The scathing headlines are ubiquitous. Blond bombshell found dead in hotel casino with no obvious cause of death while baby and lover are nowhere to be found. If it was any other woman, the headlines would end there and people would turn their attention to what Tom Cruise and his cohorts are planning for the Church of Scientology. Or what Beyonce is wearing, or where Madonna will adopt her latest accessory. This is not the case as it is the weight chameleon Anna Nicole Smith, spokesperson for the diet drink Trimspa.
The media outlets, from frivolous Entertainment Tonight to substantive NPR, have been exploring the mysterious circumstances surrounding her untimely demise. They speculated on the apparent drug abuse, haphazard dieting regimes, and interviewed scores of friends and family to get their take on what happened. Particularly interesting is the interview on Larry King Live with Chyna, the female wrestler proclaiming to be Smith’s confidante and best friend. Chyna was undermined by another woman on the show who claimed that Smith had despised Chyna and called her a stalker. It seems Smith has not spoken to Chyna in years and avoided any association with Chyna. The subject of Smith’s death became secondary to the brewing catfight between the two women. Television at its best on Larry King Live.
While any death is tragic, regardless of celebrity status, no death deserves this sort of blow by blow account of the whats, hows, and whys of the cause of death. The fact that Smith left behind a 5 month old baby is disheartening. She died in the same messy way that she lived is somewhat interesting, but 24 hour coverage on her death is neither entertaining nor newsworthy. Smith’s ultimate legacy is marrying a billionaire oil tycoon followed by a decade of litigation after his death. This is not worthy of 24 hour coverage.
The issue with the media is that everyone seems to gobble up the same sound bites hour after hour and as little sheep, the general public is transfixed in this ridiculous circus known as celebrity obsession. It seems everyone has an opinion about Smith’s death, whether they knew her or not. Confounding matters further, Smith’s own family seem to spearheading this media frenzy. What possesses people to tune in day in day out to find all the tidbits of this woman’s life? A deep concern for her family’s well-being? Probably not. An obsession with lifestyles of the rich and famous fueled by the vast arrays of entertainment news options? Probably so.
What became of our troubled astronaut, Lisa Novak? What became of Al Gore’s an Inconvenient Truth? Does global warming not have the same sex appeal as the the Church of Scientology’s quest for their latest celebrity couple? Apparently not. Until we start paying for the Discovery Channel and stop paying tribute to the glossy magazines at the checkout stand, the media will prevail in this battle between what we want to see versus what they think we should want see. The media will have us believe that the death of an irreverant celebrity has more significance than the fact that more Americans are medically obese then any other time in history, and the financial burden this has on our healthcare system. No, lets discuss how some shallow celebrities die and fall from fame, not issues such as global warming or healthcare, as that might provoke thought and action. Lets all say, “baaaahh!”