Supplemental Post #5 - Madison Lorenz

Nowadays it's common for audiences and fans to believe that they know a lot, if not everything, about celebrities. With the use of social media, fans are able to feel like they can connect and get a lot of insight into the lives of their favorite celebrities. One celebrity that I usually follow on a regular basis is Bella Thorne. I wouldn't consider myself of fan of hers. I never watched the show Shake It Up and I've only really seen her in supporting roles where she plays the mean girl. The reason I like to watch her Instagram stories and look at her feed so often is because of her blatant transition from Disney kid actor to this colorful, unapologetic, and outspoken woman. From the outside, it seems as if she's become this wild child who posts raw, unedited, and sometimes scandalous videos and photos of herself. But Vogue recently did a short documentary that followed Bella and gave her the space to explain why she is the way she is.
In the documentary, she explains how her life as a child star on Disney took a large toll on her mental and emotional health. From a young age she was always told what to say, what to do, when to do it, what to wear, etc. She even says that they had this whole map planned out on how the rest of her career should go and what image she should uphold. Bella reveals to the viewers that she felt she was never being 100% true to herself. It wasn't up until recently, more specifically when she turned 18, that she realized she wanted to live the way she felt was true to herself rather than pleasing the public eye. Unfortunately this new image comes with consequences in the media, but she feels happiest now that she can express herself.
To be totally honest, I thought I had Bella figured out. I was one of the audience members that assumed she was another child actor going off the rails, but after seeing this documentary, I feel like I got to better understand her. I also feel like I got more insight into the oppression that many younger actors face when it comes to their image. Documentaries like this are a reminder that celebrities really are just human like the rest of us and they face challenges in the same way that we do - they just have to deal with it more publicly.