I’ll never understand what drives you people to use bandwidth on this type of crap? The guy died. Practically everyone in this thread has said, essentially, “he was a good actor, I liked his work, this is a surprise as we’d never heard of any personal problems before”.
No lionizing, no rending of clothes and no adolescent homages.
Clearly because people all over the world die regularly in all manner of ways and to all degrees of sadness there is never a point in commenting on one persons passing. I suppose we should all just shut up and count our own blessings, that’d make you feel oh so much better.
Upon reflection, let me apologize for my threadshitting.
In my defense, I honestly have never heard of the guy, and it sounds like one of those River Pheonix or John Belushi things where we’re supposed to feel sorry for the uber-gifted Hollywood star who overdosed the “ONE” singular time when he went overboard with drugs. (Ch’yeah, right)
So, I’m apologizing to a group of anonymous strangers on an anonymous message board in which I expressed aloofnesses for the death of someone neither of us knew…
The reason most people are so surprised is that he didn’t have any kind of known history of drugs, and wasn’t the typical young Hollywood partier/club-goer, etc. It just seems out of left field.
I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt that you didn’t do this on purpose because you made my mouth quirk up at your error.
I honestly don’t know why I’m affected by his death as much as I am (and I have been thinking about it on and off since I heard this afternoon). Probably for the same reason that “Brokeback Mountain” affected me for months after watching it - it struck some kind of chord in me. No, I didn’t know the guy, but yes, I am saddened that he is dead. I expected and hoped for many more roles like Ennis Del Mar from him - a performance that left me stunned.
Perfectly valid position to take once the facts are known. I don’t begrudge anyone questioning the lionization and martyrdom of a drug abuser. We see plenty of that with the long list of deceased 70s rock stars from baby boomers and music fans. But this isn’t the time or place. First there’s no evidence that he was a drug abuser. There’s not even a cause of death yet. So the presumption and judgement is pretty ignorant. Also, most people prefer to use a little tact by waiting until the body is at least cold before shitting on a person.
When there’s a “Autopsy is in, Heath Ledger died from X, what do you think?” thread, you’ll get no grief from me for negativity.
I only meant it that way as a form of rebelling against celebrity worship…but we all have families and people that are upset when we die, so…I guess I was crass.
Because in the end, they ARE just stupid birds and people actually are superior to them?
And you SHOULD enjoy it, it’s one of life’s rare delicacies. I could reccommend recipies or restaurants if you wish…why the angst?
Heath Ledger died, he was a good actor, you nor I knew him, RIP Heath.
:smack:
By all means, make it your full-time job to go around the Dope reminding everyone how their unimportant little problems and concerns compare to Darfur refugees.
Leaffan, I wish I had a nickel for every famous person death thread I didn’t read or post in because I didn’t know about them nor care.
You don’t care enough about him to read the thread and see that it was almost certainly NOT a case of “going overboard with drugs” but rather an unfortunate accident. He had insomnia and he had pnenomia, so it’s most likely that they’ll find it was a combination of sleeping pills and something he was taking for his illness. Toxocology tests are being conducted now. He was not suicidal, and he was not a druggie. He’s never had the reputation of being on the downhill fast-track. He deserves the full truth to come out before being tarred, feathered and judged by people who don’t know anything other than something they glancingly heard.
You didn’t know him at all. We didn’t know him in person, but we did know him as the creator of one of the most interesting, sensitive, moving and tragic characters in cinema history. He played Ennis del Mar, and for many of us, that role was enough, even if we’d never seen him in anything else (and many of us have). Ennis is an iconic character, and many of us love him, therefore we love the actor who created him.
I suppose I am just an asshole, and not a worthy member of this website either. Did you have this same level of celebrity indignation when Kurt Cobain killed himself?
I am sorry if I come off as callous and cruel, I just don’t get it. And on top of that, we aren’t talking about an actor with a huge body of work here…were talking about the same guy that played that role in that rock and roll movie about jousting, right?
This isn’t like Brando dying. This is very much like River Phoenix dying. Sad, yes. Unexpected, maybe. Out of the realm of possibility, no.
I suppose I just should have kept my mouth shut and let the rest of you mourn in your own way. Sorry.
Brokeback Mountain is overstated. A movie about Cowboys that have illicit man-love feelings. I wonder if the Ancient Greeks would find this so revealing?
Your opinion, and I really wish you’d start your own thread about it.
The theater I saw the movie in had lots of people crying and sniffling. It may mean nothing to you but it was very powerful to me and a lot of people. He was an artist and some of us enjoyed that art and now we’re sad we’re not going to get to enjoy more of it.
What’s “revealing” have to do with anything? I’ve seen plenty of great movies which I wouldn’t call “revealing”.
Besides, even if your personal tastes are such as that you find Brokeback Mountain to be overrated (or even somehow overstated), I don’t see how that lessens the ability for others to find legitimate sadness in the actor’s untimely death.
(I’ve never seen Brokeback Mountain and have no particularly strong emotional connection to Heath Ledger, but even as you sort of attempt to apologize, you’re just continuing to be kind of a jerk)
That’s definitely the way to go. I’ve only seen Ledger in “The Brothers Grimm” and am only familiar with him due to his upcoming role as the Joker, one of my favorite comic book villains. Still, I am saddened at his death. I can relate to other people’s shock and dismay at his death and share my own feelings of surprise and sadness.
In those cases where I never heard of the person who died and am not familiar with his work, I will make it a point to not go into the thread just to say so. Let the people who knew his work memorialize him in their way and just stay the hell out of it.
I suppose now is a good time for me to withdraw. Points conceded. I apologize if I was being a jerk or if I portrayed myself as unfeeling, I am not.
I guess I jumped in here trying to admonish the hero-worshippers where it wasn’t wanted.
Apologies.
Egads … a guy on the radio doing the headlines did the same exact thing a moment before I submitted this message and his slip found its way into my message. :smack: Sorry, this thread has drama enough already without my adding to it.
Speaking of which, I know it’s a tall request here on the Dope, but maybe some of the kneejerk reactionists could try to not let the mildest indiscretion against their opinions throw the entire thread into a tailspin of dysfunction about the trials and tribulations of threadshitting? Part of being an adult is knowing when not to succumb to provocation from others and just pay your respects without getting into what is admittedly an enormously juvenile fight over nothing.
