TheAgitator.com
Heath Ledger, RIP (Plus, Not-Really-About-Heath-Ledger Aside)
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008Terribly sad story.
Not to detract from the tragedy of Ledger’s death, but I’ve seen more than a couple of comments sections and gossip blogs with lines to the effect of, “and here we thought Britney would be the first to off herself this year.”
I don’t want to get all “leave Britney alone” here, but Jesus. What in the world is wrong with these people? There seems to be a kind of gleeful anticipation of Britney Spears’ death, now. What horrible people. I hope she gets her shit together, drops out of the spotlight for a while, and manages to enjoy what’s left of her life. And I hope she eventually gets to be a mother to her kids again, too.
I know fame has always had its toll, and there has always been a build-’em-up, tear-’em-down aspect to celebrity. But for some reason, the age of the gossip blog seems to be particularly cruel. I can’t imagine not being able to be young and free to make mistakes without those mistakes being exacerbated by thousands of people on the Internet waiting to judge me the next morning. They seem really eager to drive some of these young women into the ground. I lamented at my debate last week the glee and enthusiasm with which sports talk radio celebrated the imprisonment of Marion Jones. The young woman is being taken from her kids for six months. And these mostly-fat, mostly-middle aged white men, most of whom I’d imagine have smoked a joint or driven drunk a time or two in their lives, can’t applaud loud enough.
Couldn’t agree more. Why do some people take such pleasure in other’s demise?
[wild applause]
Thank you, Radley! We’re supposed to be such a modern, tolerant society, but I think that’s all just talk to disguise entrenched intolerance. We look for reasons to get angry. We crave reasons to hate others. I don’t want a love-in or anything, but for crying out loud, can’t we just learn to live and let live?!
There are all sorts of creatures out there. Some are evil and enjoy the pain and suffering of others. Some, well, just are indifferent to the suffering. They choose the lambast as a means of fun, to have a say with the crowd. And then there are others that are really innocent, have high moral standards, just have no comon courtesy or realize those folks behind the moving pictures and MTV video are people, that there is a difference between the hype and reality. It is those folks I have pity for. They just do not have a grip on reality.
That said, it explains a lot of our current political lot. It is the actors (ok, not necessarily Thompson, but you get my drift) that do well. The ones who live in the limelight. They are just as real to these folks as Britney and Cruise and Paris.
From Back to the Future:
Dr. Emmett Brown: Then tell me, “Future Boy”, who’s President in the United States in 1985?
Marty McFly: Ronald Reagan.
Dr. Emmett Brown: Ronald Reagan? The actor?
Dr. Emmett Brown: Then who’s VICE-President? Jerry Lewis?
Dr. Emmett Brown: I suppose Jane Wyman is the First Lady!
Marty McFly: Whoa! Wait! Doc!
Dr. Emmett Brown: And Jack Benny, the Secretary of the Treasury.
I’m betting that Brittney will die this year because the girl is certifiable and getting worse by the hour it would seem. If she doesn’t end up a drooling idiot first, she’ll probably end up dead.
It would be great if these women would grow up and gain the poise that actresses like Audrey Hepburn were noted for. God knows America’s preteen and teenage girls could use media examples like that.
Speaking of Hepburn, you should go dig up the dig post about her that was on the top list a few months ago. Those guys who are notorious for being like you describe, were practically beside themselves with respect for her. You would have thought she were a victorious Joan of Arc before a French village.
Radley, wouldn’t it be nice if people like Cory Maye or any of the deaths in the wrong door raids got half the national attention that Britney & Heath do?
Nothing can justify rooting for the death of anyone not named Osama Bin Laden, let alone a mere celebrity. But, do recall that whether they are mixed up or not celebrities and sports figures are not blameless. Spears attracts the paparazzi because she calls them to alert them of her whereabouts in order to maintain a high profile and sell records. What attitude should one have about such a manipulative public-relations strategy?
In the case of Marion Jones, she cheated and lied repeatedly in doing so. It’s sad that we lock people up for using the wrong drugs, but it isn’t crazy for sports fans to be upset at her brazenness.
