When Celebrities Die.

[D_Sal_Manilla]

This may sound shallow but i really don't see the big deal when any celebrity kicks the bucket.
The way i see it "They didn't know me and i don't know them. about 1 million people die everyday, i don't have stop my world because someone famous died."

Like i know it a sad event when a pioneer in music, rights etc dies but it gets to be a annoying when you hear about everywhere.

I'm sorry but i really don't give a flying fart in space that some celebrity (who probably did it to themselves)died.

 

[ghb69]

AMEN

 

[Kotchanski]

I think if you take it as a whole, then I agree with you completely, but breaking it down further, and you can't tell me there isn't a single celebrity out there that has in some way made a difference to your life, or at the very least the life of someone you know... Be it their actions, a particular song that really touched you, or a role in some random movie that inspired you.

Do I care the Whitney Houston is dead? No not really, she had a few songs I liked, but she meant nothing to me. Pete Postlethwaite however, I cried for days, I grew up watching him, more than one of his roles made my question myself and my outlooks and his death hurt.

 

[petite]

The loss of some people makes the world seem a little dimmer. I was heartbroken when David Foster Wallace committed suicide. He was an exceptional human being and I was deeply saddened that he was in such deep pain.

 

[erratic]

I get where you're coming from. I do. My suspicion is that people are mourning what that person meant to them as much or more than the person themselves. People in the public eye come to represent ideas as part of the image that they and/or the media foster, right? And when a celebrity produces something - say, great film, great music, a great message - people often develop a personal connection to that work. On top of all of that, the death of a celebrity, who is really just a concept to most people as most people aren't actually close to them, is a poignant reminder that we're all just human, and we'll all die. Not to everyone, but to some people.

I assume you're referencing Whitney Houston. I know that I haven't had the same reaction many have had to her passing. I'm sorry for her and for those close to her in the way I would be, hearing of any stranger's death, but I had no real connection with her. She had a magnificent voice, but I never connected with her work. There's no meaning there for me (or, I'm assuming, for you) to mourn.

For us, she's a famous stranger who passed away; for others, she was an icon whose music and story touched them personally. I think that's the heart of it.

 

[SilverTrain]

My suspicion is that people are mourning what that person meant to them as much or more than the person themselves.

I would say this is the case in the majority of instances of mourning, be it for family, friend, or "icon".

 

[D_Kitten_Kaboodle]

When a celebrity dies ... I agree with you in a sense that I don't cry, I don't feel as though I have lost a close friend, etc.

What I do consider is the loss of talent. Whitney had a great voice, but her recent troubles had altered her sound. She was just beginning to get that back.

When a great talent dies at a young age, the world experiences a loss. The loss of their potential.

I always feel more for the family that looses a young person (and believe me...48 is still young), but it's not something that affects me personally. I think the media should recognize the loss, but then move on. Media can make too much of it sometimes. I hate that they are making so much of Whitney's death... and just because Etta James was older, it was a brief mention and on to the rest of the day.

 

[redz_rule]

... On top of all of that, the death of a celebrity, who is really just a concept to most people as most people aren't actually close to them, is a poignant reminder that we're all just human, and we'll all die....

I agree with this. I am not a royalist at all and I didn't like Princess Di when she was alive, but I still vividly remember watching her funeral on tv with my baby son sleeping in my arms. I did cry but I cried for a mother dying tragically young and leaving behind two children. I do think there is a sense of 'if it can happen to them it can happen to anyone'.

Whitney's death makes me sad for different reasons... I grew up with her music, so there are fond memories attached... there is also a sense of hopelessness that sometimes the writing really is on the wall for someone and their destiny is set. I hate that thought because the idea of recognising that in someone I love terrifies me.

 

[rbkwp]

I think
Varying degrees of compassion and emotions, no doubt.
any person who has had a partial influence on yr life, be it sports, acting, music, even politics uhhgg', a deep thought can be spared, but tears of emotion, hardly....for me
reserved for family n friends really
ha in saying that its almost a calculated control of emotions, but really thats what i have learnt and am comfortable with....of course letting it flow, in other ways at times hah

Then i think even more compassionately, of say sporstmen, like Cricketers who have taken there lives recently.
Sad to say such , but i feel a little more for them n there circumstances of death, than say Whitney
Was deeply distressed with the circumstances and everything else re Dis death, btw.....

 

[D_Sal_Manilla]

i completely understand that some folks looked up to celebs in admiration and inspiration. I love Meryl Streep, she is talented and a beautiful woman. I stand behind her beliefs as an activist for women etc.

What i mean is like example, Jackson's death back in 09. many hated him cause they believed he was child molester and weirdo. After his death it seemed like everyone turned their heads and almost declared him a saint.

another example, before Whitney death, most of the world forgot about her and now shes all over the place.

I just personally believe people put too much emphasis on celebrities and not just in their deaths.

I'm watching the news in the morning, channel 7 in nJ. I hope to hear about wordy events and the financial crisis but what do they start talking about? The divorce of one of the cardashians.
i just don;t really understand how someone else's marriage can matter more than what has been going on in the middle east.

and don't get me started on Jersey Shore. Half of them aren't even from jersey.

Like i said, people put too much thought on people that don't even know you exist.

 

[D_Sal_Manilla]

oh god I'm writing like crap. lol Time for bed.

 

[august86]

I guess everyone has their Whitney, Princess Diana, David Foster Wallace, Pete Postlethwaite, Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger or Michael Jackson that they looked up to, or felt some kind of connection to.

