I’m sure Heath Ledger’s family doesn’t read my blog, so writing this shouldn’t grieve them any extra today. I felt bad thinking about writing on this topic today, because it made me feel like a media whore. I have had serious mental and emotional struggles thinking about this since yesterday – I don’t want to come off like I’m only going to talk about Heath Ledger because it’ll get my blog some hits.
Right now, I don’t care if Ledger had completed his filming on The Dark Knight, the new Batman movie. I do care that he did an exceptional job in Lords of Dogtown, A Knight’s Tale, 10 Things I Hate About You, Four Feathers, and Monster’s Ball. And I do care that he was a human being, and we wish it weren’t just because he was famous that people are saddened by his death. But whether you liked his movies or not, you cannot deny his impact on our culture.
Ledger wasn’t a Britney Spears, that’s for sure. He hadn’t shown any signs of going off the deep end, or being suicidal to anyone’s knowledge. But that’s what they always say after someone commits suicide. In Ledger’s case though, they say he had an accidental overdose or drug interaction with his pneumonia medicine and went into cardiac arrest. But still, he wasn’t someone you repeatedly saw in the news and went “Yep, he’s gonna hit the pavement soon.” Twenty-Eight. Good gravy – that’s just too early to exit this world.
RIP Heath Ledger, and may Jesus’ peace and comfort be with his family and friends and other loved ones while they mourn.