MJ, Farrah and the Media

You know, I’ve about had it with all the coverage of Michael Jackson passing away. And it hasn’t even been 24 hours. I was tired of hearing about it after about 30 minutes. It was everywhere! I understand the relevance and importance of how his talent affected our culture…I totally get it. Trust me. I was a ‘80’s child - his impact on my generation was HUGE. Giant. Iconic. (I still love “Dirty Diana” and “Billie Jean”) But once he started with the plastic surgeries, got really weird, and then was accused of molesting kids, I just couldn’t enjoy his work anymore. The freakshow that he turned into robbed the world of a great talent, no doubt about it. He could have done so much more, been so much more than the oddity he ended up being. For that, I am very sad. But enough already.

The death of the “Gloved One” completely eclipsed the passing of another icon of my generation, Farrah Fawcett. Watched “Charlie’s Angels” every week when I was a young girl. My friends and I would argue about who got to be Farrah’s character, Jill, when we’d play “Charlie’s Angels”…we all wanted to be her. She was beautiful and spunky, and boy could she kick some butt! I admire her so much for publicly chronicling her battle with cancer in a documentary earlier this year. She seemed to handle the whole situation from the first time she was diagnosed in 2006 with such grace and dignity. I know that I could not display even an ounce of her strength and courage if faced with the same fight. I’d like to think I could, but I know better.

One final note…the media disgusts me. Or maybe it’s our culture nowdays that I should be appalled with. Maybe if we weren’t such voyeurs now the media wouldn’t find it necessary to show certain things. Or maybe because they do, we are. Sort of a chicken and the egg kind of thing. Anyway, last night I saw 2 things during the coverage of MJ’s death that just enraged and sickened me to no end. First was the news helicopter following the LAPD chopper that was transporting MJ’s body from the hospital to the coroner’s office, where they showed his remains being unloaded and taken down into the building. Second was a still photo – God knows what sicko took the shot and then sent it to the media – of Michael, on the gurney, unconscious, with an EMT holding a respriator thingy – you know, the mask with the big squeeze bulb that they use to breathe for people who aren’t on their own? – on his face. Nobody needed to see either of those things!!! NO ONE! Especially not his FAMILY. Dispicable. Disgusting. Unforgivable. You out there in the news business…make me sick to my stomach…where is your sense of decency??? That is not news! That is the end of someone’s life. It should be a private thing, not splashed all over the television and tabloids for public consumption.