Regardless of how they lived their lives, if you've grown up with a particular celebrity appearing on your screen everyday or hearing their music playing and singing to it with family and friends, you feel some kind of connection.

We're very often told that, as humans we have the innate ability to create a connection with anything. So what if you haven't met the person.

Of course, some people do go overboard which comes across as attention-seeking more than anything else.

 

[kenny233]

I'm watching the news in the morning, channel 7 in nJ. I hope to hear about wordy events and the financial crisis but what do they start talking about? The divorce of one of the cardashians.
i just don;t really understand how someone else's marriage can matter more than what has been going on in the middle east.

and don't get me started on Jersey Shore. Half of them aren't even from jersey.

Like i said, people put too much thought on people that don't even know you exist.

I don't watch much television at all, but I agree that it is aggravating when anything, particular something a celebrity did, is sensationalized or over-reported on the news. They only do it to raise their ratings, and because people are out there who pay attention to it.

I believe that the people who pay attention to celebrity news more than "real" news are not fully aware about things that could potentially affect them, whereas what happens with celebrities generally has no impact on day to day life. I'm not criticizing others for following actors or musicians, but I agree with the OP that there is much more news coverage than necessary focusing on celebrities.

 

[deleted15807]

As one gets older celebrities, artists, family members, etc begin to represent eras in your life. And once they go it feels like a part of you has gone with them. I'm not sure how you cannot feel that loss connection when they die.

 

[Countryguy63]

Usually, I'm not majorly affected by a celebs death. Saddened for their families, "that's too bad", etc. is about as emotional as I get.

However, for some reason 2 have. One was Whitney. I think because I have always recognized the amazing talent that she had (emphasis on HAD), and always hoped that she'd pull herself back together and be the entertainment powerhouse that she was. I guess I felt the loss of that hope.

That didn't however affect me near as much as Diana's death did. That one was hard to explain, but as stupid as it sounds, it felt like a personal loss. No clue why

 

[OhWiseOne]

When a celebrity dies ... I agree with you in a sense that I don't cry, I don't feel as though I have lost a close friend, etc.

What I do consider is the loss of talent. Whitney had a great voice, but her recent troubles had altered her sound. She was just beginning to get that back.

When a great talent dies at a young age, the world experiences a loss. The loss of their potential.

I always feel more for the family that looses a young person (and believe me...48 is still young), but it's not something that affects me personally. I think the media should recognize the loss, but then move on. Media can make too much of it sometimes. I hate that they are making so much of Whitney's death... and just because Etta James was older, it was a brief mention and on to the rest of the day.

^This^
I will add that I do feel for the families. But the difference for me is I don't have the personal connection like losing a family member of my own. Memories like my dad sitting in a lawn chair directing us boys on how to put a roof on his house, ugh. My sister being the mother hen of the family taking care of all the kids and never wanting anything in return. My brother, we had great times when we where youngsters but drugs and alcohol got him. My nephew a shy young kid that went into the marines and came out a man. Anyway I hope you get my point.

 

[Catchoftheday]

This may sound shallow but i really don't see the big deal when any celebrity kicks the bucket.
The way i see it "They didn't know me and i don't know them. about 1 million people die everyday, i don't have stop my world because someone famous died."

Like i know it a sad event when a pioneer in music, rights etc dies but it gets to be a annoying when you hear about everywhere.

I'm sorry but i really don't give a flying fart in space that some celebrity (who probably did it to themselves)died.

Yes it is hard to understand how someone could mourn someone they have never met and have no connection with, however there are a lot of people who have strong relationships with so called celebreties, be it through watching them in films or maybe listening to them on records and they spend a lot of time with them and feel that they DO know them and they have strong relationships (albeit maybe rather one sided relationship) and are bound to have a sense of loss when they lose them.

Just because you don't understand somebodie lose is not a good reason to mock them.

 

[nudeyorker]

I agree with most of what has been said here... However some people who I have known that have died were celebrities and in the end they were a brother or sister or mother or father or friend and the loss leaves a void.
Having said that I feel that the media sensationalism when a celebrity dies is often over the top and is tasteless and invasive, but if someone made a difference in your life and inspired you to do something that made you or the world better; than by all means get carried away in the moment.

 

[b.c.]

I think the death of celebrities (as some above have suggested) affects us because of ways in which we relate to that person's craft (be it sports, acting, music, politics, etc.) and because we either listened to, liked, or connected, in someway, to that person's "product" (if you will); even if that relationship is nothing more than a connection to a moment in our own lives.

With hearing of Whitney's passing, first thing I though of was my daughter, as a little girl, standing in front of that TV with Whitney's video and belting out "How will I knoooooww"... I can see it like it was yesterday, because in a sense it was.

The passing of each of these "icons of our own moments" signifies that we too are passing, passing through time, to each of our inevitable conclusions.

But yes, the media over sensationalizes everything, and the delving into every personal facet of the person's life... it's vulture-like to me, and quite insincere, imo.

Y'know if you fuckin' cared that much about the person in life as you seem to do now, maybe they'd still BE here, eh? Ah hell, people make their own beds, and certainly Whitney did.

But I can understand the sense of loss people feel over such events. Well no, not in all cases. That Elvis stuff? Now, that's just freakin' weird.

 

[BIGBULL29]

One thread where people are making some sense.:smile: