Waiting to Die

"Goody has few weeks to live"

"Goody has days to live"

"Goody in her final hours"


These were some of the headlines I read in the "International news" segment of newspapers that I get. NDTV had a news feature on her today and it just got me wondering a lot of things.

For those who do not know what I am talking about, let me brief you a little bit.

Remember Jade Goody, the participant on UK reality TV show "Big Brother" who came under a lot of fire for her racial remarks on co-participant Shilpa Shetty? She decided to take part in the Indian version of the show and soon discovered that she was suffering from Cervical cancer. Ever since the discovery of this fatal condition, she is yet again in the news, with her publicists informing the press about her deteriorating condition on a daily basis. The life and death of Jade Goody will be broadcast on TV channels and reporters wait outside her hospital 24/7 for any news whatsoever.

She has two children from a previous marriage and married her boyfriend in February this year.

Now this got me thinking as to what goes on inside a person's mind when they know that their death is near and the doctors give you a time line of so and so days to live?  And the way media is making news out of one person's misery, I do not know but it seems very insensitive to me. I followed the whole BIG BROTHER fiasco with as much interest as I follow any other news. Yes I did not like the things she said to Shilpa Shetty, who is not a saint herself either. Save for THE AMAZING RACE, I have never watched any other reality TV show with any sort of enthusiasm. 

I mean we talk about privacy of celebrities and their lives. Surely death is another such moment -- if not for them, at least for their families. I know Jade herself publicised the events as they unfolded, but the way media is waiting for any sort of updates just seems to me like they are asking just one question - "When will she die??".

Maybe it is just me and my demented thoughts, but I really feel sorry for the sad state of things in our times. One cannot even die in peace. I cannot even try to imagine what her family is going through....and her children. I do not know much about the kind of person that Mrs Goody is, or if the tabloids have made her so... but fact remains that she is going to die and I just wished the media didn't make it a circus-like event.

P.S. Posting after a long time, hope all of you are doing good. :)

38 Observations:

  1. --xh-- said...:

    yup - the celebrities are also human beings.. and it is disgusting to see that media wont even let them die in peace... :(

  1. Cяystal said...:

    But tell me something.. its Jade Goody who said that death is a festival, and it should be celebrated with gaeity.. so if she's enjoying the media hogging her life, we should be okay with it..'cos that's what most mediapersons do..make news out of nothing !

  1. Anonymous said...:

    More than whether Jade Goody wants to sell her death or not, what amazes me is media frenzy to buy such news. I mean, definitely proves that a lot of people are interested in hearing about morbid things. - There's an animal in each one of us, I think. We just pretend to be civilised.

  1. Anonymous said...:

    echo with ur feelings. the media has just made it ridiculous. And Shilpa Shetty has managed to create a news even out of this....

    ridiculous!!

  1. Nikhil Menon said...:

    Its sad that this has to hpn.,even if Ms.goody has tormented many an indian by her actions,the news of her death and the eager and anxious wait kills me so to say..

    Nice thoughts.. :)

    Take care... :)

    Nikhil

  1. Anil Sawan said...:

    i share the same feelings.. m hating this media circus :(

  1. Anonymous said...:

    I think the media is just doing its job- sensationalising news!

    Jade Goody ws nevr a celebrity..the media has catapulted her to limelight..

    I feel sad fr her..especially coz she has kids..

    And u have rightly said tht its just like v r waiting for her to d**

  1. Rià said...:

    i totally agree with u gurl!!i feel sad that some ppl are making money out of the news of somebody's death!
    I read this headline the other day; "Heartbreaking Marriage", which was abt jade's wedding. I mean why cant ppl leave her alone!For god's sake she's not gonna live for long. Feel really sad.

  1. Anonymous said...:

    I think she wanted that. She thrived on public attention and she wants to die with it too. Attention like power can be addictive. May she go in peace and her kids be looked after.

  1. aqua gurl said...:

    gurlieeeeeeeeee!!!

    Big Brother eh!!!:P:P good post..!!

    Hope alls gng good with you, wud be a lil hectic for me in the next month...may not b frequent here but i'll msg u on orkut:P:P

    take care gurl....muaahhh...rock on..!!!!

  1. Anonymous said...:

    You have struck the right cords ! Good work !

