News24 User

Celebrity obsessed

2008-02-18 08:15

Dear Editor,

The world has recently been stunned and saddened by the twin deaths of Heath Ledger and Ashley Callie. Two young healthy individuals' lives were extinguished by a mystical malevolence.

Yet I ask this question: "Why are we so interested in the deaths of these people?" Why do we start Facebook group, blogs, and websites to honour their lives and mourn their deaths? Why do we react as if we have lost a part of our identities?

More importantly, I ask myself why I sat in stunned silence as the words "Isidingo star Ashley Callie died on Friday" appeared on my computer screen and why I felt like crying when I read of Heath Ledger's death.

Why am I compelled to feel this sense of profound loss at the death of a stranger? Why is it that I am angry and not sad when I hear the news of a 12-year-old's brutal killing yet I am heartbroken when the name of a famous actor is uttered in connection with death?

Could it possibly be because society has somehow decided that the value of life is measured by the job we hold, the car we drive, the name we have? Are we so obsessed with well-known actors' lives that we have become blind to the death and sadness that manifest themselves in our daily lives?

If we are honest with ourselves, then we know the answer to these questions. We are the nation that bleeds when a well-loved politician dies, yet feels nothing for the 12-year old unknown who dies in a car accident. We are the society that mourns the passing away of an actor, yet disregards the 31-year-old unknown who dies of breast cancer.

We are the human race that is shocked and saddened by the death of an international singing sensation, yet ignores the 54-year old unknown who dies of a heart attack.

We have been transformed into an "organism" that does not care, does not love, does not sympathise unless it involves someone known.

Francois Oosthuizen

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be mourned, not only celebrities' death. A child, a father, a mother, a grandparent .. To someone (your loved ones) you are a celebrity, so lets mourn for ALL SENSELESS DEATHS in South Africa, not only for the passing away of celebrities.They have no more value than your own child/mother/father/husband/wife. Especially in SA where there are so many murders per day, people should start to respect ALL LIVES.

We all are born, live and die. The tragedy is when death happens too soon ... and for that, we should feel a twinge for all those who die sooner than expected.

Shed a tear for all those who die too soon ... 12-year old, pensioner, celebrity ...

I think this maybe happens because these actors (especially in the case of a daily soap) are part of our daily lives, if we watch their programs. We form some sort of sub-concious connection with them, whilst with other tragic deaths of people we dont know, we will just be angry at the way they died and then after a while just move on. Can you imagine if we mourned every person who died in our country, irrespective of their fame; we'd be an unhealthy country (if we aren't already...)

I was also quite shocked at how the news only really covered her and not the others in the same accident (which are friends of an acquaintance),of which were young teenaged girls,still in critical but stable condition.The one was/is in a coma.And yet they only mentioned one line about the others involved.Another idea as to why we feel like way is due to watching them in movies and shows,you start to feel like you actually know them personally,which isn't really the case.

Just sad that Pallo Jordan had to somehow intertwine this amazing actress's death with the ever present "apartheid" and "transformation" ideas. Please, in this time of family pain, I think that the last thing they want to hear is our country's past. Give it a break Pallo; and next time say something from the heart, not a prepared "copy & paste" speech.

I dont get the point of this article. You mourn the death of someone because you have some sort of a connection to them. When you see a celebrity on TV, you form some sort of a connection, good or bad, which cannot be equated with an obsession. I do not have a connection with that 31-year-old unknown who dies of breast cancer so I dont feel that sense "loss" when she dies. I cant control that, it happens naturally.

they even make a political issue from someone's death. Why was she more 'valuable' than any other person who died, because according to his values she was all for transformation - assuming that from her role in Isidingo. It's a crap programme anyhow.

I think the reason we mourn the lose of these actors and not an unknown person is that we have seen these actors on the TV or movie screen, we have read or seen interviews with them and so we feel we know them. We feel that someone connected to us has gone.

People die every day, most of them strangers to us. Obviously we cannot mourn every person who dies - that would simply put ne unnatural. A celebrity becomes someone you know, albeit not personally, you relate to their life and the loss of it. One someone dies violently die to the senseless lack of crime control in SA, anger is the #1 reaction and so it should be. Your point in this article is severely lacking because the answer is clear! Let's have some articles that actually warrant discussion!

Yes I did not visit or pay my respects at any tribute websites, but it's human nature to feel the loss of well-loved artists. I was sad to see John Lennon shot, to see Lucky Dube shot, to see , yes, Heath Ledger die - he was a great actor, to see Gito Baloi murdered. And I'm sad to see Ashley go too, I've eaten at her restaurant a few times, but now I would feel freaked out to go back. It's human nature...

I'm relieved that someone else said it. But I don't think there is a thing wrong about it, we have some sort of connection with these people because they entertain us and play a role in our lives. The death (especially because of crime)of unknown people touches us as well but we get over it fast because ,honestly. We've never seen them. Not that we don't care.

