Ceremony fails to include cultural icon In Memorium
While perusing my MSN homepage today, it came to my attention that once again, Farrah Fawcett has received the Royal Death Shaft. This time at the hands of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. You know, the Oscar people. She was intentionally left out of the In Memorium section of yesterday’s broadcast. When questioned, some flunky replied that like every year, not everyone could be included. What a big giant pile of bullshit.
Farrah Fawcett was a cultural icon in the 1970s. Her poster turned many a boy into man and her signature hairstyle became the be-winged fantasy of every girl. Not only a TV personality, Fawcett was also a member of the Academy (a supposed requirement for inclusion in the ceremony) and made a decent number of big screen films. She died in June of 2009 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Her death was news for about five minutes. You see, Michael Jackson happened to die shortly thereafter and Farrah never did get her day. I, for one, was sad to hear of her passing and felt for her family. She weirded out pretty well there for a number of years but had pulled it together during her illness. She was part of my childhood and died too young.
So why didn’t she even get her moment at the Oscars? The idea that “not everyone could be included” is a load. Michael Jackson was not a member of the Academy. He was not an actor. Yet there he was, just as big and freaky in death as he was in life. I guess Farrah just had the bad fortune to succumb to cancer at the same time as Sir Michael decided to force his shady doctor to off him with surgical anesthetic. Bigger scandal, bigger freak, bigger piles of money. I guess that’s what it really takes to be remembered by “your peers”.
Shame on you, Academy. You didn’t accidentally leave Farrah out, she got ousted by people you decided were more worthy and one in particular who did not even meet your own stated qualifications for inclusion. No, she was not the most talented actress in the world. She was also not a giant freak whose own idiocy resulted in her death. She was just a woman in her 60s who died of a disease that kills lots of regular people. Sure, she influenced the culture of the entire country in her heyday, but what the hell, not everybody can be included, right?
Sue enjoys over-mothering her adult children, riding her bicycle, and procrastinating. She is the Editorial Manager at Silver Beacon Marketing and an aspiring Crazy Cat Lady.
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