(no subject)

[tinyjo]

When famous people die, particularly, it seems, members of the royal family, there is a great deal made of it in the media. All too often we are told that the whole nation is mourning. I remember it in the case of the Queen Mother, Jill Dando and Diana in particular. It's actually something I find deeply alienating. I was pretty much untouched by all three of those deaths. I didn't know them and wasn't interested in them. That feels to me like a perfectly normal reaction, but there's a constant barrage of coverage surrounding these events telling me that it ought to mean something - that there is some kind of national coming together over these deaths that everyone else is a part of. It's even more pervasive than sports - I have similar but less strong feelings about things like the world cup and the Olympics. I think the reason that they're less strong there though is that I'm aware of being part of a larger group of people who's just not interested whereas I'm not concious of a vocal community of disinterest in these cases. So, is that community there but silent? The only way to find out is a poll :)

[Poll #1048051]

TBH, if I could figure it out clearly enough, I could write a very long rambling post about my lack of sense of any national belonging of any kind (and my inability to comprend it in others) but it's still to up in the air in my mind, so you're spared :)

Comments

[tea-and-cuddles.livejournal.com]

I was in bed with Tanaqui at the time... Being a relatively rare occurence, that's what I remember about it! Tanaqui was upset at the anticipated media circus, but it didn't bother me.

While the media could be accussed of hype, I think the decision of a large number of people in London to attend the funeral procession and lay flowers was genuine and personal for many of them. I don't think it's sad that some people's death is treated as a bigger deal than others, because by definition high-profile public figures do affect large numbers of people, even though it's not a one-to-one personal relationship. And there's plenty of people who say that Diana did personally touch them in their lives for one reason or another. I'm not one of them.

At the end of the day, all things pass away, and seem individually small after a long enough time.