On a Brighter Note

[Everrgreen]

you did not comprehend what lunafox actually stated. If you had, you would have realized that my post resonated with her feelings, and she was acknowledging that and that she will miss this very important person. Not important because she was princess leia, but important for the more notable efforts in her life to expose her biploar disorder for what it was and to challenge it head on and overcome it to the point where she could effectively manage it on a day to day basis. She did not stop there though... She became a role model and living encouragement for others who suffer from mental illnesses.

 

Believe it or not, you do not have to know people personally in order to build an emotional and intellectual bond with them. All you need is empathy, understanding, and the ability to embrace someone for what they do. I did meet her in person one time when i want to see one of her live monologue performances, but that is not how i "knew her". I knew her .... The real her, not a 2d fantasy character in a movie... But as the real person who exposed her every vulnerability as a human being in her writings and her live monologues. She was courageous and brave in the face of serious disease.. And wore it all on her sleeve for all to see. That was carrie fisher.

 

Carrie was an extremely brave and strong woman who battled an inherited disease called biploar disorder. She not only had to deal with it directly in her father as she grew up (made worse by her mothers dismissive approach to it), she also had to deal with it personally in her life at a time when it was not commonly recognized, diagnosed, and well treated. She had the courage to step out of her attempts to self medicate and to actually take on her struggles in life dealing with it directly and indirectly. That was carrie fisher.

 

She is a hero to me precisely because she faced her demons, fought them to submission, and kept them in submission in her later years. And once she did, she blossomed as a person, able to be forthright, honest, and to take on life's challenges without wimper or apology, and with an edgy sense of irony and humor as she shared it with others. As with all people with chemical imbalance diseases like biploar disorder, she continued to have to deal with it throughout life... And did so.. Publicly and bravely. She became both advocate and role model in recovery from this awful disease.

 

She died too young and we as humanity will never know how meaningful she would have become as she continued to write and share herself with all of us who were willing to look beyond princess leia and understand the actual human being that was carrie fisher. To understand is to embrace, and to embrace is to connect with, and to connect with is to miss deeply when a person like carrie moves onward.

 

Bravo! Well said and deserves to be repeated.

 

____________________________________

[AlrikFassbauer]

but important for the more notable efforts in her life to expose her Biploar Disorder for what it was AND to challenge it head on and overcome it to the point where she could effectively manage it on a day to day basis. She did not stop there though... she became a role model and living encouragement for others who suffer from mental illnesses.

 

I honestly didn't know about her Bipolar Disordfer until this post. I knew of rumors that she had used drugs, but nothing more specific.

I'm European, maybe that's why this stuff wasn't known to me. But I must also say that I'm not following the private lives of celebrities. I rather want them to live their lives, and I'd feel like an intruder of that if I followed everything more closely. I'm not a reader of the Sun or the Bild newspapers, if you know what I mean.

 

I just wish that here, her effords were more widely known. I wihed she had given more interviews for European newspapers or magazines I knew.

 

So, I only knew and adored her for her role as Princess Leia Organa.

[DarthSpuds]

You did not comprehend what Lunafox actually stated. If you had, you would have realized that my post resonated with her feelings, and she was acknowledging that and that she will miss this very important person. Not important because she was Princess Leia, but important for the more notable efforts in her life to expose her Biploar Disorder for what it was AND to challenge it head on and overcome it to the point where she could effectively manage it on a day to day basis. She did not stop there though... she became a role model and living encouragement for others who suffer from mental illnesses.

 

No, I understood all of that just fine.

 

What I did not, and still do not, understand is how anyone can "miss" someone they do not personally know, have never met, have very probably never spoken to or had any direct contact with.

 

That would be like me saying I miss that £10Million I have never had. It makes no sense.

 

On the same day that Carrie Fisher died so did a man called Richard Adams. He wrote a book called Watership Down, that if you read as a child is a very good story, but if you read it as an adult it is a great story about much more than rabbits and warrens. In some respects Watership Down has had more of an impact on my life than Star Wars, and Mr Adams is solely responsible for that. However, as much as I may feel empathy with his family for their loss I do not "miss" Mr Adams because I never knew him.

 

All The Best

[MeNaCe-NZ]

I don't need your judgment or your opinion so pick on someone else. People like you are the reason I want to avoid people all together.

 

Yet you participate in public forums which can be some of the more toxic places on the internet.

[SithKoriandr]

Each to their own. I personally find how she battled her way through the incredible battle that was her addiction utterly inspiring.

 

My point is ideally there is more to her than just being "princess leia" to the point that I PERSONALLY find it almost insulting to her memory that that is all this human being was to many.

 

Princess Leia does and will live on through various forms of media, the human who played her has passed away and perhaps those people who don't know who she was should educate themselves further on this.

 

True, but usually in times like this, especially on a Star Wars forums, you remember those iconic moments. Not the "she was a drug addict who slept with married co-stars"

 

Also, her iconic roll was Princess Leia. That's going to have people make such comments as "She is one with the force now."

 

Just as Nimoy had vulcan and star trek comments made. Robin Williams had Genie. Just a matter of being a celebrity.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

No, I understood all of that just fine.

 

What I did not, and still do not, understand is how anyone can "miss" someone they do not personally know, have never met, have very probably never spoken to or had any direct contact with.

 

That would be like me saying I miss that £10Million I have never had. It makes no sense.

 

On the same day that Carrie Fisher died so did a man called Richard Adams. He wrote a book called Watership Down, that if you read as a child is a very good story, but if you read it as an adult it is a great story about much more than rabbits and warrens. In some respects Watership Down has had more of an impact on my life than Star Wars, and Mr Adams is solely responsible for that. However, as much as I may feel empathy with his family for their loss I do not "miss" Mr Adams because I never knew him.