  1. Jiggy said...:

    it is pretty sick to see news of Goody splashed all over london newspapers every frikkin day...i cannot tell you how depressing it is to read about someone who is on death bed...difficult to imagine what she would be going through..
    it is extremely shameful what the media is doing....
    and would disagree with what roop has said...she sold her wedding ceremony rights to some magazine only cos she wanted her children to have that money when she is gone...i don't think anyone would want attention when he/she knows that they only have a few days left on this planet...

  1. Anonymous said...:

    " but fact remains that she is going to die and I just wished the media didn't make it a circus-like event."


    agree wholly on this .. Nice to see you blog :)

  1. what I know is she sold her death rights to media herslef..so this case I am not blaming the media....

    I hated the time when dhananjay the rape- murder convict was hanged and media used to broadcast wateva fuck he was doing in jail...like what he ate and what he talked...it was utmost bullshit and it created a sympathy and fiasco over the death of a convict convicted for heinous crime...

    sumtime media behave like a moron...I remember 9/11 ...none of the news channel showed the bloodbath and I remember the episode of Lady Diana...and latest was that mms of noida b school..many of those who didn't knew about it ..got to kno and downloaded it...abusing the victim more and more...

  1. Jiggy said...:

    @Daydreamer - She did not sell her 'death rights' to the media. She sold her 'wedding rights' to the media. There is a world of a difference. One is an occasion to be sad about, the other is an occasion to be happy about.

  1. k.ø.c.h.ü said...:

    hmmm...media is always after yummy scoops...lemme wait n c...i hav a buddin journalist in ma contact list...ill wait...(medically itz called a cohort study i suppose :) )

  1. Aarti said...:

    Sad indeed.. did u read today's paper -- her death and how she wanted some of the media to cover her last few days!!??? [to raise funds so her kids can have a decent life..]

    Cool blog u got here... :)
    came thru Rakesh's blog!!

  1. Salomie said...:

    I read up the Wiki entry on Jade Goody after reading this post, and she was estimated to be worth a few million. I would think that that'd be enough to support her kids till they were old enough to provide for themselves. Somebody here said she sold her wedding rights to the media so that her kids would get the money ..... my question is just how much do they need??? Maybe they wouldn't have a lavish lifestyle, but they would still be much better off than so many millions of children around the world.

    She always struck me as being a fame&fortune-hungry person who'd do anything to stay in the news. In fact, I think anyone who'd do the Big Brother / Boss kind of shows is pretty much saying, "I don't give a damn about my privacy", so then why should the media? And I don't mean to defend the media here, because I think most of them will run anything if it means more sales / TRPs etc.

    I think the entire thing, right from this kind of "reality" show, to the media hype to the fact that there are millions of ppl hungry for this sort of news and "entertainment" is a sad commentary on the kind of society we are today.

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Anoop

    Sigh I agree... :( But in hindsight, media sells coz ppl buy!! :(

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Crystal

    But still I think media is taking a lot of interest than it should. Whatever Jade Goody says, some ethics need to be maintained.. and i agree media persons make news out of nothing.

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Rakesh

    Totally agree

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Sam

    My mom got a "Shilpa Shetty Yoga video"...I cant seem to get enough of shilpa now O_O

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Nikhil

    Hmmmm...This is life.

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Anil

    :( Now that she is dead, just wait and watch the circus disappear sooner than it had formed!!

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Swats

    I agree media is doing its job and I think we as audiences are equally responsible in this.

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Ria

    :( Yeah...I guess money is everything in today's world for some people... :(

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Roop

    Rebel has replied to ur comment...not adding to that

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Val

    Not a prob sweetie...see you around :)

    Hugs and loads of love!! :) muah!!

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Mishra

    Thanks :) Do visit again :)

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Reb

    Thanks da...wonderful comment...answered everyone else here...

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Pratibha

    Yeah been away for long....i know :(

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Sourish

    Le..reb answered well... :) dont expect me to answer

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Kochu

    Lets wait and see :)

  1. SMRITI said...:

    Aaarti

    Thanks for visiting and do come back :)

    Yeah read the papers and saw it on the news... but I guess Shalom answered something for u.

  1. SMRITI said...:

    @Shalom


    Agree with every word u said. Thanks for penning ur thoughts here

  1. Anonymous said...:

    o ji naya post dalo :L:)

 
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