January 23, 2008
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Death of a celebrity.
By now you have probably heard about the death of Heath Ledger, an actor known for roles in movies like “Brokeback Mountain” and the upcoming Batman sequel where he is the Dark Knight’s nemesis, the Joker.
I thought it was quite fitting that in his final role before he exited this earth that Ledger chose to portray a character whose permanently and joyfully contorted face belied the emotional maelstrom that churned underneath.
I don’t know all of the facts and some are purporting that perhaps Ledger had overdosed on drugs (prescription or not) and suffered from depression. But even if these hypotheses are untrue, are they inapplicable to any other young actor’s death in Hollywood?
The life of a celebrity is symbiotic at best and parasitic at its worst. You are dependent on the adoration of others for your survival, yet that adoration does not give way to love or anything that is remotely sustainable. The Oscar awards are nothing more than Hollywood patting itself on its collective back, a pageantry that is the quintessential answer to the eternal existential conundrum…if no one watched it, it would not exist.
Celebrities may have our admiration, but they do not have our respect. Why else do you think that those at the pinnacle of their career all of a sudden decide to devote their lives to causes of humanity? Perhaps it is also because they realize that fame and fortune do nothing for the soul. And so they turn to satiating desires of the highest intensity…drugs, alcohol, sex and—dare I say—mail-order motherhood.
You cannot find redemption in a bottle, nor can you find peace in a pill. Like is not the same as love, and a heart that tries to find warmth from without will always be cold within.
It is only fitting in this world that worships the celebrity as deity would the death of an attractive young actor ignite the blogosphere and media and cause more uproar than a deranged man throwing 4 children off of a bridge.
Many Hollywood legends have chosen to kill themselves with their own vices, while the Invisible Children in Uganda suffer without choices. While the former is sad, it is the latter that is truly tragedy.
So where does that leave you and I, dear friends? There is nothing wrong in mourning the death of Heath Ledger. But the mourning should not just be for his death, but for the society that produced it.
I would not trade grace and forgiveness for all the gold in the world, neither would I do the same for its unending adoration. And like I have said before, when it is my turn to go I will go down clutching hope instead of despair, because I have to believe in something.
So believe in yourself, believe in love, believe in redemption and forgiveness.
But most of all, dear friends, believe in hope.
Comments (28)
Amen!
I agree with you about celebrity but I am still saddened by his death. It has to do with his age and that he had the resources to seek help if needed. The children who were thrown off the bridge didn’t have that chance so for their loss I felt uncomprehensible despair.
Of the two who died yesterday I feel the greatest sadness for the death of Billy Poole. His death was truly an accident which occurred while doing something he loved.
I feel their deaths greatly too because they are my age. That is always sobering.
I disagree. I see performances from those at their peaks like De Niro, or portrayals of enlightening emotion or harrowing struggle (Liam Neeson in Schindlers List, Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man to name just two) and they absolutely have my respect.
As a gay man, the heart-rendering portrayal from Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain also earned my respect, albeit the only performance from him to do so. 99% of Hollywood is soulless I agree, but there is that 1% keeping it afloat – just.
I remember watching his first role in Roar. It was too bad that show didn’t make it…
Good reminding-type entry
i was shocked when i heard about heath ledgers death… how much more shocked should i be when i hear about the caged up orphans in romania?
This is so true Frank and a great reminder for all. Thanks.
your prose is beautiful. i hope people will start giving his family some respect. dealing with the death of a loved one is hard enough without public speculation.
love your posts. always so thoughtful and uplifting!
So very true.
…it’s disturbing that prominent people take so much media space. I can only hope they’ll let him be, and not exploit the story as much as Anna Nicole…
i wonder how these actors disassociate themselves from the roles they’ve played?
ryc there is a new question from my site “do you believe in true love” for us.
What I love about this post is not some omg! He’s dead! eulogy but rather the contemplative, positive thoughts about loss.
It’s unfortunate but it really does make you look at society as a whole and just how depraved it is that we need to cling to ephemeral material happiness.
Oh this is a great post Frank!
ps. I had to stop Yelping b/c I was getting so hungry all the time -_-
truly well said. and true.
a+ !
an excellent extension of my statement.
Excellent post. Eerily enough, i think it loosely echoes some of the things i was saying in the post i just wrote (which i wrote before i read your post, so there was no chance of copywrite infringement!)
preach it brother! YAY GO TERPS!
and it reminds me of this verse,
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”(1 cor 13:13)
YAY GO LOVE =D
How beautiful… and yes..there is always hope…
hehe i already commented on this on the other site so =P
as for YOUR comment on my site, hahahahahahahaha ohhh you think you’re soooo smart!
FINE fine you’re smarter than i am. i got the point. :*(****
Frankie, you want anything from Oz or Kiwi-land for you and the Boss (Mrs.)?
you gonna have to start talking and writing like a bruddah, cause you making me look up all dem biggun words you usin…har
ryc: thanks for the (new) comment! It’s gonna make things more easy – and interesting, i hope.
you are deep and right on this. nice writing, frank!
poor guy…i feel horrible for his daughter
thanks for the congratulatory, FranK!
… and yes, I believe in hope!!
laters!
~AV
When I feel the pimphand getting weak, I think of you and I think of the yatch.
Given the past two weeks of my life, I’ve been thinking of you as you were trying to deal with the deaths of your beloved father and grandmother…
Any thoughts to help at this time would be most appreciated.
Christy, RN
Frank,
Thank you for all of your kind words and great advice. I remember reading your many blogs about your losses and I knew you would understand more than most.
This week has been especially difficult. I have a strong faith which has really helped. But, the grieving sucks.
Thanks again,
Christy
this post condense a lot of things brewing in my head for awhile but never really had the time to put together. u really hit the spot here sir! very nicely and appropriately put!
*kudos*