Rest in Turmoil

On the day of Heath Ledger’s death, I found myself more than disappointed with the American masses and the media. While I think it is important to venerate his career after his death, it’s hard to believe that everyone and their uncle were always huge fans of the actor. \nOf course, I too was shocked when I found out about his death, and naturally felt troubled — especially when I recalled that he and Brokeback Mountain castmate Michelle Williams have a daughter. \nI guess everyone became a Notorious B.I.G. fan when he died, and a lot of people went out and got Aaliyah albums after her death. If Kurt Cobain hadn’t died at the prime of his career, his fans might have turned on him later on. People obviously feel sympathetic when it comes to death — especially when it involves such young people. But that doesn’t mean we should all pretend “10 Things I Hate About You” was our favorite teen flick of the 90’s. \nThe original 80’s teen satire “Heathers” truly depicted how people react to sudden death. When three of the most shallow high school archetypes allegedly commit suicide, the film suggests, “Suicide gave Heather depth, Kurt a soul and Ram a brain.” \nSometimes, immediate reverence is depicted in the worst taste possible. Take for example a Best Buy in San Diego, who constructed a display filled with Ledger’s DVDs — from “Brokeback” to “Lords of Dogtown” — and wrote “Remember a Great Actor Through His Great Performances.” \nIn even worst taste, Fox News host John Gibson mocked Ledger’s death. Gibson, who called “Brokeback Mountain” “a gay agenda movie,” incorporated clips of the film, and stated that Jake Gyllenhaal finally found a way to quit Ledger. He also called Ledger “a weirdo” who had “a serious drug problem.” \nPundits such as Maia Szalavitz of the Huffington Post chose to use Ledger’s death as a way to advertise against the perils of prescription pain killers — when it has yet to be established that this was the cause of his death. Tabloid magazines have used his death as a way to exploit his relationship with Williams and his possible drug abuse.\nBoth the media and the masses have chosen to handle the death of Heath Ledger in the worst possible ways. While some are becoming insanely upset, others fail to realize that this was the death of an actual human being. It’s unfathomable to imagine what Ledger’s family is going through. Suffering through the death of a loved one is traumatizing enough, but having to walk down the street and see tabloids about his troubles could only augment the agony they are going through. \nNo individual should change their opinion about someone simply because they died. And just because Ledger is a celebrity doesn’t mean he deserves to be scrutinized to such an extent, especially so soon after his death.