Goody Goody for Jade
I’ve never been a great fan of reality television stars. In fact I find some of these pseudo manufactured celebrities quite annoying. But my views aside, they seem to have ingratiated themselves so deeply into popular culture that they become newsworthy in a truly global sense. You cannot pick up a newspaper or a magazine and not find information on some of these personalities these days.
So it was hardly surprising when Jade Goody made the evening television news here in New Zealand. To ordinary Kiwis, the infamous and sometimes controversial former Big Brother contestant means nothing. But to the British public she seems almost iconic.
Love her or hate her, you have to feel a bit sorry for the girl. The news that she has terminal cancer is sad. The simple fact that a young, single mum with two little boys is dying has got to pull on the heartstrings of anyone with a heart.
My first impression of Jade Goody when I lived in London was that she was pointless, appeared almost irritatingly naive and annoying. But it wasn’t long before I discovered that she is also spirited, entertaining and charming all at the same time. I watched her fame grow with almost a sense of admiration. Someone with no obvious talent in sport, music or acting was still out there making herself a household name. The more I saw of her on the screen, the more amused I was. Controversial as she is, she has this uncanny ability to make you ‘laugh’.
And now in a cruel twist of fate, it appears the joke is on her. It’s also a grim reminder that CANCER does not discriminate. Jade has received a lot of slack for cashing in on her illness and planning to play out her almost certain death in front of television cameras. But really, how can it be fun for someone in pain, someone who is never going to enjoy ‘the money’ that this will bring? So I’m left with the conclusion that she must be doing it to safeguard the future of her two boys. She is not going to be around to raise them or laugh with them. And if this television series is her last chance to secure their future, then I’m certainly not going to cast any stones. Furthermore, if the reports that more women are going to have their cervical smear tests done, as a result of Jade’s illness, are true, then she has managed to not just raise awareness about cancer, but make an impact.
Jade Goody is seriously ill, but far from dead. I’m sure in the next year or however short her time is, she will continue to have a raised profile. And when her day of reckoning comes, she will probably be mourned and missed. But the effect that she has made on people in the five short years of her ‘notoriety’ will certainly play out for a lot longer. And for that “Goody Goody for Jade”
So it was hardly surprising when Jade Goody made the evening television news here in New Zealand. To ordinary Kiwis, the infamous and sometimes controversial former Big Brother contestant means nothing. But to the British public she seems almost iconic.
Love her or hate her, you have to feel a bit sorry for the girl. The news that she has terminal cancer is sad. The simple fact that a young, single mum with two little boys is dying has got to pull on the heartstrings of anyone with a heart.
My first impression of Jade Goody when I lived in London was that she was pointless, appeared almost irritatingly naive and annoying. But it wasn’t long before I discovered that she is also spirited, entertaining and charming all at the same time. I watched her fame grow with almost a sense of admiration. Someone with no obvious talent in sport, music or acting was still out there making herself a household name. The more I saw of her on the screen, the more amused I was. Controversial as she is, she has this uncanny ability to make you ‘laugh’.
And now in a cruel twist of fate, it appears the joke is on her. It’s also a grim reminder that CANCER does not discriminate. Jade has received a lot of slack for cashing in on her illness and planning to play out her almost certain death in front of television cameras. But really, how can it be fun for someone in pain, someone who is never going to enjoy ‘the money’ that this will bring? So I’m left with the conclusion that she must be doing it to safeguard the future of her two boys. She is not going to be around to raise them or laugh with them. And if this television series is her last chance to secure their future, then I’m certainly not going to cast any stones. Furthermore, if the reports that more women are going to have their cervical smear tests done, as a result of Jade’s illness, are true, then she has managed to not just raise awareness about cancer, but make an impact.
Jade Goody is seriously ill, but far from dead. I’m sure in the next year or however short her time is, she will continue to have a raised profile. And when her day of reckoning comes, she will probably be mourned and missed. But the effect that she has made on people in the five short years of her ‘notoriety’ will certainly play out for a lot longer. And for that “Goody Goody for Jade”
Comments