I'm sure by now everyone's heard about Heath Ledger's death. I was completely shocked and upset when I found out. 10 Things I Hate About You is one of my favorite movies. Not to mention The Patriot. A Knight's Tale. The Four Feathers. There were so many fantastic films and I just can't believe that there won't be more.
But what's really bothering me is the media circus this has turned into. Yes, it's tragic. And because he was a public figure everyone thinks they deserve every last detail - to the point of speculation, half-truths and innuendo.
What's wrong with that? The man has a child. A child that will one day grow up to google her father and find all the crap that was written about his death. Sure some of it is probably true but I'd bet most of it isn't. The problem is she won't have him there to ask which is which.
Maybe I'm overly sensitive about this because I have a daughter just a little older than his child. I can't imagine Baby Girl growing up without her father. It just breaks my heart.
I went through my heros file today - I keep pictures for inspiration there. There were quite a few of Heath. I'm not sure I'll be able to use them anymore.
Hmm, this post has become quite a downer. So let's talk about something more pleasant. Who's your favorite go-to guy for writing inspiration? I tend to like Raoul Bova.
Instigator
P.S. Congratulations to yesterday's winners! nascarandbeans won Rocki's prize,
Mickey won Allison's, and Pat L won Karin's. Please email your snail mail address here to claim your prize.
11 comments:
The media is obsessed with all things celebrity. One only has to look at the Brittney debacle. I am a huge Heath fan and I think it hit me personally because I have a son who's about that age.
On a different note, I normally don't plug my blog here (mostly because I know you all read it anyway ::g::), but today it's about Amazon reviews specifically, but also my dislike about some of the almost personal attacks to authors used by some "reviewers" on the internet. Obviously, this is a passionate subject for me.
So, if this comment is a breech of blogging etiquette, I apologize and feel free to delete it.
I think we're all thinking on the same wavelength. I'm blogging today at Soapbox Queens about the surfeit of information we're inundated with on celebrities.
And Barbara, I LOVE your blog. It's always my next 'net stop after the Playground. I didn't stop by yesterday because I was sick as a dog. It's going around our house. Ugh. Last night my nephew came in so sick he could barely stand.
I was personally appalled that he was found around 3:45pm and most news sites were already posting with footage by 4:15pm. You can't know anything by then!
I also feel sorry for his daughter. She won't be old enough to remember him herself, so she'll have to rely on other people. And unfortunately the media will be there to tell her all about it--truth and speculation. Just to see her reaction for the cameras.
This past week seems a bad one when it comes to death. We have local radio show hosts--Rick and Bubba--who host a morning radio show out of Birmingham, AL. Rick's youngest son (out of 5 children) drowned this past weekend while he was away speaking at a youth conference. I want to cry every time I think about it...
Angel
It's sad. I loved him in 10 Things I Hate About You. I always wanted to brush his hair, but that smile...
The media coverage is a vicious frenzy, but it wouldn't be that bad if the magazines weren't flying off the shelves and places weren't paying millions for the ultimate shot of a Britney meltdown. Its like that new movie Untraceable (I think?). The people wouldn't die if everyone wasn't logging onto the site to watch...
Angel, have you listened to/watched the speech Rick made at the memorial? Absolutely gut-wrenching. Like you, I have grieved for this family all week. My kids and I listen to Rick and Bubba every morning on the way to school.
Re: Heath--Instigator, you're right. It's a terrible thing the amount of untruths that get hurled through cyberspace just so be the first to report.
I always listen to this kind of news with a dose of skepticism about what the truth really is. Not only is his death sad and tragic for his little daughter (and his family, of course), but it's amazing to me that people are so intrusive. Why do they care more about what happened to Heath Ledger than about Americans getting blown up in Iraq? I'll never understand it.
The death of Rick's son hit everyone hard. We have a pool and I can't imagine someone drowing in it, let alone one of our own children or grandchildren. Our thoughts are with Rick's family.
I love reading about celebrities. (The good not the bad.) I admit, I was glued to the news when I first heard about Heath's death. (Interesting fact: His parents named him after Healthcliff from Wuthering Heights. His sister's name is Catherine.) The tragedy is, no matter how he died, he was a fine actor with great potential. I think about what he could have accomplished by the time he was 40. Alas, that wasn't his destiny.
What angers me is the inuendo that he must have done something to himself via drugs, whatever. Perhaps it was just his time. Maybe he was sick. Rumors abound that he had pneumonia, which might explain why he couldn't sleep. Jim Henson died because he didn't seek help for his walking pneumonia.
Quotes are coming from people everywhere, some misleading. Where's the fine line? How far will the media go to ruin a man's good name?
Heath Ledger will always be a brilliant actor no matter what facts become known. That is what his daughter should remember. That is what we should remember.
Oh don't get me started on using Amazon for personal attacks.
I'm sad too for Heath Ledger's family to have to see all this media frenzy. I have a son about that age too and I can't imagine having to listen to theories and innuendo and flat-out lies.
The media covers things like this because people watch and buy the tabloids. Even I'm guilty of reading them when I'm in a long line at the grocery store.
My hunk files? Hugh Jackman is my new fave hunk. He was debonair in "Kate and Leopold," sexy in "Someone Like You," brilliant in "The Prestige" and wow in "X-Men."
PM
I loved Heath. I think he was in my locker for a while.
What kills me is that yesterday morning--when no one knew how he died--everyone kept speculating about it. "We don't know anything, so let's just guess."
Sheesh.
I feel terrible about any death. But I have to say, when a person signs on to be a celebrity, they want the money, and they want the fame. This is what comes with it, good or bad. The mother is also an actor/celebrity, and I'm sure Mr. Ledger's daughter will be exposed to much more than this media circus. Sad, but true.
All that said, I think the media needs to change their ways. Instead of being the first to scoop, maybe they should try to be the first with the "truth" scoop. Speculation is what feeds the media, and the population, as pathetic as it is.
About the Amazon book reviews: What's wrong with these people? I've stopped reading the reviews that aren't specifically about the book.
I think it is terrible how the people are hounded and not even given peace in death. You are so right until we actually know what happened it is useless to speculate. I have no children but what y'all mentioned aobut his child is true and yes it is part of the game I guess they sign up for. It has gotten all blown out of proportion since allthe tv news casts carry entertainment news too.
I have Viggo Mortensen and Don Johnson in my hunks category along with a couple of others.
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