After Wednesday’s class on digital resurrection, I was particularly interested in many of the moral or ethical questions that were brought up when we discussed our dead celebrities in small groups. The questions we explored about how we would treat the celebrity or interact with their art or music or image differently after they died compared to when they were alive were interesting to me.
After class I also began to explore more of the specific moral and ethical questions that are asked in the #metoo era that we are in, especially in regards to celebrities. My group discussed Michael Jackson and I found it interesting when the larger class discussion was brought up about whether or not it was morally wrong to still listen to or buy his music. My first thought was “he’s dead, why does it make a difference” but then I thought of what it stood for and what kind of image I was supporting and I started to change my mind. After a quick research session I found that writers had very strong options on either side. Suzanne Moore believes that Michael Jackson’s music is dead to her, while the Admin Team from MJ Vibe believes you should play his music now more than ever. Two very polarizing viewpoints that I think capture both sides of the debate.
I also started to think of the opposite digital resurrection of Michael Jackson, where a celebrity comes back after they have died with a better and more profound reputation based off of something that happened while they were alive but there was increased awareness of that action/circumstance after their death. My first thought was Robin Williams due to the mental illness he suffered from before taking his own life. I think he was digitally resurrected in a much stronger and positive light after people found out about his suicide and all that he was going through leading up to his death. Everyone was amazed with how much joy and energy he put into his films, while also experiencing a dark and terrible time of his life. Therefore, I noticed that digitally resurrecting someone in a different light than when they were alive, is normally based off of events that happened when they were alive, that are now being more highlighted once they have died.