Today I would like to talk about Russell Brand, in my previous blog which can be viewed here
https://brighter-pathways.co.uk/index.php/blog/
I spoke about a lack of positive male role models in todays society. I feel that Russell Brand is somebody that should be taken into account here, now I know he is not every ones cup of tea to offer that typical British metaphor. Brand has a past with addiction himself, which some might consider less admirable, however his stance on how addiction is treated in society today is absolutely spot on. Russell Brand being as unflinchingly characteristic as he is, even got parliament to sit up and take notice in a debate on how addiction should be treated today in no other than the house of commons! This can be viewed here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LHuII-jYQ
Russell was all over the media when he was married to Katie Perry and glamorised as a, A list celebrity he was also given lots of media coverage when his marriage was on the rocks. However now the message he promotes is more positive the only time the media tend to mention him is to criticise him. I myself have to be honest and say I really was not a fan of his when he was considered a Hollywood actor, however in recent times since talking about his own battle with addiction and supporting an East London protest against the eviction of 93 working class families. You can read more here
http://www.independent.co.uk/…/russell-brand-saves-93-famil… .
This combined with his recent book Revolution which is an attack on capitalism and todays society I have to say if more people of Russell Brands charisma and determination were to surface I think we would see a revolution. I think it’s interesting to acknowledge the lack of media coverage on Russell’s positive ventures compared to his more negative ones (ie marriage break up and drug addiction). Is it that the public are only interested in reading about someone’s misfortunes or is this selective reporting in the face of newspapers capitalist interests?
To spell out the sort of impact Brand has made in recent times he was called ‘A joke!’ by Prime Minister David Cameron because of an interview Brand did with Ed Miliband. At this point I would like to make reference to the type of role model David Cameron is himself. He recently criticised Jeremy Corbyn’s Jacket he wore in the House of Lords whilst Cameron himself has been rumoured to wear suits in the region of 2000 pounds. see more here
http://www.theguardian.com/…/david-cameron-launches-persona… .
When you consider that many households do not see that amount of spare cash in their homes a year, it is hard to see how someone whom behaves in such a way could become a positive role model. I personally as a parent tell my children not to criticise people for the way they dress, I would like to think the Prime Minister would have seen it more professional to not employ playground bullying tactics to make his point.
This brings me back to Russell Brand he was recently quoted as saying “How we define the vulnerable is how we define ourselves as a species.” He openly admits to being a person who meditates and lists yoga as one of his interests. He has taken his stance of creating no harm even further by being vegan which is quite the opposite of former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson who once said “I’m not interested in eating anything unless it once had a face!” I am not about to suggest that Clarkson is the male role model society needs any time soon.
Russell Brand on the other hand seems to have an equal balance between his own masculinity and femininity which also strengthens his case for being a positive male role model. This same balance is not so common in young men today. The slightest lean towards femininity is often scoffed at and leads to taunts about sexuality. This could be part of the reason there is a lack of male role models in society today. I think Adele’s recent visit to Disney land where she allowed her son to wear a Frozen dress for the day, was a real positive example of parenting, her reasoning for doing this was to show unconditional positive regard and allowing him to be whoever he wants to be,I think there are lessons to be learned from this. . Read more here
http://www.advocate.com/…/adele-takes-her-son-disneyland-dr…
So am I suggesting that the youth of today look up to Russel Brand as their role model? I think he would be a good place to start. What I think is more important than that though, is that we encourage teenage boys to be in touch with their feminine side. To talk about their feelings, that it is ok to show affection, its ok to have girls as friends, its ok not to follow the crowd, its ok to be who they want to be and show them unconditional positive regard but most of all its ok to care for others and show it…..