Death of An Entertainment Icon
The entire day of news was taken up with the death of Anna Nicole Smith yesterday at the age of 39. What a tragic life she had. From seedy bars to strip clubs to Playboy Playmate of the Year to wife of decrepit millionaire she had quite a life. But the most tragic moment came last year upon the death of her 20 year old son Daniel. Parents should never outlive their children. Maybe Anna died of a broken heart, who knows? Now the question remains who will get the millions she was awarded by a court order last year? Will her surviving child, whose father by the way is unknown at this time. What a tragic life. I for one thought Anna was beautiful, albeit ditzy, in a Marilyn Monroe sort of way. We need to remember that although she was sort of a media circus, she was also a human being, whose family is grieving for their loss.
On another note, I do believe the media played up her death. Too much airtime was taken up in reporting the death of a celebrity. Meanwhile, probably over 300 people died yesterday in the absurd Iraqi war, and we have not been treated to an expose of their lives. What about the sons and daughters of parents who have said goodbye one last time? We have not heard about them. We need to.
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Quote of the Day:
"There is only one success--to be able to spend your life in your own way."
Friedrich Nietzsche - 1844-1900
On another note, I do believe the media played up her death. Too much airtime was taken up in reporting the death of a celebrity. Meanwhile, probably over 300 people died yesterday in the absurd Iraqi war, and we have not been treated to an expose of their lives. What about the sons and daughters of parents who have said goodbye one last time? We have not heard about them. We need to.
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Quote of the Day:
"There is only one success--to be able to spend your life in your own way."
Friedrich Nietzsche - 1844-1900
posted by L. Maria Thomas | 3:22 PM
3 Comments:
I too have been fascinated by this phenomenon--the media circus surrounding a celebrity death. It does seem sort of arbitrary, doesn't it.
Of course, the spectacle is predicated, in part, by the fact that she had the sort of life that you outlined in your post. Whereas, the poor soldier who lost his life in Bagdhad probably has a life something not too unlike our own. His expose would not feed our need to escape reality. Rather, his death would remind us of our own frailty, our own unrealized dreams, our own difficult sacrifices. Yes, his expose would be too horrifying to watch.
And, there is something far more reverent in a moment of silence rather than a 10 minute sound byte on Entertainment Tonight.
Well said, Mandee. Yes, it has to do with having the kind of life that we want to watch. An escape from our own mundane existence. Beauty mixed with tragedy always fascinates. thanks for the post!
its weird. that is all i can say about our priorities as a culture... its weird.
how did we get here?
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