I'd never heard of Ashley Callie before the news of the accident appeared and felt no wave of emotion at the news of her death. The loss I felt at Heath Ledger's death has to do with the fact that the roles I saw him in had an impact on me. I did feel a stab at the news of yet another brutal murder, too, but that person was largely just a name on a page. For me it's nothing to do with the job of the person - I felt nothing at Princess Diana's death - but with how that person has impacted my life.

Far from your rather extreme viewpoint, I think the explanation is a lot simpler. People who are familiar with film stars feel, strangely, that they 'know' the person. So when they die, they 'feel' like they've lost a 'friend'. To be sure, those who knew the unknown breast cancer and heart attack victims probably wept in buckets, because they knew them. We didn't. We don't know the actors either, but TV makes us feel like we do. Simple. Né?

People die every day and I feel nothing for almost all of them because, generally, I had no idea that they even ever lived. Unless their death is in the news I wouldn't even know they'd died. How can I feel something for a person I've never heard of, that I neither knew lived or died? However, that's not the same as not feeling sympathy, or empathising with those to whom the deceased was close. Your conclusion doesn't follow from the premises.

I think it just goes to show that we actually get affected by something in this day and age of materal worth and senseless deaths that confront us daily that we are actually numbed by them. So it is a good thing thatwe are forced to take stock and be saddened by something be it the death of a hollywood star or a soapy Actress. Lay off Pallo. The message was sent in his capacity as the minister of Arts and culture (So it had to be PC) and not in his personal capacity

is to hear fellow famous people speaking good about the deceased celebrity and saying the nation has lost. They tell us how brilliant and down to earth the person was and that he/she was the rising star of South Africa in that particular industry the person was in. Do they really mean what they say?

Without wanting to sound heartless... i pose the question..Why only "mourn" the famous? What about those murdered, raped and brutally attacked DAILY, are they just names?? Those people too have loved ones that feel helpless. If as much publicity is given to those deaths and attacks of the names without faces, our minister of security will not be under the impression and quite so fast to announce to the world.. "crime is under control" in SA.

Fufu, you totally have a point, and i know i may have no "political" point in saying this, but I just feel that these PC speechs do little to comfort those who mourn. Guess a simple heart-felt (but formal) message would go alot further, after all, we are all humans (after our 8-5 jobs...)

I believe that the article is silly, however, people generally mourn the death of someone close to them or maybe someone known to them. By allowing these celebrities / actors into our homes creates a subconcious link with them, therefore their death seems sadder than someone completely unknown.

I did not know of Callie until she died. I feel little since she died because she is irrelevant to me. I am shocked at the sheer callousness of South African's who are horrified when a pretty white girl is wounded or raped or murdered but can offer little more than a headline when a black girl is raped and murdered. Our priorities are up our rear ends. That's all.

I haven't heard anything as profoundly true in a long time, CJF... I agree there is not a single person's death that could be classified as 'meaningful'. But death is unfortunately part of life. Nevertheless - it makes sense that those closest to us, including the people who 'inhabit' our living rooms by means of our TV sets, would leave a bigger void than those we don't know.

It is sad to lose somebody. She probably made her own choice when she climbed in her vehicle to not wear her safetybelt. Did the 12 year old, sitting in the back of a car and being shot in the head have any choice.

I was very saddened by the death of young Ryan Holmes who had miraculously survived a hijacking and gunshot wound to the head last year. It was a terrible shock to read of the decline in his health and passing. Such a waste of young South African talent and a promising future. I guess to me people like Ryan are the real celebrities of this strife torn country - and to lose a life like his is such a tremendous waste. His survival gave me hope and now is gone - a beautiful young life snuffed out by greedy, thoughtless uneducated young men who contribute nothing but pain and suffering to this country. My heart goes out to his family and friends. We are all so desensitised to crime and violence - a nation in desperate need of healing.

I felt like I knew Ashley Callie because I saw her all the time. I felt nothing about Heath Ledger because I don't know who he was. The 12 year old girl is associated with a bad act and I get angry but I didn't see her face and personality on TV and got to know her that way. These stars become part of our lifes and that is why we become sad.

i really dont believe you. Ashley, was part of my life simply becoz i saw her every afternoon on my telly. as a result she subconciously became a part of my life. i very very sadnned by her death. i really loved her. Rest in peace sister, you have made a mark.

It is understandable that Isidingo fans would mourn the loss of their star. They feel that they know her after she's 'been in their homes' for some time now. That is why they have a connection with her. As for the 'unknowns', the connection is not as strong, therefore, the public won't have the same reaction. Its not to say that they feel the same about all famous people though -Callie's death does not affect me nor did Ledger's!!

Death is never senseless. It is the natural completion of the cycle of life. The way death occurs might look senseless to us at the time but we soon forget and get on with our own cycle of life until we die, senseless or not. We might have lost our connection with nature when we cannot see sense in death.

Hi, For me I think it is something else. For those that watch Isidingo its like an escape from reality for 30 mins a day. Some time to sit and switch off. But when something happens like it did to Ashley then it breaks the "fantasy" and makes it very real. And thats a shock to the system. Everyone who watches mourns the loss of Lee, who is really Ashley, even if its just the face we see. Hope i make sense. :o)

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