NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > RESEARCH INDICATES VERY FEW PEOPLE MOURNING DEATH OF DJ AM

RESEARCH INDICATES VERY FEW PEOPLE MOURNING DEATH OF DJ AM

August 30 2009

New York, NY – Death is often a difficult thing for people to deal with. For everyone there are varying degrees of grief, most of which is dependent on the relationships people have with the departed. Close loved ones have more of an impact than the
death of a friend. Celebrities often have more of an impact on people than that of strangers no matter how tragic the circumstances. Grief is often a personal thing that has never and likely never will be fully understood.

It is in celebrity deaths that the most unusual example of grief occurs. The outpouring of grief that often overtakes people over the passing of a person who they do not know personally has become more and more omnipresent in recent years. The deaths of celebrities such as Princess Diana, Heath Ledger, and most recently Michael Jackson have captured the public’s imagination and set the globe into grief in ways that still baffles many. Though psychologists debate the reason for such outburst of grief the one thing they can all agree upon is the relationship between the star status and the public reaction. Big celebrities evoke big reactions, and people like DJ AM have almost no impact whatsoever.

“Very few people remember the near cataclysm that occurred when Princess Diana died. She was a person who many people had mixed feelings over but when she passed she became one of the most important people to ever live. The entire world mourned in an almost collective grief for reasons that are as mysterious to them as they are to people observing,” said Scrape TV Psychology analyst Dr. Sarah Welp. “For many she was a tabloid personality who happened to have regal standing. She was interesting but not important until after she died. Then she was suddenly hugely important and her death a global tragedy. Such spontaneous outbursts of grief are still fairly unique but interesting because they are like a collective mania.”

More than two months after his death, Michael Jackson is still a fixture on news outlets. Psychologists have long debated whether or not the coverage creates the mania or whether or not it is a reflection of the existing feelings.

“One thing is for sure, DJ AM will never have that kind of grief or outpouring of support. He’s gotten a lot of coverage, partially because he survived that plane crash a year ago, partially because it was on a Friday and a very slow news day. The reality is his biggest fame came from that crash which only happened a year ago. People who receive the kind of attention we are talking about here have been in the public eye for decades,” continued Welp. “That doesn’t help his loved ones who are undoubtedly grieving but it is the truth. If he had died during the week or if someone else more popular had passed he would barely have received a mention in the media. Of course it isn’t all that difficult to find someone more popular than DJ AM so he really could not have picked a better time to go.”

AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, apparently died of a drug overdose. It’s unclear as yet if his passing was accidental or timed to coincide with the slow news of the day.

“Yes he was a DJ but no one who gets into the public arena gets into it to be
unknown. He had had some limited success, especially with the least known member of marginally popular band, but it wasn’t Michael Jackson success and was never going to be. Going out in such a rock star style ensures that he has some place in musical history, no matter how minor,” continued Welp. “Unfortunately though he was a little old for many people to really care. It’s entirely possible that had he not survived that crash his status would have gone way up but that just wasn’t the case. If he had overdosed say ten years ago he would be assured of status, now though, well he’ll be forgotten as soon as the weekend is over. It is very sad.”

Former partner and fellow plane crash survivor Travis Barker reportedly plans on continuing to live, at least long enough for some people to care. 

Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent

NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > RESEARCH INDICATES VERY FEW PEOPLE MOURNING DEATH OF DJ AM