Perspective On Celebrity Deaths

The reaction to celebrity deaths often mystifies me. I say this because even though there are celebrities I admire and enjoy and who, I think, contribute in a meaningful way to the world at large, their deaths would not diminish me in a personal way. My emotional investment is in family and friends, loved ones whose loss would devastate me.

This is why I find it nearly incomprehensible that millions are in active mourning over the passing of Michael Jackson. Yes, he was a great entertainer, but his personal life, characterized by scandal, overshadowed his achievements.

Special Treatment

I don’t know the veracity of the charges against him, though if those charges were made against any non celebrity man, that man would have found himself brought up on charges rather swiftly, and a jury would have determined his guilt or innocence.

Even though I believe Yeats had it right when he said, “A man deserves to be remembered by his best acts,” I find it difficult to remember Jackson solely for his contribution to pop culture entertainment. At this point, it may all be water under the bridge, but that water seems to contain toxic contaminants.

My Confusion

All that brings me back to my confusion. I can understand his daughter weeping. But why are millions worldwide mourning as if they too had lost a father or a brother or a beloved uncle or best friend? Is it because we as a society no longer have those emotional bonds with family? Do we adopt celebrities, based on their entertainment contribution and/or their image, as a beloved friend or parent or sibling?

Difficult Questions

Do those who do this not realize the superficiality of their connection to the celebrity? I ask this because, by its very definition, an emotional bond is a two way connection. It’s like a rope tying two people together. When one casts a celebrity in the role traditionally reserved for family or dear friends, then that rope is loose at one end because the celebrity will never catch the dangling end and bond him or herself to the fan or admirer.

Or am I just making over thinking the situation? Staring at my local newspaper, with a huge picture of the Jackson family splashed across the front page, I can only shake my head in bewilderment.

Takeaway Truth

Perhaps the phrase Popular Culture needs to be shorted to Pop Cult.

Tags: celebrity_deaths, michael_jackson, personal_opinion