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Celebrity Deaths Do Not Effect Me


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I will add, the only emotional celebrity death I've ever dealt with was when Chris Farley died in 1997. He was an idol of mine, someone that I really adored like a lot of kids that age do so with athletes or famous people. I was 14. And at that time, I had never dealt with any kind of death. Family related or even animal related, lol.

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It's funny that a bunch of you agree with me, but then qualify with EXCEPT FOR.

 

I don't even have that.

 

I'm wondering if I identify more with the work than the icon. Like if Ridley Scott died I'd think it was a bummer, but if Blade Runner died I'd be devastated.

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It would be easy for me to call you a monster (with a smile), but in this case....no, you're not a monster.

 

The core problem with the perception of death (particularly in Western culture) is the secular creation of value / compartmentalizing of death. One can appreciate a famous person's work as much as they want, and feel sad when they pass on, but if (for example) you see the reaction... the gross idolatry of entertainers such as Prince (and the Elvis sideshow I could not escape) you see people saying the entertainer meant more than just about every other person on earth.

 

This sweeping hysteria combined with tragedy blow you see in fan reactions is all the evidence you need. Compare that to the death of a random person in their own city or part of the country...rarely do the deceased inspire the kind of skyrocketing mourning seen in the past 30 hours.

 

Life--all souls are of value, but in this culture, you would never know that based on the reaction to entertainers or politicians. From Prince, to Michael Jackson, Ronald Reagan, Elvis, John Lennon, Robin Williams or any other "larger than life" figure (BS notion), they are all placed on a platform one level below God--their personal failings all forgotten. Anyone else is picked apart, their every little fault used as the first consideration before truly mourning the loss of life.

 

So, you're not a monster (this time :D ). Perhaps you could open your heart a bit to the loss of life, even if they do not mean much to you personally.

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It's funny that a bunch of you agree with me, but then qualify with EXCEPT FOR.

 

I don't even have that.

 

I'm wondering if I identify more with the work than the icon. Like if Ridley Scott died I'd think it was a bummer, but if Blade Runner died I'd be devastated.

GET OFF MY INTERNET, YOU DAMN REPLICANT

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Celebrity deaths only affect me in selfish ways. I have a general "oh that's sad" reaction when I first hear the news, but really only care if said celebrity was going to provide me new entertainment in the foreseeable future. I liked Prince and enjoy his hits, but I'm not one to go to his concerts or even get excited about new songs or albums. But if, say, Benedict Cumberbatch died and I wasn't going to get more Sherlock, I'd be seriously sad. If any of the current MCU cast died, I'd be upset because I want them in my future movies.

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I've never really been affected much, either. I didn't identify with celebs or bands as personal heroes as a kid, I think that's why. I was a hot mess after the Columbia accident, though, because that felt like seeing my dreams dying right there. I knew the implications it was going to have for the manned space program. (Funny enough, it got my foot in the door instead, but I had to cut and bail after a few years because I also knew the economic devastation that was going to have on the area.) I was upset at the loss of life because that's how I am, but I think I was actually more upset about the loss of the ship. So I think I get Seth's attachments to works instead of the creator. I can understand how ShadowDog personally identifies with Prince's music, though, I just didn't have anything like that when I was going through my mom's illness. I probably just read instead.

 

Robin Williams was probably the saddest I got, and even that was more of the awkward feeling Icy had. And, oh look, they're showing Aladdin commercial-free tonight, let's DVR it.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

Celebrity deaths don't upset me, but depending on who it is, their passing can be a noteworthy event to me, and causes me to reflect on their work, and the fact there won't be more of it. Also, as more and more celebrities die who were people I admired when I came of age, the more I feel older. But really, celebrities are strangers, so it is hard for me to get emotional about a celebrity death.

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I might pull out some unimportant personal anecdote to share on such occasions, but those are pretty rare. Actual tears are even rarer.

 

Closest I've come to mourning was with Robin Williams, who meant a lot to me when I was younger, and whose stand-up comedy charged some of the deeper creative wiring in my brain during my college years. The deaths of favorite writers leave me sullen for longer than your "celebrity" deaths do (e.g., Roger Ebert, comics editor/reviewer Don Thompson). No emotional breakdowns per se, though.

 

Hearing about Prince was, y'know, severely disappointing, but the last time I listened to one of his albums was The Gold Experience back in '95. "Let's Go Crazy" alone buried all '70s classic guitar rawk for me for all time, but I've had a lot of time to let that attachment fade. I've gotten a kick out of the SiriusXM marathon they've been running on Channel 50, which has helped me catch some old/new Prince songs I've never heard before. But I'm not feeling the urge for a pilgrimage to Paisley Park.

 

Honestly, just hearing about the passing of anyone close to my age can be more rattling than anything else. I never knew the name of Patton Oswalt's wife or what her day job was before she passed away unexpectedly last week, but when I found out she was only a year older than my wife and shared her interest in true crime/cold case stories, that kinda got to me for a few hours. Not with tears; more like depression brought about by a thoroughly unwanted mortality reminder.

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AM I a monster?

 

I am literally the only person I know who never, EVER gets emotionally upset over the death of a celebrity. Bowie and Prince seem to be two very big ones, and Robin Williams before them, that effects a ton of people.

 

I mean-- it's sad. And it sucks to see talented people who have done things I like die... but I didn't know them. It never effects me on a personal level.

 

No, I 100% agree with you.

 

The only way they affect me is that I think it's funny when people overreact to it on social media.

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