This has been a horrible year for the creative world. It seems like 2016 is the year of perpetual mourning. We lost a Bowie, a Prince and a wrestling goddess, who from the top ropes, destroyed sexist barriers. We’ve lost creatives who made us laugh, entertained us and even dared to make us think.
With our collective grieving, there is always a group of people who disparage fans for mourning a celebrity death. I’m sure you heard them ask fans, “(insert celebrities name) didn’t know you?” and “Why do you care?” Let me try to explain why we cry when celebrities die.
I think it’s because their art was there when we needed it to be there. Their art was there when we lost someone we loved and when we loved someone who broke our hearts. Their art was there when we hung out with friends, watched our relatives celebrate and when we said “I love you.” Their art was there when we were looking for love, needed love, didn’t want to love and were in love. Their art was there for first birthday parties, first kisses, first dances and many other firsts and lasts. Their art expressed how we felt when we won and when we lost. Their art was there when we were happy and when we cried mascara running ugly tears! Their art was there when we were alone and when we celebrated special moments with a hundred of our closes friends. Their art made us brave when we were afraid and of course, it made us dream bigger dreams.
The point is, their art was ALWAYS there! Their art, in whatever form, connected to our humanity during important moments of our lives. The celebrity’s art was a piece of them; which they graciously and unselfishly shared with the world. So when a celebrity dies, a small part of who we are, those firsts, those loves, those hurts and those precious moments and people, leave us too. Our only natural, normal and human recourse is to collectively mourn our loss.
I hope this post answers the question, ” Why we cry when celebrities die?” What do you think?
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I Agree! My HUS BAND MICHAEL TOOK ME TO SEE PRINCE! MY YOUNGEST CHILD TOLD ME TONITE MOMA I REMEMBER WHAT YOU WORE!!!!
Feeling Nostalgic. RIP SWEET PRINCE!
Exactly!
This one hurts! It was so unexpected. And I remember Chyna when she first started. I remember watching wrestling with my grandfather.
I’m almost 48 and have loved Prince since his 1st album in 1978! So many happy memories of my life are connected to his music, which I have always listened to. My eldest child, now 16, would ask me to play Prince music for him when he was 3. I haven’t cried yet but I am sad. I saw Prince in concert in 2004 and 2011 and those are two of the most joyous memories of my life. We hurt because a God given talent like this can never be duplicated, there can only be One.
I know this comment is late. But every now and then I say to myself, “Prince is dead.” I was excited when he announced a tour. for 2016 I anxiously watched to see where he would be performing. Now he’s dead. There’s still something unreal about that statement. I think it’s because I’m reaching the age when more of my peers - personal and public - are going to die simply because we’re getting old. I don’t like that reality. Nevertheless, I will continue to count my Blessings for another day!