Photo courtesy Wikipedia

"As much as I would have liked to keep my cancerprivate, I have a certain responsibility to those fighting their ownfights who may benefit about learning from mine" — Farrah Fawcett


Farrah Fawcett, best know for her iconic red bathing suit and a mane of hair that shook the libido of a nation, has left behind a body of work that reflects the stages of her life in such a way as to mirror her change and growth as a woman. She passed away today after a long fight with cancer. Sad.

A friend made the point that many people die every day, without the fanfare attendant on celebrity deaths. He said that "thousands of people, some famous and most not so famous, died all over the world this week, like every week - and I'm not so sure the famous were any more valuable than the not so famous."

That's true. And it's true that the great majority of us don't know these celebrities personally. So what's it to us? Why are we so moved to comment upon and memorialize their deaths in some way or another?

Besides the human compassion and empathy inherent in our response, there is this: celebrities often symbolize something for us, an idea or ideal, a certain time in our life, a cornerstone of common experience within our culture. When a person of that significance to our internal world view is removed from the external world around us, it is profoundly upsetting because their absence rocks the foundations of our experience. We've lost something, something intangible, but something that felt like a part of us nonetheless. IMHO.

Rest in Peace, Farrah Fawcett.

Coverage:
The New York Times
CNN
ABC News