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With genuine sadness, I mourn the loss of Amy Winehouse- an incredibly gifted musician and refreshingly unique artist who defiantly refused to conform to other people's standards or expectations, for better and for worse.
Despite being a fan of her music, I have found myself being somewhat repelled by her behavior over her past few tumultous years, and have been gravely concerned for her well being. Watching her performance at Belgrade was unbearably sad..
Her blatant self-destructive tendencies have been exploited by tabloid media in excruciating detail, with paparazzi staking her out and circling her like vultures, to feed a public hungry for details of her demise. Many people seemed to have the sense of watching a train wreck unfolding, and the terrible sense of the inevitability of her death, but yet didn't seem to be concerned enough about her well being to stop harassing her or give her the kind of care and treatment that she so obviously needed.
I find it symptomatic of sick society that delights in and feeds off the suffering of people in the public eye, and can so easily suspend feeling and compassion for some cheap"entertainment".
After hearing the terrible news, I have also found myself trawling the available media about her online, wanting to understand who she really was and how this could be and make sense of it. Much of this material has been obtained by the kind of paparazzo that relentlessly pursued her, and I now feel a bit uncomfortable about being a part of the media circus, picking at her bones.
Amy was gifted, and like so many gifted artists whose sensitivity is actually the thing that enables their gift, was troubled and struggled with her demons. I would imagine that few people have had such easy lives that they could really claim to be completely free from their own set of struggles and insecurities, and that even that fortunate few would struggle with the crazy kind of life that fame brings. Being constantly scrutinised and hounded by a morally bankrupt media and insatiable public would be difficult for anyone and place incredible pressures on all aspects of life. But that pressure being on sensitive and unbalanced people is a recipe for disaster.
Disaster creates great sensationalist content for tabloid gossip media and people make a lot of money, cashing in on the details of people's private lives. And being in press is good for artist's careers (though perhaps not for people's emotional and mental health ) and therein the vicious ensues.
Amy courted the media and made a lot of poor decisions, despite the advice and support that she had from the people around her and is ultimately responsible for the path that she took.
I do however think that it's about time that the media be held accountable, and that there be some limits and protections for people in the public eye put in place so that the media are not able to make life so difficult for them.
Despite being a fan of her music, I have found myself being somewhat repelled by her behavior over her past few tumultous years, and have been gravely concerned for her well being. Watching her performance at Belgrade was unbearably sad..
Her blatant self-destructive tendencies have been exploited by tabloid media in excruciating detail, with paparazzi staking her out and circling her like vultures, to feed a public hungry for details of her demise. Many people seemed to have the sense of watching a train wreck unfolding, and the terrible sense of the inevitability of her death, but yet didn't seem to be concerned enough about her well being to stop harassing her or give her the kind of care and treatment that she so obviously needed.
I find it symptomatic of sick society that delights in and feeds off the suffering of people in the public eye, and can so easily suspend feeling and compassion for some cheap"entertainment".
After hearing the terrible news, I have also found myself trawling the available media about her online, wanting to understand who she really was and how this could be and make sense of it. Much of this material has been obtained by the kind of paparazzo that relentlessly pursued her, and I now feel a bit uncomfortable about being a part of the media circus, picking at her bones.
Amy was gifted, and like so many gifted artists whose sensitivity is actually the thing that enables their gift, was troubled and struggled with her demons. I would imagine that few people have had such easy lives that they could really claim to be completely free from their own set of struggles and insecurities, and that even that fortunate few would struggle with the crazy kind of life that fame brings. Being constantly scrutinised and hounded by a morally bankrupt media and insatiable public would be difficult for anyone and place incredible pressures on all aspects of life. But that pressure being on sensitive and unbalanced people is a recipe for disaster.
Disaster creates great sensationalist content for tabloid gossip media and people make a lot of money, cashing in on the details of people's private lives. And being in press is good for artist's careers (though perhaps not for people's emotional and mental health ) and therein the vicious ensues.
Amy courted the media and made a lot of poor decisions, despite the advice and support that she had from the people around her and is ultimately responsible for the path that she took.
I do however think that it's about time that the media be held accountable, and that there be some limits and protections for people in the public eye put in place so that the media are not able to make life so difficult for them.
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