Everyone remembers what RIP stands for, right? It’s an acronym for Rest In Peace. Not Report In Perpetuity. Not Rape Individual’s Privacy. And certainly not Relate In Passing. It’s Rest In Peace, but I’m not sure the media is caught up on acronyms; certainly not since the days of FEMA, WMD, and GDP. You know, the important shit.
Every morning I’m confronted by a laundry list of “most recommended” stories and banner headlines speculating on how and why Heath Ledger was so prematurely shuffled loose of the mortal coil. Was it anxiety? Was it depression? Was it the recent separation from his long-time girlfriend? How about his alarmingly immersive approach to becoming the Joker in the upcoming film The Dark Knight? Most importantly, why are we so concerned? There is obviously a certain amount of curiosity piqued by such an event, but it’s starting to border on the degree of obsession you would afford a family member or close friend if one of them was to pass.
I read a headline earlier today that stated, “Heath Ledger edgy and anxious over Christmas holidays”. This kind of "evidence" produces undue assumptions and hearsay. What human being is not anxious and a bit edgy during the holidays? These statements suggest nuances in his character that we have no right to know. New information is unearthed hourly, creating a tableau of the last hours of this man’s life in some ridiculous paint-by-numbers “investigation”. It is an ugly game of grapevine on a worldwide scale. Why does a scene need to be painted? Why does the public NEED to know why and how died? Celebrities in this country are put on such high pedestals that even a mid-level actor can fall from towering heights and shock us to our cores. I mean mid-level not in the sense of his talent or ability, but in his notoriety and career’s work. I can’t imagine the fallout of Julia Roberts or Tom Hanks dying freakishly. Surely it would be a national holiday.
Undoubtedly, Heath Ledger’s death was tragic. It was tragic insofar as he was young and apparently an individual beloved by those who knew him. That’s as profound as his death is to the public. Beyond that, it’s time to drop it. We can honor him through remembrance, not presumptuous headlines or invasive examination. He was a human being in the spotlight, but that doesn’t secure us a press pass to his autopsy and funeral. However he died, let him RIP.
P.S. Below is a picture from a “memorial” point-of-purchase display at Best Buy. Class, class, class.
Every morning I’m confronted by a laundry list of “most recommended” stories and banner headlines speculating on how and why Heath Ledger was so prematurely shuffled loose of the mortal coil. Was it anxiety? Was it depression? Was it the recent separation from his long-time girlfriend? How about his alarmingly immersive approach to becoming the Joker in the upcoming film The Dark Knight? Most importantly, why are we so concerned? There is obviously a certain amount of curiosity piqued by such an event, but it’s starting to border on the degree of obsession you would afford a family member or close friend if one of them was to pass.
I read a headline earlier today that stated, “Heath Ledger edgy and anxious over Christmas holidays”. This kind of "evidence" produces undue assumptions and hearsay. What human being is not anxious and a bit edgy during the holidays? These statements suggest nuances in his character that we have no right to know. New information is unearthed hourly, creating a tableau of the last hours of this man’s life in some ridiculous paint-by-numbers “investigation”. It is an ugly game of grapevine on a worldwide scale. Why does a scene need to be painted? Why does the public NEED to know why and how died? Celebrities in this country are put on such high pedestals that even a mid-level actor can fall from towering heights and shock us to our cores. I mean mid-level not in the sense of his talent or ability, but in his notoriety and career’s work. I can’t imagine the fallout of Julia Roberts or Tom Hanks dying freakishly. Surely it would be a national holiday.
Undoubtedly, Heath Ledger’s death was tragic. It was tragic insofar as he was young and apparently an individual beloved by those who knew him. That’s as profound as his death is to the public. Beyond that, it’s time to drop it. We can honor him through remembrance, not presumptuous headlines or invasive examination. He was a human being in the spotlight, but that doesn’t secure us a press pass to his autopsy and funeral. However he died, let him RIP.
P.S. Below is a picture from a “memorial” point-of-purchase display at Best Buy. Class, class, class.
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