Slice:
Mortality - the more graphic, the merrier - is the biggest thing going in America. Between Terri Schiavo and the pope, we've feasted on decomposing bodies for almost a solid month now. The carefully edited, three-year-old video loops of Ms. Schiavo may have been worthless as medical evidence but as necro-porn their ubiquity rivaled that of TV's top entertainment franchise, the all-forensics-all-the-time "CSI." To help us visualize the dying John Paul, another Fox star, Geraldo Rivera, brought on Dr. Michael Baden, the go-to cadaver expert from the JonBenet Ramsey, Chandra Levy and Laci Peterson mediathons, to contrast His Holiness's cortex with Ms. Schiavo's.
As sponsors line up to buy time on "CSI," so celebrity deaths have become a marvelous opportunity for beatific self-promotion by news and political stars alike. Tim Russert showed a video of his papal encounter on a "Meet the Press" where one of the guests, unchallenged, gave John Paul an A-plus for his handling of the church's sex abuse scandal. Jesse Jackson, staking out a new career as the angel of deathotainment, hit the trifecta: in rapid succession he appeared with the Schindlers at their daughter's hospice in Florida, eulogized Johnnie Cochran on "Larry King Live" and reminisced about his own papal audience with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.
...This agenda is synergistic with the entertainment culture of Mr. Bush's base: No one does the culture of death with more of a vengeance - literally so - than the doomsday right...
1 comment:
It doesn't get any better than this
President Speaks to Press Pool April 8, 2005
THE PRESIDENT: Listen, were you there in person?
THE PRESS: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: One, I'm really glad I came. There was never any question I would come. Last night we hosted a reception at the embassy for many of the leaders of the Catholic Church at home, and they were very grateful that I came, and Laura came, and Dad came, and President Clinton came, and Condi came, as well as others. And I told them, to a person, that it's such an honor to represent our country at a ceremony honoring a truly great man who is and will always be a great historical figure.
I knew the ceremony today would be majestic, but I didn't realize how moved I would be by the service, itself; by the beautiful music. I was struck -- as an aside -- struck by the fact that the sound was so clear in this huge facility. It was as if we were inside the cathedral listening; and the voices were so pure. I thought the homily was really good. We were given an English version, fortunately -- if you haven't read it, maybe you've seen it? Yes. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautifully done.
I was struck by the response of the crowd. And I think it's interesting to note the moments where the crowd responded. One in particular is when His Eminence spoke to His Holiness's relationship to the young of the world, and there was a great outpouring of enthusiasm for that line. And then I think the thing that struck all our delegation most intensely was the final scene of the plain-looking casket -- one of three, by the way; lead, wood and wood -- being carried and held up for the seal to be seen, and then the sun pouring out. This will be one of the highlights of my presidency, to have been at this great ceremony.
So off we go to home, now.
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