Monday, February 23, 2009

Snuff's Enough

First of all, as a human being, I feel sadness that another human being i.e. the real life human being, Jade Goody has terminal cancer. Full stop.

As for Jade Goody, media construct I feel nothing but revulsion. Why? Because we, as a society, have finally reached rock, rock bottom.

I was flicking through the channels the other night and I came across this "Jade" show on Living TV. I had heard of it, of course, but up until then I had never seen it. Jade looked terrible. Balding and sick, of course, but still talking to camera about her blood transfusion and how her bones aching made it hard to get up in the morning. Then, ad break. Car commercials, food commercials, insurance commercials. Sexy women slinked across the screen trying to sell shit you'd never want or need. Then I turned it off. I couldn't watch anymore, I couldn't.

Because that's when the veneer of this sham fell right off.

This show, this media spectacle, isn't about helping to save lives, it's chronicling, for posterity, the death of a young woman for our perverse enjoyment. Don't for a minute believe anything else. This is no different from having a woman in a bikini walk next to a car accident with a sign advertising beer to the passing rubberneckers.

The scum in the tabloid press love it. "Brave Jade" they say, "Poor Jade". In January of two years ago they were saying "RACIST JADE IS A NASTY FAKER". In the copy of that article (the Sunday Mirror) said

"Goody didn't only put on a display of ignorant bigotry. In that horrific verbal assault on Shilpa, she revealed herself to be a disgusting, domineering bitch too."


This year they have her on the front page, all soft focus. Brave Jade, Poor Jade, because that sells papers for the tabloids this week. If they thought gloating about her impending death would sell papers then they'd run that and don't think they wouldn't. Remember those words. Disgusting. Bitch.

Living wouldn't be running the show if hordes of people weren't watching it. The ad revenue certainly helps the 'grief' they must be feeling. If the Mirror, Sun, Daily Mail and Star knew it wouldn't sell papers buy the fucking skip full then this story would be page 5, half page boohoo column, at best. Look at Terry Pratchett. Suffering from Alztheimers, an equally horrible disease, but where's his front page? Where are his hourly updates on Sky News? It's because he didn't entertain Michelle from Essex by getting his kebab out on national TV and abuse an Indian woman and that's that.

Jade the media construct is a commodity that those in the media will squeeze every last cent out of before she inevitably, tragically dies. We allow them to by our interest. We rubberneck and disguise it as 'concern' but rubbernecking it certainly is.

Will more women get smears because of this? Probably. They almost certainly have. How about in 6 months? In 3 years? In Jade's name? Probably not. But it'll do for time being. That'll be our excuse as we look on, as we voyeur. It's helping people, right?

With the money she's made from this I hope her kids have some bit of her fortune left to keep them going. If there's any left. Her new husband (jailbird Jack Tweedy) has been put in charge of it until they're old enough.

We'll see how that goes.

I'm sure we'll hear about it if it doesn't go well.

We'll buy the papers and watch the documentary.

25 comments:

  1. How dare u write someting like this about Jade Goody. She is dyin of cancer you prikc. I am reporting u to the BCC. Let's see you mmake a cartoon abotu that!!!!!

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  2. Make a cartoon about what? Your blistering critique of the comic, or you reporting me to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission over something you didn't like on the internet? I could make a cartoon out of your fucking spelling alone.

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  3. U fucking asshole, you never had cancer and fuck off about my spelling, you fuck Nazi. Im going to call the Joe Duffy show and then we'll see about spelling you prick!!!

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  4. Look, Kate (the first comment you left with your name on it was unintelligible so I couldn't put it up without looking like I edited it to make you look stupid), if you want to call Joe Duffy (the horror!) then go right ahead. Here's how it'll go. You'll call him. If there's nothing else happening i.e. like a sex shop moving into a nice suburban area or whatnot, he'll put you on the air. You'll blabber and whinge for 5 minutes. Then he'll call me. I'll go on the air and call you a moron. Which would you prefer? The couple dozen people who read this blog knowing you're a moron, or every other bored Liveline listening mongoloid in the country knowing you're one too? Actually, go on, call him. I'm free for the next hour anyway.

