Re:Bindi Overload... - 2006/10/15 09:09 redstar wrote: I think the point you guys are missing, is the fact that Steve was killed while filming a segment for Bindi's TV show by the barb from the stingray.
What is Bindi (who is yes, only eight years old) going to think when she is at a age old enough to comprehend what has happened?
Use some empathy guys! What would you feel if you were in her poisition when you realised that your father was killed while filming a segment for your TV show?
Personally I would be racked with guilt.
In the long term how will Steve's death impact on Bindi and her relationship whith her mother Terri and brother Bob, with them knowing that if Bindi didn't have her own TV show (even though she probably had no choice in the matter) that maybe Steve would still be alive?
I completely agree with the fact that this child is being exploited, but it doesn't just come from the manager John Stainton, Steve's father (Bindi's grandfather) has also made similar statements that the empire (that he originally created) will be continued by Bindi and hopefully Bob, even though his son has died.
To me this is capatilism at it's worst, and as for conservationism I doubt that there really is any.
I agree with you in a lot of what you say redstar. I am confused in that you think that there is not a lot of empathy shown however because there is certainly that. It's a sad thing that a young wife and family have been left without a husband and father - there's no doubt about that.
I just hope that Bindi's caretakers (whether it be her Mum, manager or Grandfather)are there for her when she does realise that her Dad died working on her show. It was his choice to do so of course while his family were in Tasmania, but I guess that if that's what happened, Bindi herself will have to rationalise that one day. Grief is never easy and I hope that she doesn't feel guilt about a choice that her Dad made on that day.
As for her own show - I'm sure that was organised all around her by her family and manager. Yes, I would think that a little kid would be happy to be on tv and host her own show, but I wonder if she realises the huge ramifications on her life.
I can see a lot of lip service about conservation, but do these wild animals need to be tamed by humans?
This article is probably in a lot of newspapers around the country, but I thought it relevant.
Re:Bindi Overload... - 2006/10/15 11:45 In regards to the above link from Metijo...
These sort of agents/managers always leave a foul taste in my mouth, especially when they pounce on a tradgedy and conveniently turn it into an oppurtunity, which you can guarentee is always money motivated.
Whether Bindi wanted to spearhead her fathers legacy or not, these people would have already sealed her fate as a star, regardless of whether her father died or not, and will do anything to keep it that way. No amount of protests about how she is too young, will sway them.
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RBat Fresh Boarder
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Re:Bindi Overload... - 2006/10/15 12:46 I will make three points on Bindi.
1: Bindi has only had two media appearances since her father died. One was his memorial and the other, the awards ceremony which she wanted to attend.
2: Bindi has been in show business her entire life, regularly contributing to Australia Zoo performances and appearing on television.
3: Rather than predict doom and gloom, let's wait and see what happens. She has excellent support, looks a very resilient child and judging by how popular Steve was overseas, she will be an enormous star.
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aaron Admin
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Re:Bindi Overload... - 2006/10/15 14:44 I think it's okay that she read at her father's memorial, and I even think it's not so bad that she presented an award. Rather, it's the context.
I think the media frenzy is terrible. Imagine if you're 8 and trying to make sense of such a craze, lift-outs in magazines, paparazzi snapping at you, TV specials, etc, etc, etc. It's hard enough as it is, without it happening all at once, in the period of losing your Father. Even the kids around her - how is she relating to people her own age?
It may seem "doom and gloom", but the reality - as gloomy as it is - is that child stars don't fair so well, in adult life. Clearly, it can't be stressed how important your youth is, developmentally. Because they are being moulded as people by a very, very different experience and influence than normal people. Being a celebrity figure in pop culture to the extent she now is, it's denying her many important developmental processes. Socialisation (devlopment of how she relates to other people), education (the reality is that you can't be a child megastar and be properly schooled), the trial and error of how young people grow (try doing it in the public eye - it's an immense pressure for her not to fail, because she simply can't afford to), and her developing self-identity. And identity is huge, because the thing is, here she is having it decided for her - that she is too young to see it as, mind you - what her entire life is going to be. It's all very well for that manager to say, 'Oh, she can be a nurse, if she wants to'. She is not autonomous - she is a child. Her sense of what "is" and "isn't", and more importantly, who she "is", it's all been handed to her, and formed in her mind. And the thing is - that's not even the problem in itself, but here's the other doom and gloom reality, someone else has already mentioned (quite right, too) in this thread...
