Discourse

Charlie Sheen’s placement within American media discourse over the span of his entertainment career has shown his relevance and interest among audiences. Articles in People from 1987 to present have recorded Sheen’s personal life and range from reports on drug and alcohol abuse to marriages, even within the same articles. Sheen’s image through People has evolved in meaning yet still carries out the rebel, unconventional persona that his actions have publicly shown and been reported on over the course of his film and television career.

Beginning with the article, “Charlie’s Angel,” People pointed out that in 1995 Sheen had admitted to paying for sexual services from call girls. The article then reported on Sheen’s new marriage to model Donna Peele after only knowing one another for five months, a marriage that ended after another five months. The article was short, a 424-word report on a small, intimate marriage where not a lot of details were disclosed to the public to begin with and measures were taken to deter the paparazzi.

In June 2002, Sheen had married again to actress Denise Richards, which was a major newsworthy People article, “A Whole New Ball Game,” by Julie Jordan and Jill Smolowe. People presented the report of the marriage after describing Sheen’s new pre-wedding tattoo dedicated to Richards and telling of how Sheen’s been sober for four years, both alluding to his bad boy image. Richards was shown in a “cherubic” light (Jordan, Julie and Jill Smolowe). The article was longer than the first and involved more of Sheen and Richard’s time and experiences together. It was reported that they do not discuss their own past with each other, as told by Richards, “We all have a past, unfortunately his was very public. I respect him for who he is. I admire him for where he’s come from.” She later describes their wedding arrangements, “That’s the biggest misconception about Charlie. He’s incredibly traditional, very romantic,” and Richards also described him as introverted, innocent, and personal in the article (Jordan, Julie and Jill Smolowe). This article was important in seeing the “romantic” side of Sheen as told primarily by his now ex-wife and his father Martin Sheen, and seeing some of Charlie’s own personal views that are not captured as often because they do not fall under the rebel, crazy, bad boy image that he carries and is brought on to him through other tabloids.

The March 2011 People article, “Apocalypse Now,” reports on Sheen’s current troubles with his former boss, Chuck Lorre. This article explains Sheen’s past drug addictions and current recovery by what Sheen describes as the results of a “new brain.” The article is a critique and analysis to what Sheen is doing and plans to do with his personal life with his two then-current porn star girlfriends, his children, his career, and himself. Celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky refers to Sheen as hypomanic while his friend and radio host Alex Jones describes Sheen as a deliverer of “dark satire.” Jones says, “Charlie is somebody who feels repressed and oppressed, like people have been trying to control his life for decades,” (“Apocalypse Now”).

Charlie Sheen’s image created by tabloid coverage over the years is constructed for an audience who wants information on his personal life, despite Sheen’s reluctance or own construction at what he wants to provide. In the past he has provided little, true insight, or “tidbits,” by giving the audience what they wanted to consume from him (Gamson 91). Now Sheen has rejected the control of his boss and publicist and is giving interviews according to what he wants the audience to know, like in his 20/20 interview for ABC News (“Charlie Sheen: ABC News Interview on 20/20 Special Edition”).