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  5. Your not worth the bother you fucking dickhead I should sue you for sslander! Maybe I will! Whos laughing now you fuck

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  6. I imagine the judge would be, when you'd be laughed out of court. I can see the headlines now. "Idiot tries to sue Webcomic that thinks she's a Moron". Man, you're entertaining. Can I keep you?

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  7. If this were a boxing match it would have been stopped 4 comments ago.

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  8. Cheers on the blog and the cartoon. You hit the nail right on the head. One thing that I learned in my journalism course in the university is that "If it bleeds- it leads". Do you need me to break that down for you Kate?
    It means that if shallow, self- absorbed, half-wits who have no talent but to show off their tits & racially abuse people of color are willing to sell themselves and their low class behavior for the almighty pound AND if there's an equally dull & easily- amused public willing to buy their publication.... a lucrative marriage is achieved.

    If I lost you any step of the way.. give a shout cause by you are presenting yourself, I take it that the education system failed you horribly.

    You call Alan Moloney a nazi but it is you who wants to suppress free speech, which makes you a fascist and more nazi if anything.
    Here's some links if you need any help with what I had previously written:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism

    If you had any intelligence or was able to read, you would realize that Alan was criticizing the media and not Jane Goody. However, I wouldn't find any gross exaggeration if he did- personally, I find her repulsive. She doesn't care about getting the message out about cervical cancer. She hasn't done any voluntary public service ads for the benefit of womankind. Her whole thing is about getting paid. She only cares about herself and I find it pathetic that you would jump on a soapbox for someone who wouldn't blink if it was you in her situation.

    If you are such a bleeding heart about women suffering from cervical cancer, why don't you help the people that are mentioned below:

    *In 2005, 2,803 women in the UK were diagnosed with cervical cancer.
    *Cervical cancer caused 949 deaths in the UK in 2006.

    *Cervical cancer is the 5th most common cancer in women worldwide with approximately 471,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It’s sobering to think that a woman dies of cervical cancer approximately every 2 minutes.

    *In less developed countries, this type of cancer is the second most common in women and accounts for up to 300,000 annual deaths. 80% of the cases occur in low-income or middle-income countries.

    *Cervical cancer is the most common cancer for women in Central America and Southern Africa.

    *The Caribbean, other parts of Africa, South America and South Eastern Asia also have very high incidences of this disease. Unfortunately, many women from these areas don’t have access to routine exams such as Pap smears.
    - http://cervicalcancer.org/

    Are you still there Kate? Probably not.

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  9. You think that youre so smart. Little do you know that she is an hero for what shge has done. Have you ever had cerviaical cancer? Asshole. Im going to get all my girls to spam you. Enjoy!!!!!

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  10. All your girls are going to 'spam me'? Wow, terrifying. By the by, that noise you can hear in the background is all the spell checkers in the world crying out in pain at the dumbass stained comments I'm about to receive.

    Jade Goody isn't "a" hero. She didn't give a fuck about cancer sufferers before she was sick and probably wouldn't now if she didn't have cancer herself. Like I said, I feel for her plight in that she, as another human being, is dying before her time. But a hero? Please.

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  11. The girls that are post on this site are giving the rest of us a bad name we are not all irrational!

    Have any of them had cancer?

    Jade probably wouldn't care about cancer if she didn't have it and who could blame her, if it doesn't directly effect you not many people do care about it lets be honest! (There is a difference between reading the paper and going aww thats awful for a second and actually caring!)
    It's awful what is happening to her believe me I know I've seen it first hand but a hero, give me a break
    Why don't you, your girls and that other muppet that started this go jump on another bandwagon, maybe one you have a clue about!

