Actors and Their Demise

Recently a famous actor who featured in the Fast and Furious series passed away. Taking the social media by storm, Paul Walker’s death triggered different kinds of responses. You could see R.I.P. everywhere. Some people were trying to make puns at his expense while some were clearly annoyed by the importance being given to him. I kept wondering why this was happening and jotted down a few reasons.

Note: This is not a rant. If it is possible then please read till the end.

·    News channels try desperately to get you any possible alarming news before their counterparts. This race now features on Facebook as well. Some people cannot resist the impulse to get any such news across to their friends, first.

·    Fitting in. When you open your home page and you see that 50 to 60 percent of your friends are sharing a post it gets difficult to not do the same. “If so many people are doing it, then I must too” whispers a tiny voice in your head.

·    Complete and utter boredom

·   A few likes maybe. Getting “likes” on Facebook is becoming a daily necessity for the regular social media users. So why not use someone else’s (an actor in this case) popularity to your advantage?

·   Looking cool. Oh my gawwwdd. I watch such coolsss moviexx you knowxs. He wax my b3st frand.

However, I think there is a very genuine reason why people share such stories. Bear with me please. 

·    An actor, singer, sportsman or anyone who gets famous affects us in a way. We are not related to them. They usually don’t even know that we exist. But somehow or the other they have made us smile. A movie scene that we really liked, a football goal, a brilliant song. A song can comfort us, put us in a good mood. likewise a movie can reflect on our lives, at times teach us a few lessons, or just be the source of good entertainment. This connection between someone and a character (fictional at times) is not meaningless. 

Brian’s real name Paul was not known to many while he lived. But those who had seen his movies had developed a connection with him. For me this is a reminder as to how you can affect someone’s life without even knowing they exist. It also raises one important question.

How often do we make an effort to make strangers smile?