We'll forget about Bindi Irwin, after all. Bindi Irwin, like all child stars before her, will grow up. The commercialised image of her - the image this country has turned into a symbol (because that's what it is, of course) and fallen in love with en masse - is doomed to be transient. Will she transcend it, as she grows up? Of course, not. Where is there for her to go? Especially in Bindi's case, she's just SO big - she'll have a massive year in front of her, but it's all down from here. You can't repeat this initial period of circumstance, this emotion fuelled by the reaction to the death of an "Aussie icon" - you can't separate the two. Bindi Irwin is famous because her father died, after all. That's harsh too, but you can't deny that. And this can never be recreated, it's all down from here for Bindi - and it's just such a long way to fall, she's just so bloody famous!
Whatever happened to Nikki Webster? Oh, that's right - she got her tits out for a men's porn magazine, and in an interview, talked about how hard it was being immortalised in the public consciousness as that commercialised image we fell in love with. Mind you, instead of putting that quote in the corner of her nude pics, the mag ran with her other quote; "I'm not the girl I used to be, my boobs have got much bigger." How quickly the little darlings grow! And not that anyone cared, or even noticed - a few men old enough to be her father had a wank to her, and she went back to oblivion.
So I'm sure she's "smart" - but she's still a little girl, who does not - can not - understand what is happening, and precisely because she has grown up in this environment. And it has ben handed to her as her "destiny" (such as the almost mythical quality to the manager's recounting of her birth). Destiny is a dangerous, delusional concept to give a child - and that's what screws up most child stars, later in life. They're left to reconcile what they grew to believe life was going to be, and what it became when gee, whaddya know, the fad was over and nobody really cared, anymore. And add to that the guilt and responsibility that is being formed in her mind in relation to some obligation she must fill to her Father and Grandfather's "empire". I hope we're all wrong, but there's just so much in there going against it.
And I don't think we're saying she shouldn't be doing anything at all., or even that she shouldn't be involved in the zoo, etc. But there's a middle ground, somewhere below the extremity of the Bindi phenomenon, and it would be much better "support" for her in the LONG RUN.
PS: Oh, and do you know the latest? Bindi is releasing a fitness DVD (?!) next month, for Christmas! It will go on sale beside her clothing range and TV series. So get ready everyone, it's going to be a very Bindi christmas.
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RedEye Platinum Boarder
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Re:Bindi Overload... - 2006/10/15 15:13 redstar wrote: I think the point you guys are missing, is the fact that Steve was killed while filming a segment for Bindi's TV show by the barb from the stingray.
What is Bindi (who is yes, only eight years old) going to think when she is at a age old enough to comprehend what has happened?
Use some empathy guys! What would you feel if you were in her poisition when you realised that your father was killed while filming a segment for your TV show?
Personally I would be racked with guilt.
In the long term how will Steve's death impact on Bindi and her relationship whith her mother Terri and brother Bob, with them knowing that if Bindi didn't have her own TV show (even though she probably had no choice in the matter) that maybe Steve would still be alive?
I completely agree with the fact that this child is being exploited, but it doesn't just come from the manager John Stainton, Steve's father (Bindi's grandfather) has also made similar statements that the empire (that he originally created) will be continued by Bindi and hopefully Bob, even though his son has died.
To me this is capatilism at it's worst, and as for conservationism I doubt that there really is any.
Hi restar, I too agree with much in your post.
If this segment was filmed for a show that was nominally Bindi's, then she is certainly bound to feel guilty and responsible when she comprehends that her dad died doing something in her name, even though as you point out, she would have had little to do with those decisions.
I'm also sure that Steve's family are hoping his children will continue with his empire and his legacy. Many successful indiviuals hope their kids will follow in their footsteps, whether they have a plumbing business or a publishing empire, and it's certainly a legitimate desire. However those decisions are perhaps best made at a later age, when the kids have grown up enough to know what they want.
I'm sorry, tho, that you feel there is no empathy being shown here--I thought rather the reverse.
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RBat Fresh Boarder
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Re:Bindi Overload... - 2006/10/15 15:18 I totally agree with all of the concerns you have raised, Bindi is a vulnerable little girl at the hands of a media frenzy.
She comes across as an incredible young girl, poised and confident and it is understandable that the media has starting jumping through hoops to cash in on the public interest.
I am only reflecting that Bindi has had a unique life, therefore the impact of this interest may be different to what some imagine. I sincerely hope that her mother will make decisions that will be in her long term best interests.
THE MIC 