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  12. Fuck you, last comment. You prob arnt evenm a womaN

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  13. I am a woman with first hand experience of cancer thank you very much, you must be so proud of how intelligent you're making yourself look
    I would worry more about your education rather than reading about Jade if I was you

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  14. Keep up the good blogging/comics, Al. Great stuff.

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  15. Iv just emaied the Broadcastng complaints commisson you fucking nerd. There going to shut you down wit your fucking LEAFS! Haha fuck you. And fuck u aswell John u nerd. n Don;'t tell me abut cancer with ur fucking websites. I liv in Irleand what the fuk do I care about Souht America and UK? dis is ireland lol. Muppett!!!!!

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  16. Comic Cast: Thanks lads. Mutuals.

    Kate: You're either worst troll I've ever seen or the dumbest organism ever to use a keyboard. I can see you now with your nosed pressed to the screen, mashing the keyboard with your hand until something resembling words come out on the screen. "Me no get point of article! Me complain to organisation that has nothing to do with internet comic sites! Best plan EVAR!"

    I'd get a more coherent comment if I let my cat walk across my keyboard.

    Do you want to debate with him?

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  17. What 'emaied'?
    Where is is 'Irleand'? (some sort or weird plant where dumb people live I imagine)
    And when did 'Souht' become a direction on a compass??

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  18. Hey full of hate Kate,
    If you don't care about people in the UK- then why are you stressing about Jade? DEERRRR! Geography is fundamental- even in the make believe world of "Irleand" where people like Bunnyhurl worship ugly heffas whose claim to fame is flapp'n their udders for money. I dunno but on a island in the real world called IRELAND- we call that prostitution. Lesson: Being a slag doesn't equate with heroism.

    But I guess with a role model like Jade "Look at my" Goodies, who has done not a damn thing for anyone in this world, who had a wasteful wedding instead of donating money for cancer awareness and/or for those who can't afford cancer care- I can only suspect that ya'll have just about as much ambition as this chick....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlSinc-VSH8&feature=related

    Do yourselves a favor.... Stop bothering intelligent and creative people and their websites, bury your head in the shit that you excrete from your vacuous mouth and get a PAP smear so we don't have to see your mugs in OK! or HEAT.- Oh scratch that, ya'll don't even have a chance getting onto page 3!!

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  19. what an odd batch of comments

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  20. alan Moloney is a monster, Jade Goody is a saint with all her work for the UN and that time she throw that concert for Ethiopia or when she help the football headed alien get home. You should be embarrassed by this blog sir embarrassed

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  21. There are quite a few people here who should be embarrassed, but Alan isn't one of them.

    Sir.

    Also, I now hear she's dictating a book to be published after she dies. This sorry circus has now officially edged into social necrophilia

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  22. Fair play Alan - you captured by thoughts completely! when I try to explain myself to others they think that I have the problem:-)
    And as for that Kate on - Jaysus, this is the type of person that this bottom of the barrell, morbid "Reality TV" is made for! For gods sake, this time last year, no-one had ANY time for her..and just because she is dying she has now become a saint! now, I do feel for her and her kids (not her twotiming hubbie). It must be hell going through all this at the young age of 27...but as you say she is a commodity for the media.

    P.s
    I am a woman

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  23. Social Necrophilia is exactly what it is. It's like those documentaries you see on Channel 4 like "My 200lb Tumor" and so on. It's voyeurism at its basest level. A woman is dying, a woman you once thought (and probably deep down - still think) is a complete idiot. A television station is broadcasting her death, why NOT watch? Sher Scrubs isn't on til 10, right?

    I'm not sure what's worse. That someone could sell their lives so cheaply on TV, or that we would buy it so readily.

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  24. I think the article's spot on - the media's a joke.

    Although Jade's intention by selling her story was simply to make as much money as she could for her kids.

    Have you seen this?
    http://www.russellbrand.tv/2009/03/for-jade/

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