Seth Rogen: Today's Belushi

No decade has such striking similarities to today as the 1970s and early 80s. The first decade of the new century in the United States has been forever scarred with the War on Terror, but it has also seen times of relative economic prosperity which has given way to severe depression and rising unemployment numbers. The 1970s saw both the peak of intensity of the Vietnam War as well as its end in 1975. Furthermore, the 1970s economy in the United States was extremely successful until 1979 and the first few years of the 1980s, when the United States found unemployment numbers reaching higher than anytime since the Great Depression. It is during times like these, that the American public looks for a “common man” to idolize. Thirty years ago, this man was John Belushi, today, it is Seth Rogen.
Born in Chicago in 1949, John Belushi led a life of relative insignificance, and commonality until his first big break in 1971 when he joined The Second City comedy troupe. Soon after landing this job, Belushi was cast in “National Lampoon’s Lemmings” and from there became a host on “The National Lampoon Radio Hour.” Belushi’s biggest role during his tragically abbreviated career was his regular appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” during which time he played upwards of 40 different characters, including impersonations of Franklin Roosevelt, John Lennon, Roy Orbison, Captain James T. Kirk, Yasser Arafat, and The Incredible Hulk. In movies, Belushi was known for his volatile, obnoxious, sloppy, yet hilarious characters.
Seth Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and decided to embrace his comedic skill at a young age. Rogen never graduated from high school but dropped out when he was 16, after placing second in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest, he headed south to continue a career in stand-up comedy and acting. His first role in a movie came in 2001 when he scored the role of Ricky Danforth in “Donnie Darko” and also had roles in TV shows like “Freaks and Geeks,” “Undeclared,” and he even was a guest in an episode of “Dawson’s Creek.” Much of the success that Rogen is experiencing now has come as a result of his role in “Freaks and Geeks,” of which Judd Apatow was a co-producer. Rogen and Apatow have since become friends and Apatow has been involved in every movie that Rogen has starred in since then. His recent exploits have met with great success in the United States and have included films such as “Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” “Pineapple Express,” and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.” In these movies, Rogen has become known for his portrayal of slightly overweight, pot-smoking, obnoxious losers that are nonetheless loved by almost everyone who sees his movies.
Rogen and Belushi are very similar in both their style of comedy and acting, as well as their physical appearance. Neither of the actors possesses the traits that Hollywood has traditionally embraced as keys to acceptance in the society. Both Rogen and Belushi are men of a larger stature than most stars on the red carpet, yet neither one of them seems to (or seemed to) care. It is this carefree attitude that allowed Belushi and is allowing Rogen to acquire a loyal following among United States citizens.
As Belushi steadily climbed the ladder to popularity in the 70s, he also found himself in the public spotlight much more than he was comfortable with. This newfound fame resulted in Belushi turning to drugs, specifically cocaine and heroin, which eventually was the cause of his death in 1982. Belushi was not quiet about his drug use, and is actually seen shooting up in a couple of his movies. While Rogen has so far managed to stay away from hard drugs in the public eye, he can be seen smoking marijuana in five of his last six movies, and he has become a strong advocate for the legalization of the drug. This blatant drug use has been the main argument of critics who disapprove of Seth Rogen’s popularity among the youth in the United States.
The emergence of Seth Rogen as a popular figure and movie star marks the first time since Belushi’s death that a comedian or actor who openly uses drugs has been in the spotlight. Actor/comedians such as Adam Sandler, Steve Carrel, and Steve Martin have all gained and lost popularity during the decades between Belushi’s death and Rogen’s rise to the throne, but none have quite lived up to Belushi’s legacy. This is not to say that comedians who have found popularity in the twenty years between 1982 and 2002 were any less worthy of the title of a modern day Belushi, but the society during those years failed to accept them on quite such a large scale. It is a combination of trying economic times as well as the fear of war that let Belushi become a comedic icon and is now increasing Rogen’s popularity exponentially.
The culture in a society that is experiencing dramatic increases in unemployment numbers and in which young men are dying for the country will always be similar. The people are hungry for a figure with which they can identify and that will help them feel comfortable with themselves. Rogen gives people hope; he is an overweight pothead, yet he has found incredible success in a society and economy that has made success hard to come by. More important to his popularity than the hope of success that he instills in people, is the air of informality and familiarity that people have with him. While the vast majority of Seth Rogen fans have never actually met or conversed with the man, just about everyone feels that they would enjoy his company. He is not up on a pedestal like most Hollywood stars, he represents one of us in the Hollywood elitist society.