Dead is a Four-Letter Word

Maybe it's me but I hate when news outlets break stories of celebrity deaths by simply coming up with a headline of the person's name followed by the word "dead" in all caps. I don't know if it's intended to be disrespectful, printed simply for effect or shock value, but it certainly feels that way. When the late great actor Patrick Swayze passed away earlier this week, it hit me like a ton of bricks because the headlines were so blunt. I grew up on the actor's films (the good, the bad, and the "Wong Foo"), and his death had an impact on me. I didn't need to be hit over the head with the headlines. Only in the follow-up stories did we get a bit of warming up -- you know, like mentioning his brave battle with cancer.

This is nothing new. These headlines have been around long before trash like TMZ, but somehow it resonates more now since we're living in a paparazzi-fueled/ pop-hungry world. I recall when Paul Newman died, his image was on the front of the paper with the cold hard type "Paul Newman Dead." Not cool for such a legend. Would "Paul Newman, Legendary Actor and Humanitarian, Passes Away" be too much? I don't think so. People Magazine always plays it classy -- with carefully thought out headlines that honor those who died. True, it's a magazine and they may be arguably working with more of a lead time but it doesn't take much to show some class by changing a word or two.

Maybe I'm way off base here. Perhaps this is a complete waste of time to write this, and for you to read this, but it just hit me when the Ghost and Dirty Dancing star passed away. I posted a similar rant on Facebook and got some interesting feedback and had some supporters -- and some caught in the middle. One person was on the opposite end of the fence, noting he disagreed wholeheartedly, and explained the whole reason the word dead sounds "cold" is because of "society's fear of death." He has a point no doubt. Maybe I'm uber sensitive. One friend of mine also weighed in, noting phrasing is irrelevant in this age of Facebook and Twitter where your favorite celebrity's death is remembered Ad nauseam by your "friends"' via obit tweets and status messages.

None of this matters. Swayze's death has already been bumped by news stories in favor of the leaked Obama "jackass" reference over Kanye West's Taylor Swift sideshow. It's sad, but it's reality and it will continue to be. On a related note, can someone get me a cow, and brand Kanye on one side, and Michael Jackson on the other...then get correspondent Billy Bush to milk said cow? Danke.

 

 

Follow Jon Chattman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thecheappop

Comments

[beyondliberal]

"Dead" is an adjective that does not sugar-coat the reality of the truth. Unfortunately, we are a country with the fond use of euphemisms.
My take on it is to be blunt and honest.
Non-native speakers of English struggle with idioms. "Passed away? Huh?"
Call a spade a spade and keep it unambiguous.

[3fingerbrown]

The journalistic use of the word "dead" to best describe the state of being no longer alive is nothing new. It has been long been standard practice to avoid using "passed away" or "expired" or "deceased" in reporting the news, and no good editor lets such flabby euphemisms stand in an obituary—in a quote, yes; in a eulogy, perhaps—but never in an obituary, especially in the headline. It's the kind of thing a cub reporter learns the first day on the job.

Death comes to us all, even to Paul Newman, and we must be big boys and girls and accept it. Saying that Swayze "shuffled off this mortal coil" or "succumbed to sleep eternal" won't make him any less dead.

[Jon Chattman - Huffpost Blogger]

Valid point for sure but honestly - tell me it wouldn't be amazing to see that "succumbed to sleep eternal" in a headline somewhere.­..

[3fingerbrown]

I'm in the publishing business. When I go, I want them to say "He was permanently deleted from the masthead."

[texastrixie]

The idea behind news is NEWS. The whole idea is that as quickly as possible, as succinctly as possible, to alert the reader to what has happened. If (name here) DEAD comes across the tv crawl, it catches one's eyes, as does a headline. No matter how we term it, people that meant a lot to us, or were a part of our younger years, their deaths impact us negatively. Its only our personal feelings that make the terminology painful. Think about it - MANSON DEAD - now is that really going to bother anyone?

Even so, it is sad to see Patrick die so relatively young.

[CatTheGadfly]

You have a point, and I'm one of the people who much prefers the words "dead", "died", death", etc. I won't insist that others use them. I'm tactful, and sensitive to the person with whom I am speaking. Words used for dying and death, and their emotional impact, vary alot depending on one's culture and background. Some people aren't ready to say "died" due to recent bereavement and shouldn't be forced. All of that plays a role.

I don't care for overuse of "passed away" and "went to Heaven", unless it's at a funeral, where saying "dead", at certain moments, is of comparable insensitivity as referring to the deceased as "the corpse".

While I prefer "died" and its variants, I am referring to social situations and personal conversations. When the media use it, they should use it wisely. DEAD has emotional impact.

It feels different when speaking of someone who has lost a battle with cancer than when referring to someone murdered, or a soldier killed in action.

Ultimately, I suppose I'd agree with media use of DEAD if the focus is on the facts and manner of the person's death -- I refer to the sort of incident that makes the news because the person's DEATH (shocking, untimely, in war) is the newsworthy factor, not the individual himself (don't flame me -- I'm saying "newsworthy", not "worthy"), -- and a more subtle word if focus is on an individual known to the media audience for other reasons who has

[NHBill]

Conversation is one thing journalism is another.

Euphemisms can be used for negative purposes. George Carlin had a routine detailing the morphing of "shell shock" to "post traumatic stress syndrome". I think we demean the sacrifice of our military when we soften reality.

If someone died they're dead.

If I am in front of the bereaved then they've passed.

[NHBill]

I think it's you.

By the way Olivier, Brando and Newman are late great actors.
Swayze was a heartthrob.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[bnyb]

It's not just you Jon. I was thinking about this just yesterday. I can't decide if they do it in a lets-get-t­he-news-ou­t-as-effic­iently-as-­possible-f­or-our-att­ention-def­icit-reade­rs or something crasser than that.