The fascination with the ongoing Charlie Sheen saga is a sign of "our collective depravity," according to spiritual guru Deepak Chopra, who says the actor's antics give the public an opportunity to peek into the dark side of human nature without confronting their own demons.
The 45-year-old actor has been in the headlines in recent months for a series of bizarre antics. His odd behaviour culminated in the cancellation of his hit television show, "Two and a Half Men," for the remainder of the season after he made disparaging remarks about, among other things, Alcoholics Anonymous and show producer Chuck Lorre.
Sheen made the comments while the show was on temporary hiatus so the actor could receive alcohol and drug treatment following an alleged cocaine and booze binge in January that ended in his hospitalization.
In recent weeks, Sheen's haggard appearance in numerous television interviews and nonsensical ramblings about curing addiction "with my mind" has fascinated a public always on the lookout for the latest celebrity scandal. When CNN host Piers Morgan suggested Sheen sign up for Twitter, he did, and in less than 24 hours had one million follows.
Chopra, the California-based medical doctor and best-selling self-help author, says the media and the public "are definitely part of the problem," because if Sheen wasn't a celebrity, his antics would be more disturbing than titillating.
"We are giving him all of this attention and in a way it is very much reflective of our need to confront our own shadows, and our fascination with profanity," Chopra told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel on Saturday in a telephone interview from San Diego.
Chopra added: "We would rather give him time than President Obama. It definitely reflects our collective depravity."
Chopra, who has never treated Sheen, says the actor is exhibiting signs of mental illness, but said his behaviour could also be a combination of an "ego-maniacal" nature and a history of drug use.
But Chopra also points out that Sheen's behaviour, and the public's fascination with it, has its roots in Jungian psychology, where each person has a shadow, a dark side that they repress, but "says if you keep ignoring me I'm going to embarrass you at some point."
"The shadow is primitive, it's secretive, it's dark, it can be dangerous. And it comes out when people have a lot of repression in their lives, or a lot of guilt or shame in their life, or when there's a lot of judgment, or when there's poor leadership or when there's a lot of stress," Chopra said. "And I think his shadow is coming out and it's suddenly coming out, but its ‘humaning' the collective shadow, which loves to see others in that situation so they don't have to face their own demons."
