Dear reader,
the first couple of days
of this year must have been what conspiracy theorists have been
waiting for: Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister died of cancer on
December, 28 aged 70. Followed by David Bowie on January, 10 and Alan
Rickman on January, 21, both aged 69 died of cancer. Okay, Lemmy
Kilmister was 70 years old, not 69 anymore, but close.
I didn't know who “Lemmy“
was, until I heard of his death and David Bowie never fascinated me
as much as he did masses of other people, who are now more or less
openly moaning him. For many young movie fans Alan Rickman on the
other hand is probably mostly known for the role of Professor Severus
Snape from the Harry Potter. Older fans probably deride that, because
for them one of his great roles is more that of Hans Gruber in “Die
Hard”.
The social media seems
very much divided, especially about the moaning of David Bowie. For
some a world fell apart. Others however insult those fans and demand,
that they pull themselves together. They were “only” fans and
regardless of their obvious grief, they don't feel as much a loss as
the family and relatives of the deceased. I think that grief of fans
truly is different than those of relatives. However I also think that
there shouldn't be understatement of how much the artist meant for
the fans. Especially when it comes to people like David Bowie, who
were active and present for huge parts of their lives sort of
accompanying them. Regardless of all the controversies whether or not
fans should moan, I like it that there are some also writing about
different ways of grieving and about death.
When my mother died a bit
more than three years ago, there were increasing discussions about
death, dying and related subjects around the time of the last Sunday
before Advent commemorating the dead (in Germany celebrated as
“Totensonntag” - Sunday of the Dead). I liked that these things
were openly talked about. In earlier times it was natural for a dead
person to be lied out in a coffin in the house. The person was openly
moaned, often with black cloths. These days black cloths are most
often worn by metal or gothic fans and there are hardly, if any
talks, about death and dying. Most of all Hollywood, model casting
shows and series or documentaries about cosmetic surgery want to make
us belief that juvenility, beauty and looking thin are important and
desirable even at old age. Especially at old age! Death reminds us
that our time will pass.
I didn't choose the
following quote deliberately, because it was something Alan Rickman
said, but because I think it fits. It's from the movie “Mesmer”,
where he plays the doctor Franz Anton Mesmer, who is present at a
party in that scene. A woman approaches him mocking a man, who
reportedly keeps people at two arms length when they have the
faintest spot, for fear of a disease. Mesmer tells her, “We're the
only animal who knows its going to die. And we're also the only
species that has some faint sense of perfection.”
Until next blog,
sarah
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