Celebrity Passings - Less is More

The year is coming to a close, as well as the decade, and if there is one thing I think we'll remember about pop culture this year it will be the significant number of icons, celebrities and the like the pop culture community lost. The summer alone experienced grieving Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Farrah Fawcett, Walter Cronkite and Ed McMahon to name a few. I thought the surreal trend had come to an end until this past Sunday when I got word that Brittany Murphy had also passed. I really liked Murphy and always enjoyed seeing her in her films.

All of the losses this year are significant and make an impact, if you ask me. However, today I've noticed that now it's different. When Heath Ledger died in 2008, I had a very different reaction. I can still remember where I was when I heard the news and feeling such remorse for this person I had never met. Maybe the news hit so hard knowing that one of his greatest (if not THE greatest) role would play on without him with us. Still, I've noticed recently that I haven't felt as much of an impact for the passings this year.

I mean no disrespect, of course. All of the icons we lost this year left a significant stamp on pop culture (personally, when I heard about Cronkite that hurt the journalist in me the most). But I can't help but feel that it's beginning to feel like the norm. Maybe the difference is that I'm almost two years older and more equipped to deal with this kind of death than I was in '08. Who knows. One thing I do know is that I hope 2010 won't bring an end to as many (if not any) entertainers and icons.