Saturday, February 21, 2009

Jade Goody’s Wedding

It was rumoured that cancer sufferer Big Brother celebrity Jade Goody was prepared to die on camera to provide money for her two kids and the publicity machine behind her claim this was an honourable and brave decision on Ms Goody’s part.

Apparently since the revelation of her disease had become national news, more women are getting smear tests and that can only be a good thing, cant it?

What made me slightly uncomfortable about that was who really wanted to watch that poor mum die? I spent three nights recently watching my beloved step mum slowly succumb to cancer and die, yet in between sobs I was outside smoking a cigarette. Now my mum didn’t die of lung cancer or smoking related illness, but the irony of the situation still exists. The Cancer Unit sign above my head didn’t stop me from puffing away, so my question is this, what would we have learned from watching a young woman take her last breaths? Will it make us more aware of cancer?

Does the recent recession make us so gutted that we need to watch someone else slowly die so that the horror of joblessness and eviction’s make us feel better?

Is that really who we are as a Nation?

Her wedding is going to be the big event in the press and telly instead, and this will be a harrowingly sad portrayal of this young woman’s nuptials. Today in the UK press all the red tops have Jade Goody pictures and stories of her going shopping for wedding rings and the last minute organising of her big day. It seems the public can’t get enough of her last moments.

It wasn’t that long ago Ms Goody was a slated as a national embarrassment; her TV Big Brother appearance that featured horrid racist remarks raised comments in parliament.

Yet now she is the impetus for young women getting their cervix checked, something
Millions of government cash and health campaigns failed to achieve.

It is also horrible to realise that the only way Jade Goody got the nation’s favour back in her camp was when we all realised she was actually dying. She was made by the camera and now she is prepared to die by it. I can’t believe her death live on television would have been something that people would have wanted to share.

Ms Goody deserves the best of care during her precious last moments with her family, she didn’t need a lighting crew or soft focus music as she said goodbye to her children. Watching people grieve is highly emotional and who knows the effect this would have had on the family surrounding her. Thank goodness the decision has been over turned and her death isn’t going to be prime time telly.

The UK is now a fame seeking, publicity hungry nation. Kids no longer want to be plumbers, accountants or civil servants, they all want to strip naked, attack each other, or sing their way onto our screens. The sheer amount of amateur videos being loaded up onto the web proves my point.

When Ms Goody came to pubic attention through our UKTV screens she was both slated and revered for her uneducated, over-weight chavvy attitude. She represented the worst of the Face of Britain, yet managed to make millions of pounds throughout her career. Now it seems her cash has dwindled and she needs to sell the photos of her wedding to raise more money for her kids.

I am going to hide myself from the sheer out-pouring of public grief over Jade Goody, not because I am a hard hearted woman, but because I find it hard to cry for people I don’t know and didn’t really respect as a human when they were alive. I am not going to be a hypocrite.

There is much to be said about Jade Goody’s upbringing that had lead her to be a mouthy, racist bully. She was obviously lacking in love and guidance as a child, but that still isn’t enough of an excuse to be that cruel and nasty to folk when you are a fully developed person.

People can drag themselves above their past experiences and strive to be a better all round human.

Despite my misgivings I truly hope she has a wonderful wedding to her boyfriend Jack Tweedy, there needs to be a happy ending to their love story and this seems to be the one the Nation wants.

Jack Tweedy rose to National fame after he started dating Jade and even ended up in the Big Brother house on TV with her. The father of her two sons Jeff Brazier is now a TV presenter, two men who have gained fame and fortune by association of Jade Goody.

Jack and Jade had a turbulent romance; he was accused of being unfaithful, and then just recently spent time in prison for attacking some bloke. Jade was in and out of magazines over the past six months claiming to be well rid of the young Jack, but soon after there was big news splashes of them both cuddling up. Glossy magazines love a good ‘are they/aren’t they’ story. Since her cancer story broke, Jack and Jade have been inseparable.

Who knows the emotional hell of facing up to knowing your girlfriend is dying and wants a wedding before her death?

My sympathies lie with her loved ones and her wee boys who will surely miss their mum. I do hope they get a better start in life and grow up to make Jade Goody proud.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Janey,
I wrote almost 4 pages in response to this.

However, I'm so perturbed by peoples change in perception of Ms Goody, I'm refraining from saying what I really think.

Suffice to say, I think the world has gone mad.

Anonymous said...

Typo - pubic attention - should that be public attention ?!