Tom Cruise acts super-creepy for a Louisville, Kentucky home-town hero.* I think Mr. Cruise’s behavior demonstrates that he has completely broken with Louisville traditions and values, but I also grudgingly respect him for his crazy stunts and press statements.
A real Louisvillian would not be likely to jump on anyone’s couch, except his own and in private, with the curtains drawn. A real Lousivillian would say that psychotropic medication is your own business, though he abstains, personally. A real Louisvillian would not make statements of fact regarding other people. A real Louisvillian would be oblique and vague, never really giving you the full truth.
Sounds like a recipe for major Hollywood celebrity PR, huh? Which is why Mr. Cruise fails so spectacularly at the PR game and makes such a great celebrity gossip dynamo. His statements are absolute and unequivocated.
Take for example the latest factoid from the mouth of Tom Cruise: “’Katie is a young girl’s name. Her name is Kate now. She’s a child-bearing woman.’ –Tom Cruise, explaining to reporters why he renamed fiancé Katie Holmes.”
There are many things to dissect here, so let’s start with an obvious one: Why is Tom Cruise making public statements about his fiancé’s name? Isn’t it her announcement? Here’s another one: Why is Mr. Cruise changing his fiancé’s name? It makes her sound like a toy doll who gets a new identity for a new game of make believe. Isn’t it hers to decide? Another good one: Why does Kate/Katie let Mr. Cruise make decisions about her personal identity for her? Does she let him? And finally, if Tom Cruise made the statement and the media reported it, why didn’t this media outlet honor the change in its reportage? Is the media belittling Mr. Cruise by mocking the validity of his statement?
Despite all these questions, my ultimate reaction is “Kudos to Mr. Cruise!” I’m glad that he is neither vague nor oblique. I’m glad that he makes bold statements, no matter how bizarre they come off sounding. So many celebrities hem and haw at every niggling little detail that it’s nice to see someone make an actual revelation. Too many people are afraid of alienating this or that section of their fan base and they say bland, superficial things. Tom Cruise may sound super-creepy for a Louisvillian, but at least he’s got meat in his words.
* It’s true; he’s from Louisville. His real name is Tom Cruise Mapother, Cruise being his mother’s maiden name. I went to grade school with his bratty stuck-up Mapother cousins who thought all they had to do to be famous was share his real last name. Sadly, it was true, in our school at least. His mother or his aunt—I don’t remember which—was a substitute teacher at our school. He was a total nerd as a student at one of the local Catholic boys’ high schools.
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