I do not agree at all. So what if he had drug problems, which probably means he was depressed or had other mental health issues? Its about time we get out of the Victorian era already and fully realize that mental health issues are not “shameful”. There is no mind/body dichotomy. Mind and body are one, and if we shouldn’t be ashamed of having cancer than we shouldn’t be ashamed of being depressed, or any other number of brain maladies we suffer from as a species.
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At that moment? Yeah.
No worries. I actually wasn’t upset.
Well, it’s okay. You obvious liked him a great deal that you feel protective. I still think it doesn’t matter, because he was a great actor, a real artist, and he wasn’t doing what he was doing to hurt anyone, so it still doesn’t make him a bad person.
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“Ah hahahahaha! Wonderful woman. We’re all, we’re all very fond of her. Very free-spirited.”
Amazing actor and very sad news. He is a 1%er among his peers.
I moved 10 posts to a new topic: Drugs and celebrity deaths
The point is that That Shit can kill ANYBODY - Not just the least-admired street junkie and not the best connected celebrity drug enthusiast (Amy Winehouse, anyone ?).
Hoffman probably didn’t want his last role to be a warning about the hazards of drug abuse, but there you go. The never-ending problem with most beware-drugs deaths is that they will literally never reach the people who need them the most.
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One thing I just want to point out is that drug/alcohol addiction do not, inherently, always have to do with underlying mental health issues. While there are obviously times where depression, anxiety, etc. are linked with addiction, there are many addicts who have none of these mental health issues. Addiction can potentially affect anybody, no matter his or her background. Some people appear to be more wired for it than others. It is easier to fight, and recognize, when you understand that it really can affect anybody, potentially.
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Omitting the suggestion that his death is a drug overdose would deny us the reminder that drug addiction is a powerful thing that can take our best and brightest in addition to the stereotypical junkie losers.
This news also adds an extra, even sadder dimension to Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead . Hoffman’s performance in that movie might not have been only a shocking illustration of the damage that addiction does to us as humans, but also an expression of disdain for his own weaknesses.
That’s a sad loss - I liked him in Capote and Happiness he was a great actor
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Rest in peace.
I feel more saddened by his death than that of some other actors or celebrities and I think that has a lot to do with the caliber of his art. I also believe that the mention of how he died is not a bad thing. It humanizes him and I think we need that in this age of celebrity obsession and near deification.
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The moment I saw ‘R.I.P.’ I felt a short but stout wave of shock as well. I feel that’s a very natural reaction to the death of someone whose work meant something to you.
This post is a place to offer condolences on the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, not argue about the cause of his death or the use of drugs. If you cannot be respectful in your comments and comments to each other, your comments will be deleted.
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and yet Rob Ford is alive and well…
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Personally, I don’t believe that reporting the cause of death was inappropriate. It’s common to report the cause of death when other notables die, whether through various illnesses, accidents, etc. What I do believe is that the mention of a drug overdose should be handled with the same dispassionate reporting as any other cause of death.
Where there could be a legitimate reason for mixing in a bit more emotion would be in editorials lamenting the drug use or other reckless behavior that robbed society of a great talent (smoking, speeding, unsafe sex, untreated mental illness…).
Man he could play troubled characters!
IRL he seemed quite friendly, introduced himself on a film set. He sure pounded caffeinated sodas… you could see glimpses of his addict.
If he was sober for 23 years, I wonder why he looked older than Bob Dylan when he passed away?
I respectfully inquire: who gave you delete powers?
it’s just so desperately sad for all involved, especially his partner and their children.
Boing boing. I’ve been a mod here since I joined in August. So it’s nothing new.
