Jade Goody (1981-2009)

Jade Goody died today and the world watched it happen. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on evolution of celebrity in the age of reality television. Had I written it just a few years later, it would be entirely different, and probably just be one big case study on Jade.

This week, my friend Greg made reference to how surreal it is to live in a time where while experiencing something, we think about what we will post about it later on the internet/Facebook. We self-mediate ourselves to a ridiculous extent, as if things didn't happen unless they are published in a public forum. At this point, self-mediation is no longer necessarily about attention-seeking, but, because of its prevalence, an act of conformity. Everyone's doing it, you wouldn't want to be the friend who is forgotten for lack of reporting on your own actions and whereabouts. As a habitual blogger, I regularly reflect on why I mediate myself to this extent. I do it to entertain, archive, write, and maintain a voice and some sanity in a world I still frankly do not understand.

For all of my public over-sharing, I am not an internet superstar. I'd love to parlay my writing into a career, but not necessarily fame, as fame cannot entirely be controlled. Jade Goody learned this quickly when she appeared on Big Brother in the UK in 2002. Jade became popular for being unpopular, a lower-class idiot who was unashamed to publicly flaunt the same qualities we attempt to hide from others. While most reality television personalities rapidly fade into obscurity, Jade managed to maintain the limelight in a way her cohorts could only dream of. She regularly appeared in magazines and television shows for doing nothing in particular and looking trashy in the process. People knew Jade in exchange for Jade knowing nothing of dignity.

I've discussed Jade on this blog ago two years ago when she appeared on Britain's Celebrity Big Brother. The other contestants were initially famous for things other than reality television, but Jade seemed to warrant her spot for becoming a full-fledged celebrity in her own right, in spite of her origins. On this series, Jade stirred up an international incident for bullying and making racist comments directed toward Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Not only was Jade again shown to be trashy and vulgar, but at the time, Jade was legitimately the most reviled person in the UK.

Evidently, there was a limit to what the public would tolerate. Jade had crossed the line and lost most of her sponsorships and contracts, though not her notoriety. A year later, in an attempt to right some of her wrongs, Jade appeared on the Indian incarnation of Big Brother. After two days on the show, Jade was informed she had cervical cancer and left the program immediately.

Many, myself included, believed this announcement to be some sort of publicity stunt. Certainly, it was part of Jade's unending plight for publicity, but it also turned out to be legitimate. With this news, Jade went from public enemy #1 to a courageous hero battling cancer, which just goes to show there's no public blunder that a little terminal illness can't fix.

Having spent the last seven years under the media's watchful eye, Jade made no attempt to shy away, even knowing that she soon would die. She lived her life in front of the cameras and she resolved to end her life in similar fashion. She engaged in a media blitz wherein she filmed interviews, hospital visits, and dying wishes. She also sold the rights to her "fairytale wedding" with her on-again-off-again beau, Jack, a couple of months ago. The same press that loved to cover their incessant spats and infidelity now gladly participated in portraying the nuptials as some sort of match made in heaven, if not knocking on heaven's gates. The only reason this marriage did not end in divorce is because time expired for Jade too quickly.

Right up to the end, just days before her death, Jade allowed cameras to film the baptism of her bedridden self and her two children. It's bizarre and fascinating simultaneously. Her funeral will be televised live as a testament to her life -- her mediated life.

Say what you will about Jade, but she is a pioneer. She lived -- and died -- for our attention, taking self-exposure to unprecedented lengths. And as tacky, tasteless, and unfamiliar as it all might sound, I think we're all headed there.