Lying to federal agents is a bullshit crime. Why isn’t the judge a federal agent, then? If you are found guilty of a crime, but pleaded innocent, should you be charged with lying to the prosecutor?
J. Edgar Hoover lives on. Long live the police state, brought to you by the war on drugs.
I recently commented to my girlfriend how pathetic I found the antics of Spears, Lohan, Ritchie et al. She looked over her glasses at me, arched an eyebrow and asked me what I did for amusement in my 20’s. Did you ever take drugs or drink drive or do anything stupid, she queried. Ah…er…weeeeellllll…um, I backpedaled furiously. Typical of a Male to bring a knife to a gunfight! The antics of ‘celebrities’ are not the problem, our picayune fascination is.
Shame about Heath, he was one of Australia’s favourite sons.
If someone has gotten what she has by disreputable means, most people are going to say that only to take away the excess gain and leave the rest is not quite just. If Marion Jones or Britney Spears acquired excess money, fame, or family by taking it away from other people, those who feel wronged will hardly be satisfied to see her lose her career only to move in next door. Now, there’s obviously a lot of jealousy out there that’s not connected to anything real. But then there are probably a lot of people in the respective industries who feel stepped on by these people. Maybe some of them truly did play by the rules. Maybe a few of those even really could have been in the place of Jones or Spears had it not been for cheating or some other sorts of shady manipulations. And maybe their stories are somehow out there in the water and that is spurring a lot of this.
Or, maybe it’s all baseless jealousy. Britney could have gotten everything on merit, or at least not gotten it at anyone’s expense — perhaps the rising tide of the pop market lifts all boats. Certainly possible.
There’s also the idea that, as consumers, a lot of people had Britney crammed down their throats for no apparent reason. I, to take one example, have little idea why I was ever supposed to care who she was. It seems to me that she lived pretty high on the hog and thought she was pretty darned special for many years, and that she was taking pains to be sure I heard about all of it. You say, “come on, it’s not you in particular,” but it *was* still me. Britney’s output, her publicity, was aimed at me (among millions) and it reached its mark…I heard a LOT about her, even though I never asked to. Do I want her to flat-out suffer for that? Not really. But did I want her to throw her vapid songs and expensive life in my face? Well, not really. I could claim that she long ago exhausted any concern with or for her that I ever should have had. So…were she a stranger to me, she would have received some compassion in having fallen on hard times; as a repeated, deliberate interloper, maybe she’s earned some contempt.
But, then again, one could see her as just a tool of the recording industry, which surely would have thrown SOMEONE in my face if not Britney, and really it’s not even just the industry but all the millions of consumers of pop music who created the conditions by which Consumer Me has to hear about all these random starlets, so…do we hold her to a different standard because she was in fact the chosen starlet? And that takes me back to the beginning…
Americans’ “relationship” with fallen stars is Schadenfreude at its best (worst?). Why people delight in the suffering of others is hard to say. Someone mentioned jealousy & that’s a good bet. Hate might also play a role, or even secret disappointment. I experience Schadenfreude whenever I read news stories about gay-hating Republicans who get busted trying to solicit sex in the men’s room or trolling for boys on the Internet. What’s my problem? Oh yeah, I don’t like hypocrites, and I especially don’t like hypocrites who wield political power.
I’ve always said that if a “normal” person (one commenting about Britney and how bad she was) was followed around as much as the celebrities are they would find themselves exposed to just as much ridicule and derision for their habits, choices, and antics. Especially if it was someone in their late teens early 20s.
It doesn’t excuse Britney, but at the same time a lot of the stuff she has gotten ridicule for is no different than crap I’ve seen people I know do.
The main reason I am expecting Britney to not be long for this world (and I’m saddened by this rather than taking glee) is because she is seriously ill it appears, but I doubt anyone within her circles is willing to do what it takes to get her help. She probably needs to be involuntarily committed at this point so she can get diagnosed and/or treatment for manic depression or something because her behavior of what appears to be wild mood swings and emotional roller coasters isn’t normal or healthy.
