Normally, I try to keep my posts pretty fluffy and happy, but there's something that's been bothering me lately. I'm not sure if I'm the only one. I know it gets on Brad's nerves too, so if anything, I know my husband agrees with me. :)
Does it bother anyone else that once a celebrity dies or there's a major marketing ploy about celebrities, all of a sudden, EVERYONE is a fan?
For example, when Johnny Cash died, all you saw were bumper stickers, movies, cds, etc and everyone and their dog suddenly LOVED Johnny Cash and were somehow always a closet fan. Why did I feel like I was the only one who was willing to admit that I didn't really listen to Cash? I didn't pretend I was a diehard fan. I enjoyed the movie and his music, but really, it didn't make me go and plaster posters of him all over my walls. A real Johnny Cash fan is the old man that after hearing the news, bought himself a beer, sat alone in his car, and got teary eyed listening to one of his songs. Then when the song was over, he pulled himself together and went on with his life.
Then there's Michael Jackson. Where were all these adoring fans when he was facing the molestation allegations??? Most likely making bad jokes about him. He went from being the butt of every joke to being immortalized as a pop god. Personally, I think the man was an absolute genius, and like most real geniuses, he was weird. I've always held to the notion that he never hurt anybody. If you look at all the good he did throughout his career, I really don't think he was out to hurt anyone. But now that the man died, everyone is suddenly a diehard Jackson fan?? His CDs are selling like crazy, cable channels keep playing tributes, the gossip shows and magazines are dragging this ordeal out as long as they can, and everywhere I went for a good month after his death, people kept talking about how much they loved him. For goodness sake, in Mexico, they set the world record for largest Thriller dance last month. Thousands are flocking to his hometown in Indiana. If all these people really did love him this much, I wonder if Michael knew about it? To me, the true Michael fans were the ones that taped his specials on tv, stood by him when he was on trial, and didn't just pull out his music after he died. The plus side to all the hype? Younger generations can see what true musical talent is. There isn't anyone like Michael Jackson for them. They're lucky if their music idols even write their own stuff. The man deserved a tribute. I just think everyone (especially the music world) should've let him know how they felt before he was gone.
Now, it's The Beatles. This one really gets on my nerves, because anyone who knows me, knows that I really have always been a diehard fan. I actually do have the posters and cds and collectible items. Now all of sudden, because of a video game, everyone is a huge fan. Their anthology movies have been out for a good 10 years, and this is the first time I've ever seen it on tv. I'm curious to see how well this game is going to do. It looks incredible, but in this economy, how many people can afford to spend $250 on a video game? The one plus in this is maybe it'll bridge a generation gap and keep The Beatles music alive a little while longer. I also wonder how cool it must be for Ringo and Paul to see a video game about them 40 years after the fact.
Oh, I almost forgot. It's also Patrick Swayze now too. I know he really does have alot of fans. We've all been following his story, and it's sad he's gone at such a young age. It's still early, but it'll be interesting to see how many "diehard" fans he had.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind that people are fans. It's ok to reminisce a little and pull out your old vinyls. Enjoy listening to BAD again. Get a little sad when you hear the Dirty Dancing theme. I'll even cut people some slack for waking up one day and realizing, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them. They were really good." It's also sometimes fun to feel a sense of solidarity with people and talk about what's happened. But seriously, if you didn't really like them before, don't pretend to like them now, just so you can join in on the hype. If you did like these people before and want to join in, go for it. It just drives me crazy to see people jump on a bandwagon, then a year later, it's, "Michael Jackson who?"
3 comments:
I agree. I am so sick and tired of MJ. The day he died I swear everyone on facebook was like..."We love you michael...blah blah blah....The world cries for you...." I'm like...you're 15. You don't know who MJ is. Barely anyone under the age of 30 REALLY knows MJ and his music. We just know him as a molester freak but apparently the celeb world doesn't acknowledge all the accusations against him for his behavior. Alright, I'm done. But I totally agree with everything you said!
I think it is a function of our modern media that we are bombarded in this way. When I was a kid and there were three channels, you didn't have all this hype. I'm old enough to remember when Elvis and John Lennon died, and it was BIG but it wasn't as crazy as it is now where every minor celebrity's death gets discussed ad nauseum. Now with all these outlets looking for content, they try to wring every last ounce out of story, whether it is a celebrity death or just a high-profile murder or kidnapping. It's only natural that with the hype in our faces all the time, we will turn around and talk about it too much.
For the record: never was an MJ fan; am DYING to get the Beatles Rock Band set!
I think MJ is cool. I hate Band Wagon haters!!!
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