The tragic untimely death of Princess Diana over three weeks ago in Paris mentions the most difficult question Hollywood, the world, and the press must now ask. Who is responsible?
Was it the aggressive stalking photojournalists known as the paparazzi who caused the fatal accident as they relentlessly pursued the “people’s princess” and her new boyfriend Dodi al Fayed on motorcycles under the Place de l’Alma bridge that fateful night?
Or should the blame be on the driver, Henri Paul, who was behind the wheel of Diana’s Mercedes 600 going 120 mph at the time of the crash and whose lab tests indicate his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit by almost four times making it, what news accounts report, equivalent to a bottle and a half of wine?
As French Police and members of the British monarchy and Spencer families continue their investigations, it seems likely the paparazzi will be the ones to take the fall.
In one of the most damning comments made to the tabloid press that week, actor George Clooney congratulated the media saying how exhilarated they must feel about the accident.
“You’ve bought and paid for one of the greatest news stories of the year,” Clooney said. “And for your success, you should be held accountable.”
As we can see, however, society is not all that fed up with the things the paparazzi covers. They love to read gossip and in the case of Princess Di, the tabloids delivered. Through pictures and words, the media had a lot of negative things to say about Diana Spencer ever since she burst onto the national spotlight and won the world’s hearts in 1981 when she married Prince Charles. We heard it all from her personal bouts with anorexia and bulimia to her messy divorce and tales of unhappiness.
But the press also captured the positive side of Princess Di, through such emotional, moving pictures and words of kindness as a protective loving mother and her willingness to help the suffering from the homeless and people afflicted with AIDS to her worldwide campaign against land mines.
The death of Princess Di is not going to change the way the paparazzi and the tabloid press hound celebrities. Nor will it stop society from buying the trash they publish every week.
If there is anything positive to come out of this is perhaps her death will send a message to the young about the hazards of drunk driving, speeding and the reason why cars come equipped with seatbelts. It is another worthy cause Diana probably would have immersed herself in sooner or later had she lived.
Perhaps even in death, Princess Di is saving lives.
©9/24/97
Was it the aggressive stalking photojournalists known as the paparazzi who caused the fatal accident as they relentlessly pursued the “people’s princess” and her new boyfriend Dodi al Fayed on motorcycles under the Place de l’Alma bridge that fateful night?
Or should the blame be on the driver, Henri Paul, who was behind the wheel of Diana’s Mercedes 600 going 120 mph at the time of the crash and whose lab tests indicate his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit by almost four times making it, what news accounts report, equivalent to a bottle and a half of wine?
As French Police and members of the British monarchy and Spencer families continue their investigations, it seems likely the paparazzi will be the ones to take the fall.
In one of the most damning comments made to the tabloid press that week, actor George Clooney congratulated the media saying how exhilarated they must feel about the accident.
“You’ve bought and paid for one of the greatest news stories of the year,” Clooney said. “And for your success, you should be held accountable.”
But it isn’t just the tabloid press and the driver who should share the blame. It is also the readers who shell their money out every week buying such filthy rags as The Star and The National Enquirer to find out the latest scoop. If it wasn’t the fact much of the public craves this kind of junk journalism, Diana might still be alive today and the paparazzi would be out of work.It is unfortunate when the tabloid press says the First Amendment gives them the right to invade a celebrity’s privacy. The First Amendment, however, works both ways. The media can publish what they want but it is the public who has the final say on whether they find the material objectionable. And if they don’t like what was said or photographed, they don’t have to read it or they can launch a counteroffensive attack against the publications through boycotts and lawsuits.
As we can see, however, society is not all that fed up with the things the paparazzi covers. They love to read gossip and in the case of Princess Di, the tabloids delivered. Through pictures and words, the media had a lot of negative things to say about Diana Spencer ever since she burst onto the national spotlight and won the world’s hearts in 1981 when she married Prince Charles. We heard it all from her personal bouts with anorexia and bulimia to her messy divorce and tales of unhappiness.
But the press also captured the positive side of Princess Di, through such emotional, moving pictures and words of kindness as a protective loving mother and her willingness to help the suffering from the homeless and people afflicted with AIDS to her worldwide campaign against land mines.
We never saw those selfless acts of humanitarianism reported about on the front pages of the daily newspapers when she was alive. The articles could only be found somewhere on pages two and up while the tabloid press paid no attention to it at all. The focus of their stories was always on the juicy, lurid, scandalous details of her life because that is what sells magazines. Her brother Charles Spencer spoke of this when he delivered her eulogy Sept. 6.“I don’t think she ever understood why her genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media,” he said. “Why there appeared to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down. It is baffling. My own, and only explanation is that genuine goodness is threatening to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum.”
The death of Princess Di is not going to change the way the paparazzi and the tabloid press hound celebrities. Nor will it stop society from buying the trash they publish every week.
If there is anything positive to come out of this is perhaps her death will send a message to the young about the hazards of drunk driving, speeding and the reason why cars come equipped with seatbelts. It is another worthy cause Diana probably would have immersed herself in sooner or later had she lived.
Perhaps even in death, Princess Di is saving lives.
©9/24/97
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