Why do you think we respond as we do to celebrity deaths??

Marie5656

Marie5656

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Location
Batavia, NY
This is one of those things that popped into my head last night as I was trying to fall asleep. Why is it that we, as a society, react as we do to the death of a celebrity? There are usually such strong reactions of disbelief, grief, and so on.

From a sociological point of view, and I am no expert, I think that people so often identify so strongly to these people, they come into our homes, we think we know their lives (though we realize we do not , really) . This seems to go back to even pre internet times. I remember after Michael Landon died, I read an article, written by a therapist, who speculated that people were actually feeling grief and depression usually associated with the loss of a loved one. Maybe because he was on TV for so many years, always seen as a "family man" or good soul.
I remember reading, after Prince died, that one young fan (in her 20's) actually set up a go fund me page to raise money to go to his funeral. Granted, a way to get money, but she "seemed" to feel her sense of loss was real enough to want to go.
I think there are no right or wrong answers, just wondering here what you think.
 

I guess not giving a hang about popular culture, helps in me not giving a hang about a celebrity passing on. Yeah, sure I say, "That sucks" or something to that effect, but I do not watch and wallow in retrospect's on their lifes and careers.

The only celebrity that affected me was Ronnie VanZant, back in '77. I was on may way to work when the news came across the radio. I actually pulled over to collect myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM3jgkChV6M
 
Marie5656 said:
This is one of those things that popped into my head last night as I was trying to fall asleep. Why is it that we, as a society, react as we do to the death of a celebrity? There are usually such strong reactions of disbelief, grief, and so on.

From a sociological point of view, and I am no expert, I think that people so often identify so strongly to these people, they come into our homes, we think we know their lives (though we realize we do not , really) . This seems to go back to even pre internet times. I remember after Michael Landon died, I read an article, written by a therapist, who speculated that people were actually feeling grief and depression usually associated with the loss of a loved one. Maybe because he was on TV for so many years, always seen as a "family man" or good soul.
I remember reading, after Prince died, that one young fan (in her 20's) actually set up a go fund me page to raise money to go to his funeral. Granted, a way to get money, but she "seemed" to feel her sense of loss was real enough to want to go.
I think there are no right or wrong answers, just wondering here what you think.
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I like your theory. I think some of it does apply to me. I think one other factor for me is that it is a reminder that I am getting older even though I may not always feel as though I am.
 

When it's an actor or actress who dies, many of us have connected with their movie characters over the years, especially those that are very popular. I think movies and TV shows affect those of us who identify with the characters. We welcome some of these TV characters into our homes, week after week, sometimes year after year. They become part of the household in a sense, part of our routine.
 
I don't ever recall mourning, however there have been some that I admired and others that have been icons that has made me feel shocked or sad. Elvis died long before his time. Whitney Houston, also a super talent. Princess Di was a good human being, that made me sad. John Belushi and Robin Williams made me laugh. Zsa Zsa was a character and so was Liz. Another tragedy that shocked me was JFK Junior and his wife, Carolyn. Very sad.

These people touch our lives and of course we have our favorites. Their lifestyles are much different than ours, I imagine, I don't feel I know them personally but they have been entertaining over the years. They made a contribution, some in the form of entertainment, and I respect that.
 
I pause to reflect on the passing of certain entertainers who because of their art have contributed much to other people over the years. I feel appreciation more than sorrow when they have lived long lives. For those cut off early I sometimes feel sad that they are no longer able to develop their full potential.

I don't see them as family and I am able to separate the entertainer from the real person who often is struggling with life in general, and I can empathise with their difficulties.

Death comes to all of us eventually and the death of a celebrity tends to emphasise this point.
 
I don't spend much, if any, emotional energy on these things.

I feel bad when so many of these people, who seem to have everything, end up dying from some form of drug or alcohol abuse.

The thing that does often amaze me is the vast body of work that they leave behind. I tend to forget the contributions that many of them have made over several decades.
 
Hi,

I think it is probably because pop culture is a backdrop for us as we live our lives. Although we may not be actively paying attention we know that these things are going on, part of the world we live in. It is like when the music suddenly stops, it grabs our attention and makes us stop and slow down for a moment.
 
I never really mourned the death of any celebrity, but I do feel sad when I hear that certain ones have passed on. I mostly feel a connection to rock singers who I grew up listening to as a young person. I never think of them as family, but I do feel a sadness when someone I have grown to like over the years passes on, like Mark said, it does remind me that I'm getting older myself, and sometimes makes me feel thankful that I'm still alive at 63, so many have died at a much younger age...that is truly a sad thing.
 
I do "mourn" the passing of some public figures....those who have touched me in some way and whose contributions I will miss.

For instance, I did feel sorrow at the passing of Maya Angelou, as I deeply love her work.

Robin William's death made me very sad. He made me laugh at times I needed a laugh.

The loss of Steve Irwin meant something to me. His enthusiasm for what he did was contagious. I can't say that I ever got the urge to wrestle a crocodile, but I sure did enjoy watching him do it.

When one of my favorite authors dies, I mourn the fact that another point of enjoyment has gone and know I will miss his or her contribution to literature.
 
It is very sad to me that many celebrities put on this persona that their life is so wonderful but in fact, they are fighting many demons within themselves. And sometimes this never gets the public's attention until their death. Their job is to entertain us and we do feel a sadness when they pass.
 
I was thinking ;ast night about the human connection of celebrities. Look at us on this forum. I would suspect that most , if not all of us here on this forum have never met in real life, and probably never will. BUT we do have the connection of "knowing" these people who have passed. We can connect at the sense of loss their families must feel. I was also reminded that people in the world have passed on every day..but if they are not widely known, they do not touch the masses.
I may presume that many of us here have suffered a loss in the past year, my own brother passed a couple months back, and of course, those losses affect us more deeply than the loss of a person we have never met, but still know.
Loss always seems to bring people together.
 
MarkinPhx said:
I like your theory. I think some of it does apply to me. I think one other factor for me is that it is a reminder that I am getting older even though I may not always feel as though I am.
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I agree. Many of those celebrities, particularly musicians, formed the soundtrack of our youth, and when they go it is a reminder that so is our youth and that we, too, will pass on.
 
The "Grim Reaper" will get all of us sooner or later. Celebrities get no exemption, to me it is not a big deal.
 
In my case I mourn the lose of a celebrity that touched my life. I was a big fan of Elvis and was very sad when he passed. The same thing happened to me when Dean Martin died. I thought he had a Beautiful voice and many of his songs touched my heart. It made me sad the other day when Carrie Fisher passed away. I felt very sad for her mother because I think the worse thing that can happen is for a Parent to lose a child , no matter what their age, so Debby Reynolds passing didn't make me sad because I can't imagine the pain she was going through after losing her daughter.
 
That's a good question. When Elvis died (allegedly :) ) I wept, openly wept, and I was bummed for weeks. In retrospect now in my old age, I realize that was probably silly of me to react that way, even though I really loved his music and films and concerts. Now, whenever a celeb passes and the general public starts in with all the tributes and honors and making them out to be heroes, I find it absurd because 9 times out 10 the celebs weren't worth much as decent human beings . . . while good, decent, hard-working, everyday citizens die every day in this country and they don't get the tributes and hero-worship . . . and sadly, many won't even be thought about that often after a certain point. I just feel completely differently now about Hollywood and celebrities than I did when I was growing up.
 
Even though we don't know them we tend to know who they are although when I look at sites like TMZ I don't know half of those people. Celebrity or knowing who they are is a commonality that helps people think and react along the same lines.
 

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