Long time, guys! I'm just now emerging from the seclusion of writing my final project--nice to have a break from the cycle of writing and procrastination.
I'm not normally one who gets all weepy about celebrity deaths, but for some reason I was particularly struck by Whitney Houston's death this weekend. I can't say I was surprised, but I guess I had imagined that her life would be much like Liz Taylor's--she would live hard and crazy, but would be with us for a long time yet. Watching the video below (and the Grammys last night) just made me remember how much I loved her songs as a kid. She missed out on half her life (dead at 48!) and we missed out on many more years of her performances. (If there is any doubt, I submit Tony Bennett and Johnny Cash a exhibits A and B of singers entertaining us well into their old age.)
So, my question for you all: What are the ingredients that cause us to feel the loss of a public figure in a personal way? And was there ever a celebrity (sports, entertainment, or otherwise) whose passing hit you particularly hard?
Whitney Houston on the death of Michael Jackson by RichJuz
R.I.P. Celebrities
You Must Remember This
This is a bit of a dated issue, but it struck me as interesting. When Osama bin Laden was killed last month, journalists were interviewing all kinds of people for reactions, and it seemed like many twentysomethings felt more emotional about the event than people our age. When it happened I was surprised and relieved, but I knew his death wouldn’t mean the end of the war—it had a strange anti-climactic feeling to it.
What I kept hearing and reading was that people who were kids or teens when 9/11 happened really had their worldview shaped by that event. It seemed like 9/11 was a dividing line between their childhood years and the intrusion of a harsher world. We were 21 and already out of college, so I feel like maybe the impact was different for us.
Then I started to think about the 90s, when we grew up, and what the seminal events were that changed the way I thought about the world. Maybe this is weird to admit, but what I remember most wasn’t the fall of the Berlin Wall or the collapse of the Soviet Union or even the Gulf War, but the televised show trials. I remember people racing home to watch the O.J. Simpson trial, and how the bookstore I worked at sold paperback copies of the Starr Report. Hilariously, I think I also remember the impeachment trials because we had our own mini version at Goucher (when they tried to impeach Ridg Mills from student government). Ah, good times!
I’m curious to know how you guys (and your younger friends) reacted to bin Laden’s death. And what were the big national or world events that made a difference when you were young?
Suckers for Zuckerberg
I promise to wax philosophical about weightier matters soon, but until then I must ask:
Can you guys tell me what is so great about The Social Network? I feel like I have had the following conversation about 5 or 6 times already:
Unsolicited Advice Giver: Have you seen The Social Network?
Me: Nope.
UAG: It's supposed to be really good.
Me: Yeah, I don't have any desire to see that.
UAG: Oh no?
Me: It sounds like some privileged white guys making money and then behaving badly. I mean, I can see that anywhere, right?
The other thing people say is, "Aren't you interested in Facebook?" Hey, I like a good story about a plucky Internet start-up as much as the next gal, but is there something I'm missing here? Socially awkward nerd + grand vision + started in a garage/dorm room = success and mild megalomania. I mean, I remember liking that idea when it was a TV movie about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
I guess I'm baffled that there are so many panties in a wad over this movie. What do you think? Should I suck it up and go see it?
P.S. Don't even get me started on the Black Swan/Natalie Portman issue ...