Kanye West is still a jerk

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I think they are drawn to any job where they can be centre of attention and show off. So they go into politics as well, as Cyberdad says.

Also a surprising number of charity workers are narcissistic. Because they love people telling them how wonderful and selfless they are, and to be given awards and attention.

Do you know that actor, Olivia Coleman? She used to be a nice, unassuming woman. But she won an Oscar and got swept up into Hollywood life. I saw her on a chat show recently. Dear oh dear. She is now so attention-seeking and pretentious, me me me all the time. It just goes to show how attention can go to people's heads!

Of course this applies to other actors too, not just her!

I'm unfamiliar with her but it does not surprise me in the least.

I hear that sociopaths also tend to be drawn to professions which give them power and control over others. So many of our world's military officers, police men, corporate CEOs, doctors, politicians, etc. They often tend to be sociopaths.

She was in that film about Queen Anne, can't remember what it was called.

Yes you are correct about sociopaths. And psychopaths too sometimes. Unfortunately some sociopaths end up in education and medicine careers too.

These people are everywhere.

Indeed, it's kinda frightening.

And what I find more disturbing is this new trend where people are worshipping sociopathic characters on TV as if they are actually role models to look up to.

One thing I can't figure out about my own mom, she has been victimized by narcissists and sociopaths her whole life (I'm not exaggerating). But now that she works in therapy she has taken this bizarre opinion that sociopaths and narcissists are somehow better than the rest of us and make "great leaders" and all this other absurd crap.

Yes that is disturbing. It seems that the new role model to idolise is selfish, money grabbing, cold hearted. But I remember this happening in the 1980s where everyone idolised ultra-capitalists and we came out of that, so maybe it will happen again and people will get kinder. Although the 1980s were never as bad as this.

That's a pity about your mum. I suppose sociopaths and narcissists always, always get what they want, so maybe people wish they could do that.

My mum IS the narcissist so I don't want to be like her though

Lol I think if I were alive in the 1980's the only thing I would have loved about that decade was the fact that it was a time when people starting getting into activism for the rights of homosexuals. Because you had many people in showbusiness who were speaking out against the AIDS paranoia and how it was wrong for society to blame the victims of this pandemic and discourage them from seeking help.

That's why I loved watching some of the sitcoms from that era like Designing Women and The Golden Girls which brought attention to the issue.

I'm sorry to hear that your mom is a narcissist. My mom's mom I think is definetly an abusive narcissist with a martyr complex and I think she's the main reason why my own mom has PTSD and possibly other issues.


I hope we one day come out of this stupid time period where so many people want to be jerks like Trump.

I think television has always had that effect. There was a famous actress called Abaigal Rogan who played an evil wife in a TV series called "Number 96" on Australian TV in the 1970s. People were so swept up with the series and hated the character so much they couldn't distinguish between fiction and real-life. When Abigail walked the streets of Sydney she needed an escort as hundreds of people would walk past her and verbally abuse her.

It's therefore not surprising that if you have enough exposure to "bad" role models on TV or social media then their "bad" conduct becomes normalised.

Another example is how quickly trends become taken up. In the old days it might take months or even years for fashion trends in Paris or Milan to trickle it's way to Australian shores. But then you had the advent of cable TV and now social media. Fashion bloggers and social media influencers are literally creating trends among young Australian women literally within days as items for sale can be ordered for delivery the next day via Amazon.

A more negative outcome is how ideas/conspiracies can spread like wildfire and it doesn't help when you have right wing podcasters and media reinforcing incorrect information.

Well... perhaps you're right. The main characters Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'hara in Gone With the Wind were an example of movie audiences falling in love with a sociopathic power couple.

To be fair I didn't think "Gone with the Wind" was anything more than a quaint love story set against the backdrop of the civil war. It was not until my late 20s did I learn how problematic the movie was.

Fun fact: Clarke Gable was African American.

Yes that was one good thing about the 1980s. However I remember it and there was still horrendous prejudice against gay people and if they were openly gay it was worse. A lot of people were still hiding away for safety reasons, it wasn't utopia back then. Lots of 'gay bashing' as it was called then. Homosexuality was legal but very far from being accepted.

A film you might like is Pride (made in 2014.) It is a British film based on a true story where a group of gay people raised funds to help the starving families of the miners who were striking because their coal mines were being closed by the Conservative government. The miners were suspicious at first, as they were from traditional, prejudiced backgrounds, but gradually they began to appreciate their support. It is a heartwarming story and as I said, true.

Apparently some of the young gay actors in the film were shocked when they heard how gay people were treated in the 1980s. They realised how much better they are treated in the 21st century. (in Britain I mean)

Thanks, I've really given up on my mum. NOTHING I ever do is good enough or right, so I rarely see her now. Anyway, SHE decided to move 2 hours drive away so it was her decision.

Eventually we will get out of this jerk period, I'm sure. Nothing lasts forever

Yeah I imagine that's how most people saw the movie at first but in hindsight the main characters were both very terrible people. Besides the fact that they were both slave owners you had Scarlett who was constantly chasing after a married man and toyed with the hearts of two other men for selfish reasons whom she had no attachment to even after they died and Rhett was heavily implied to have raped Scarlett after fighting with her (in a time when marital rape was an accepted thing in society).

But on the other hand this movie did open the doors for black actors to get a start in Hollywood. I knew that Clark Cable was part African American and he really stood up for the other black actors on set trying to make sure they got equal recognition for the work they put into this movie.

Sounds like a very interesting movie I'll have to check it out.

You sound just like my mom btw when she finally came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth it to try and maintain a relationship with her own narcissistic mother. Can't say I blame either of you, narcissists are the worst!

And yes I too hope we soon come out of this period of jerks and wannabe jerks.

Not that it really matters…..but it doesn’t seem like Clark Gable had African ancestry.

It matters from the standpoint of accuracy only.

Wait... I've read websites that claimed this was true about him. Can you give a source that explains this as untrue?

Yes. It doesnt seem to be solidly so.

And yes it doesnt matter except for accuracy. There are other more interesting real examples of celebs 'passing' (like J. Edgar Hoover, Jackie O).

The only website that gives him a detailed genealogy doesnt peg him to any non-European forebearers. All German, and Belgian ancestors. Some Jewish.

He stood up for Black costars in segregation situations. But he wasnt like J. Edgar Hoover. He wasnt himself a Black passing for White. Jackie Kennedy/Onassis was a quarter Black. Enough to be legally defined as being "Negro" in the Jim Crow South. But I cant find anything solid about Gable having even the 'one drop'.

Hmm ok. It makes sense. I guess that's another reason why I should quit believing everything I read on the internet.