to hers–Can Hollywood Love with Words?

On Hollywood: Can Hollywood Love with Words?

by @LauraKurk

Sometimes when I listen to a talking head on television or in a movie, I close my eyes and imagine their words as images. Like eggs falling from the sky, hitting the ground and making a mess that can never be cleaned up. Or grenades that wait to explode until they sit around long enough to fool everyone. Or tender little flowers that find the strength to bloom in winter. Or nice big velvet chairs to sink into. Do you do that?

The best words are the ones that create color in your mind and warmth in your whole body. Those are good words.

We rarely hear those words anymore, and we need them. Think of the difference in the rhetoric you hear in a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. and a speech you hear by any political person today. How sad for us.

The problem with this is that we are products of our society. Even our most private thoughts and opinions and inside jokes were spoon fed to us by Hollywood and the media, by our books, by our families and friends who were also influenced by society.… continue reading

Teen Talk: Laura Kurk, On Hollywood Romance; Bethany Jett, On Friendship

Friday at 10am EST on Parent Talk: Geri Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Woman; Melody Carlson, A Dream for Tomorrow

Friday at 11am EST on Teen Talk: Laura Kurk, On Hollywood Romance; Bethany Jett, On Friendship

Miss the live show? No worries! You can grab the podcast here, or you can subscribe on iTunes for FREE!

On Hollywood Romance, with @laurakurk

Quoted from Laura’s recent On Hollywood post, You Have Bewitched me Body and Soul:

I was about sixteen when I realized that guys feel romantic love as deeply as we do. Previous to that, I thought they tolerated our talk of romance by disappearing into their heads where they could think about cars and guns and bears and stuff. The evidence — the body of literature, poetry, plays, and songs written by MEN who understood what it meant to love a woman — suggests otherwise.Shakespeare, for goodness’ sake. Rilke, right? Van Morrison! Hemingway — good grief, read Farewell to Arms. And have you read any John Green lately? Augustus says this in The Fault in Our Stars:

I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things.I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.

You have bewitched me body and soul: On Hollywood Romance

On Hollywood Romance

by @laurakurk

I’m not sure those words would be as powerful coming out of the mouth of a girl–even a girl like Hazel.

On Hollywood: The Happiness of NOT Having Things. Kate Middleton vs. Paris Hilton

by @Laurakurk

“The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.” {Elise Boulding}

Happy 2013!!!

As a nation, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief when we put 2012 in the books. That was a hard year, guys. Especially the last half of the year when we stared evil in the eyes more than once and lost precious lives.

I happen to be an optimist, though, especially when it comes to people and their intentions and dreams. And I’m feeling a groundswell of sorts that I hope takes hold.

I think, with the tragedies of late, that we WANT to take life more seriously, behave more responsibly, recognize that relationships matter. Call it wishful thinking, but if you follow trends on social media sites, you’ll see what I’m seeing.

We’re finally sort of disgusted with ourselves.

I laughed when I saw this come across my Facebook feed a few days ago—

“That awkward moment when you realize Kim Kardashian’s failed marriage could’ve paid your college tuition for 2,960 YEARS!!! /:( seriously!!”

tabitha 300x300 On Hollywood: The Happiness of NOT Having Things. Kate Middleton vs. Paris Hilton

It was a status update by Tabitha Burleson, a talented fifteen-year-old from Oklahoma.… continue reading

On Hollywood: A Military Christmas, My Soul Says I Sing on Through.

Laura Kurk On Hollywood

@laurakurk

I’ve been thinking . . .

This column is devoted to celebrities (not just from Hollywood) who make us look twice. We’ve covered everyone from musicians to artists to athletes to TV and movie stars and directors. How about we veer a little more toward the REAL heroes of America? You’ll indulge me this one Christmas gift, right?

I promise to bring it around at the end to a band we all know and love.

——————————

MAY FREEDOM FOREVER FLY

The most tender places in my heart are reserved for the men and women who fight for my freedom in foreign countries around this globe. I do NOT understand it. How can these good people possibly be so loyal to me? So willing to fight for me?

To really LIVE John 15:13 on a daily basis?

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

It’s too beautiful. It gets at the very core of what makes us human and mixes it all together–duty, love, pride, fear, humility, loyalty, and obedience. I just can’t even express it. They own a large part of my heart. That’s all.

soldier prayer 3 On Hollywood: A Military Christmas, My Soul Says I Sing on Through.

