Spring Break
The Daily OrangeLedger's early death equates to iconic status
By Nathan Mattise
Posted: 1/28/08, 10:52 PM EST Section: Feature
Regardless of Ledger's talent, the biggest reason I think we'll eventually look back and say we witnessed the passing of a legend is because he died in the 21st century. Dean died more than 50 years ago on Sept. 30, 1955. It was practically a different world. No Internet. No all-day news. No magazines dedicated solely to celebrities. No international film releases or mass marketing campaigns starting almost a year before a film is released.
Throughout time, Dean's legacy continued growing through legions of memorials, posthumous Oscar nominations and an image that's been immortalized in stamps, posters, cartoons and nearly everything else. He has a Wikipedia page than runs 4,600 words long- almost double the size of Ledger's at the moment. To sum it up anecdotally, my 20-year-old sister used to worship Dean even though she came to being nearly 30 years after.
Ledger's legacy, on the other hand, is potentially limitless judging by the sheer volume of tributes that arose in only a week. His name pops up in AIM profiles and away messages. His face became a popular buddy icon or a timely profile photo on any social networking site.
On Facebook, groups dedicated to Ledger pay tribute to his legacy, with fans leaving their condolences. The biggest memorial group has nearly 174,000 fans.
And this is only the beginning of remembering Ledger. It'll only increase with this year's Oscars, the release of "The Dark Knight," the Oscars when "Dark Knight" is eligible and any future projects that involve Ledger's likeness. If he can become ingrained in our collective consciousness this much within just one week, think of what years of reflection will do for his memory.
Thirty years from now people will look back and remember the man with iconic locks who could go from playing dreamy Sir William to the sadistic Joker. The over/under on when his stamp will come out is seven years.
In the end, whether or not I'm still watching "The Patriot" when I'm 40 doesn't matter. Some will say his talent isn't on par with Dean, and some will say Dean's cultural impact was deeper, but for me (a 22-year-old pop culture junkie) it seems like Ledger is on his way to becoming ingrained in our consciousness as much or even more than Dean was. When your kids have Ledger posters on their walls in five years, I won't say I told you so.
Nathan Mattise is a pop culture columnist for The Daily Orange. His columns run every Tuesday. He first saw Ledger in "10 Things I Hate About You"-originally watching it for Julia Stiles but falling for Heath in the end. He can be reached at nzmattis@syr.edu.
Throughout time, Dean's legacy continued growing through legions of memorials, posthumous Oscar nominations and an image that's been immortalized in stamps, posters, cartoons and nearly everything else. He has a Wikipedia page than runs 4,600 words long- almost double the size of Ledger's at the moment. To sum it up anecdotally, my 20-year-old sister used to worship Dean even though she came to being nearly 30 years after.
Ledger's legacy, on the other hand, is potentially limitless judging by the sheer volume of tributes that arose in only a week. His name pops up in AIM profiles and away messages. His face became a popular buddy icon or a timely profile photo on any social networking site.
On Facebook, groups dedicated to Ledger pay tribute to his legacy, with fans leaving their condolences. The biggest memorial group has nearly 174,000 fans.
And this is only the beginning of remembering Ledger. It'll only increase with this year's Oscars, the release of "The Dark Knight," the Oscars when "Dark Knight" is eligible and any future projects that involve Ledger's likeness. If he can become ingrained in our collective consciousness this much within just one week, think of what years of reflection will do for his memory.
Thirty years from now people will look back and remember the man with iconic locks who could go from playing dreamy Sir William to the sadistic Joker. The over/under on when his stamp will come out is seven years.
In the end, whether or not I'm still watching "The Patriot" when I'm 40 doesn't matter. Some will say his talent isn't on par with Dean, and some will say Dean's cultural impact was deeper, but for me (a 22-year-old pop culture junkie) it seems like Ledger is on his way to becoming ingrained in our consciousness as much or even more than Dean was. When your kids have Ledger posters on their walls in five years, I won't say I told you so.
Nathan Mattise is a pop culture columnist for The Daily Orange. His columns run every Tuesday. He first saw Ledger in "10 Things I Hate About You"-originally watching it for Julia Stiles but falling for Heath in the end. He can be reached at nzmattis@syr.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Andy Young
posted 1/29/08 @ 3:04 AM EST
Another similarity between Heath & James Dean is that both died shortly after completing work on a major movie that had not yet premiered - Heath with "The Dark Knight" and James Dean with "Giant". (Continued…)
Marc LeVine
posted 1/29/08 @ 10:41 AM EST
Unfortunately, Ledger may only reach icon status if it can be proven that he lived a troubled and conflicted life and died tragically. Well, he did die, tragically. (Continued…)
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