Men in their 20’s do many risky things.For me getting married and having a family to support changed my behavior.As far as driving drunk,when I started to drive the legal limit was 1.5.According to today’s standards I guess I did every time I went out.2 or 3 glasses of beer would do the job.The most risky things I did involved whitewater,duck hunting and repelling down rocks.I never gave up the ducks though.I enjoy 4ft waves and low temps with a dog.I’m strange that way.
I guess my problem with Spears isn’t her beahvior (yeah I was young and stupid once myself vs. older and not AS stupid now) as it affects her, but the fact that she has brought 2 innocent kids into her fucked up little world and is well on her way of fucking up THEIR lives in the process of messing up hers. When children are involved, the “its my life” argument ceases to be an argument. Just my opinion of course.
Heath Ledger and Britney Spears are two completely different types of celebrity. Ledger was famous for his acting ability. Britney is famous for being Britney. Certainly Britney gained her fame for her music, but she also sold herself as a brand. She was the sexy virgin who put her name on a movie, perfume, and anything else that would sell. She sold her relationship with Federline as a tv show. But just as she couldn’t control the critical reviews of her music, she shouldn’t expect to be able to control the critical reviews of Britney the brand. Sure, people are viscious and overly critical, but that doesn’t change the fact that she needs to take responsibility for herself and her children. I don’t feel sorry for her, but those kids are suffering. At least Lohan and Hilton aren’t damaging anyone else.
Celebrities like Ledger know how to separate the work they sell from themselves. He didn’t seek out the paparazzi or put his life on reality tv. (It still makes me wonder why anyone would put themselves in that position.) The number of celebrities in their 20’s who do good work and have the good sense to keep their partying ways away from the cameras far outnumber the irresponsible ones like Spears and Lohan. Ledger was one of those. We know him for the great work he did, and that’s why this is a true tragedy.
6838 other people died in the USA yesterday, if the census bureau and the CIA approximations are correct
I can’t believe those people speculating about Britney dying first. Amy Winehouse is obviously going to kick the bucket before her!
While I don’t actively root for celebrities to die, I don’t find it at all “tragic” when they do. When someone’s got it all, and then they piss it all away, offing themselves in the process… I give ‘em my best Red Foreman “Dumbass!” and move on with my day. You want sympathy, look in the dictionary-you’ll find it between “shit” and “syphilis”.
Just another sordid chapter of Circus Maximus Americana, run amok, complete with all the side-show freaks who enjoy other peoples misery.
With respect, and since you have written about obesity epidemic hype in the past, what does “mostly-fat” have to do with anything?
Other than that, I agree entirely. Gossip doesn’t become ok simply because the subject is a celebrity.
I agree with that person on YouTube who started the “Leave Britney alone!” meme. I have no opinion about her as a mother, singer or anything else. I am disgusted at the way she has been surrounded by the media. They are vultures. If she dies, you can bet they will be shoving their mikes into her mother’s face and yelling, “How do you feel?” Fuck ‘em.
The main reason people love to see famous people like Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, etc. fall from grace is because they envy their fame and success but don’t have the guts, ambition and wherewithal to emulate them. So they carp about other people’s successes and cheer when they fail–as they will, because they’re human beings.
For the record, I was equally disgusted at the media’s treatment of Martha Stewart. I’m no fan of hers, but it was clear to anyone who read about exactly what she was charged with that it was a tempest in a teapot that got blown all out of proportion. But hey, the media’s just giving us what we want. Right?
It makes me think of movie scenes of crowds in the Roman colliseum screaming for blood. The more things change…
To everyone who contributed to my previous comment’s -6 score: Please understand that I’m just trying to think about the reasons different people might have for their dislike of Spears or Jones, but not to justify the dislike. (Think Paul vs. Giuliani over al-Qaeda.)
Also, you are getting me down. Why you gotta hate? Can’t you just LEAVE ME ALONE
Jason: I read your post and I think it was a pretty good analysis re why people are angry at Britney et.al. and so gleeful when they fall. So I had no problem with your statement at all. Obviously can’t speak for others here.