—————————————

I’m thinking today of the family of Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Cheque, the decorated Navy SEAL who gave his life to save an American doctor kidnapped in Afghanistan.… continue reading

On Hollywood: When Hard Work Really Does Make the Man or Woman

While the other guy’s sleeping? I’m working—

When Hard Work Really Does Make the Man or Woman

by Laura Kurk (@laurakurk)

If my grandfather, Roy Holton, were still alive, he’d scratch his head about all the insta-celebrities floating on and off our screens these days. He’d be at a rare loss for words if I told him about the Kardashians. (You mean it’s a group of sisters and their mother who don’t actually do anything at all? And people spend hours watching them?)

I do wish I could hear his opinion on the modern million-dollar talent shows we’re all addicted to these days. Imagine trying to explain to your grandfather that in last season’s America’s Got Talent a man made it to the semi-finals with the talent of taking unfathomable hits to the crotch, and he routinely received standing ovations from the audience. An audience comprised of scorned women, apparently.

At twenty-six, when Roy was a strong, handsome husband and a father of two daughters, he was injured in a horrific car accident, leaving him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body. When he finally emerged from a coma, he had no real use of his left arm or hand, and he had to learn a new way to walk that involved balancing on his left leg and pushing forward on his right leg.… continue reading

On Hollywood: May I admire you again today? (Un) Warranted Celebrity Love

by Laura Kurk (@laurakurk)

We’ve talked in the last six months about celebrities who stand out because they’ve used their platforms to make powerful statements.

They’re our Lola winners . . .

Like Kylie Bisutti, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel, who now speaks to your generation about modesty and purity.

And Colton Dixon, who used his American Idol platform to speak openly about faith and to admit when he’d made a mistake.

Lolo Jones who taught us a lot about how important it is to remain true to your values, even when the world mocks you.

Kate Winslet who challenged magazines on how they portray women and beauty.

Brad and Kimberly Paisley who showed us that celebrity marriages can work when the couple is committed to staying together.

Robin Roberts who stands tall in the face of illness and teaches us about the need for bone marrow donations to save lives.

But what about the celebrities who make more subtle statements? The ones who seem normal because they hold fast to their privacy? That’s heroic, too, right? They’re gracious to their fans but serious about the line they don’t want crossed. They’re the ones who don’t give interviews often and who absolutely refuse to air their dirty laundry in public.… continue reading

On Hollywood: The Privilege of A Broken Heart, Can Celebrities Relate?

by Laura Kurk

The real heroes anyway aren’t the people doing things; the real heroes are the

people noticing things, paying attention.

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

Have you read John Green’s most masterful book The Fault in Our Stars? I downloaded it the day it released and absorbed the first half in a matter of hours, like a starved person. Then the pain began in my heart. I realized an ache had been there all along, and Green knew about me. He knew how sickness and grief had dominated whole swaths of my life, and he yanked the scab off anyway.

I smile when I think of the scene where Augustus is comforting Hazel as she worries about what her absence will do to those who love her. He tells her this:

“It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”

That’s what life is all about, really—the privilege of a broken heart that comes from feeling and loving deeply. Living and pain and love and loss, at some point, become one in some strange dimension we enter. It happens for all of us. No one is immune, not even celebrities. The part that makes it worthwhile is when, as noticers, we see beauty peeking through.… continue reading

On Hollywood: Real Ain’t What it Used to Be

By Laura Kurk

Today, I watched a news show, horrified, as a mother of six told the world she would soon have her thirteenth breast enlargement—making her bra size MMM—so that she could provide a better life for her kids.

A few weeks ago, Anderson Cooper made this tanning-addicted woman famous by putting her on his “Ridiculist” after she was accused of taking her five-year-old daughter into a tanning booth with her. He and his staff laughed and laughed while I tried to swallow around the emotions seizing my throat.

As movie Bella Swan would say, “Whoa. What. Is. Going on?”

These insane extremes are not new, unfortunately. You guys have to endure this kind of mess in the media constantly—the airbrushed photos, the ads for plastic surgery, the empty perfection of Hollywood.

If you let them, they’ll steal your confidence and joy. They’ll tell you beauty only has one look, and they can force what you’ve got into the mold. So sad. But maybe you’ve come to peace with all that and you know the truth about beauty. About where it lives and breathes. About how it transforms. I pray that for you.

But here’s what got me “all het up,” as my true Southern friends would say.… continue reading

On Hollywood: Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.

by Laura Kurk

Before you read on, be sure to download the podcast where Laura Kurk talks about all of this on Teen Talk Radio. It’s a great conversation!

Back in 2009, Tim Tebow fielded a question in a press conference that didn’t phase him. It did phase the reporters present, and the sports pundits for weeks. It went like this:

Clay Travis: Tim, are you saving yourself for marriage?

Tebow: Yes, I am.

Silence from the media pit.

Tebow (chuckling): “I think y’all are stunned right now. Y’all can’t even ask a question. Look at this. The first time ever. Wow. I was ready for the question; I don’t think y’all were, though.”

Now, in 2012, there’s a million dollar reward being offered to the first woman who comes forward with evidence that Tim’s not who he claims to be.

A million dollar bounty on a good man’s virginity? We’re living in some weird times, my friends. There are hundreds of sites with the singular purpose of listing the ages when celebrities first had sex. Can we say obsession?

Celebrities who waited until marriage, like Lisa Kudrow (Friends), are portrayed as oddities.… continue reading

On Hollywood: I love the way you lie

I’m pretty sure I’d walk through fire to hear Skylar Grey sing that live. I could probably just stubhub my way to a show, but walking through fire conveys the level of my desperation.

This girl can sing. Not only that, she can write my heart. She might just be one of the most vulnerable young singer/songwriters we’ve got right now. (Not counting emo bands.) While Adele can kick through walls with her will to survive, Skylar Grey lays it out more like this—“Um, yeah, this is really painful but I’ve got to feel it to understand it. So look away, please. Look away.”

Sometimes when I’m alone I pretend that I’m a queen.

~Skylar Grey, “Invisible”

Confession time—I’m mildly obsessed with the stories and songs and art that deal with understanding and interpreting identity.

Mildly might be the wrong word to use. Majorly. Yes, borrowing from my 1980s slang, I’m majorly obsessed with seeking, finding, naming and claiming identity. (Can you guys bring majorly back into our vocab? Very useful word, that one.)

This obsession with identity may be a lingering psychosis from my days spent ghosting down the hallways of my high school. I felt unseen. I felt unknown.… continue reading

On Hollywood: I Do {Until I Don’t}

“The heart of marriage is memories; and if the two of you happen to have the same ones and can savor your reruns, then your marriage is a gift from the gods.”

text box1 On Hollywood: I Do {Until I Don’t}

~Bill Cosby (husband of 48 years to Camille)

Cosby’s right. The heart of marriage is memories. I want you to hear that and know it deeply before you start looking for the man you can’t live without. Shared memories. Shared love. Shared cool water and fire. Memories tie you to another person in a way you can’t understand until you’ve experienced it.

But your generation may be the first in American history to believe that the single life is preferable to the restraints of wedding vows. In fact, there are loud voices in your demographic arguing that parenthood is unrelated to marriage.

Maybe it’s because you’ve grown up surrounded by broken marriages. Maybe it’s because reality television and Hollywood celebrate the dysfunctional, making it seem…well, functional. Maybe it’s because Kim Kardashian made millions off her sham marriage and divorce and got to have a fairy tale wedding, just for grins.

text box 2 On Hollywood: I Do {Until I Don’t}

Just before the divorce, Kim sat down with Marie Claire magazine and handed out some gold-plated quotes that will follow her for the rest of her life.… continue reading

On Hollywood: The Power of the Red Swimsuit

“There are some girls that are just going to come here, strip off their clothes and jump into the Jacuzzi. Then there are some girls that are respectful, that you have to just treat like girls, like human beings.” ~Vinny Guadagnino, Jersey Shore, Season 2 When I was eight, I found a naughty poster in the vacant lot across the street from my house. It probably belonged to one of the many neighborhood boys who’d tucked it away under some rocks thinking it was safe from a snooping mom’s eyes. He hadn’t counted on the snooping girl-next-door’s eyes.

Laura's debut book, click to purchase

In this powerful debut, Laura Anderson Kurk offers a rare glimpse into the soul of the often forgotten grieving sibling. Glass Girl is a lovely book that treats with compassion one of life's most trying times, lending honesty to the discussion about the impact of violence on families. At turns funny, tragic, and hopeful, Glass Girl captures the reality that is Meg's life--the slow, messy heartbreak of grief balanced with the rush and energy of first love.

» If Only: Do You Know How Much You’re Worth?

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of the “if only” trap? I have. It started when I was in the sixth grade and sometimes I still get in this trap as a 37 year old wife and mother. Here are some of the “if only’s” that have gone through my mind over the years: If only I… [read more]

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» On True Beauty: Cleanse

Cleanse – v. to rid of impurities by washing, meaning to purify By Laura L Smith The first time I heard about doing a “cleanse” I was in high school reading my first copy of French Elle (feeling tres chic and sophisticated, I might add). It involved eating only raw foods, like carrot st… [read more]

2 Comments

» Do you have a Plan B?

Plan B? By Sherri Wilson Johnson The FDA has approved the Plan B emergency contraception pill for fifteen year olds without a prescription and without the permission of their parents. If a pregnancy is suspected, a quick trip to the local pharmacy can “take care of all worries” and those i… [read more]