 

All The Best

 

I guess in a way of an example it's like missing a favourite musician who dies young and was in the prime of making their music, you miss them knowing you will never get to experience anything fresh again. Same thing goes with authors ...

 

Yes you can still revisit their previous works but then you can do the same with memories for people you did personally know but that doesn't stop you missing them.

 

To me though I think it caters to how the person was personally viewed. In the examples of authors and musicians if they had not done anything new in 20 years then there isn't too much to miss really, saddened they are gone but it's still 20 years since they had done anything anyway.

 

This is the part where Andryah makes a good point because Carrie was still very much active in life and who knows what more she could have put out and encouraged awareness and positive treatment for addiction and mental health so in this regard it is very easy to miss her if you followed her closely.

 

Just missing her because she was Princess Leia though? I agree with you there, I also don't get that. If that is all you know of her and considered her as then yeah it's a shame but I don't see the "miss them" part from that perspective.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Yeah, but do you think it was a good idea then to insult other people by being dismissive about their experience? I mean the character Princess Leia was a big deal back then. Female strong characters are more common now but "just" the Princess Leia role had a big impact back in the 70s and early 80s. You completely dismiss that as if it's not enough and indirectly it does mean you're saying that your experience is deeper or better than another's.

 

Wouldn't you agree that that was perhaps not the best way to approach this?

 

I would agree yes and perhaps it's being perceived wrong. I just found it annoying that a pretty incredible human has passed on and all many people seem concerned about is "no more princess leia" though I'm sure not everyone posting as such purely meant it as such.

[JennyFlynn]

I would agree yes and perhaps it's being perceived wrong. I just found it annoying that a pretty incredible human has passed on and all many people seem concerned about is "no more princess leia" though I'm sure not everyone posting as such purely meant it as such.

 

Some may. There are those who choose not to 'get to know' the person behind their favorite character which can be for any number of reasons. There are those who simply don't care to know the person behind the scenes, the voice and/or face behind the character so instead they 'mourn' the little they do know, in this case Princess Leia.

 

As for missing someone you never knew... it's very possible, depending on who you are and who the person in question was. For instance, I miss Freddie Mercury. I never knew him, I was 5 when he passed away so I wasn't even consciously aware of him while he was alive but my mother idolized him and I grew up with his music. It's still my go-to in many different circumstances and his songs have helped me through some genuinely tough times. I have always said I'd love nothing more than just one chance to see him live, to hear his unique vocals echo through a stadium and got lost in the magic of both the music and the ambiance... except I can't, ever, because he's no longer among us and thus far time machines haven't been brought into existence yet. So, in that sense... yeah, I miss him and maybe that's weird but that's okay I accepted my 'weirdness' a long time ago, in part thanks to Carrie actually.

 

For me, seeing Carrie brought a smile to my face. Not solely for her role as Princess Leia but for who she was. A hilarious woman, quick and witty, utterly bright and so strong. Someone who took all the crap life threw her way, strolled right through it and came out laughing. Someone who'll show up to a show or interview, comfortably curls up in a chair and sits there with a smile and jokes as she tells people about being bipolar, about being 'crazy' and receiving electrotherapy. I myself fall right between the Bipolar and Borderlines spectrum except neither are 'severe' enough to be labeled as such.. if you'd need 20 points to fit the description, I'm one short which has made life challenging as all hell and for the longest time left me feeling like somehow I was faulty. Like I was the broken one among a batch of perfect human beings and the one who should have been thrown out with the trash but somehow slipped through the cracks and ended up living life. A life I didn't deserve and tried to end until one day I found myself researching my own 'faults' or 'issues' and I stumbled across some beautiful words from Carrie Fisher. I stumbled upon an interview she gave where she smiled, she laughed, she embraced who she was and all her flaws and just openly spoke about it.. gloriously. Seeing that changed my life because I no longer felt alone.. I no longer felt like I was the only missmade/broken human in the world and it showed me life and joy are possible despite these things and the thing that helped me 'live with it' more than anything was acceptance. Acceptance I may have never found or reached without Carrie. Even now I delight in seeing her in appearances in the media because some of her habits, her manner of acting and speaking is very recognizable and in that sense comforting to me... I'll miss it, I'll miss her and I'll miss that I'll never be able to tell her this. To let her know how she touched and changed my life even without ever meeting each other.

 

And sorry for the long ramble, the personal ramble which may earn some frowns from those who bothered to read but I've taught myself not to hide sh.it anymore about who I am, how I feel or what my opinion is so take it as you will or not at all.

[Lunafox]

I wasn't judging anyone, and I am genuinely sorry if it came across that way.

 

I was asking a question, in order to better understand things.

 

All The Best

 

I accept your apology. I didn't even know what that social label was...I had to look it up. I don't really think I can explain my feelings, so I can't help you understand better, but if you read Andryah and Jenny's posts and some of the others, they said it all and I'd be hard pressed to say it any better. Carrie Fisher was and is an inspiration to me and even if you don't get it, I feel really sad, even more so now that her mother has died too. I feel terrible for their family. I was also sorry to hear about Richard Adams. He was a fine author and touched many with his work.

 

Some people are more emotional than others or more in tune with their emotional side if you prefer. I wouldn't so quickly say I miss someone that I never really knew up close myself, but some people genuinely feel a loss as if it was in their personal life even at such a distance. People really are not all the same and sometimes some people seem almost alien because in some aspect they are so far removed from what we are ourselves. It happens and it can be hard to see the difference between someone who is just vying for attention and someone who genuinely feels that way.

 

Thank you.

 

Yeah; I get this. But another way to see it is that there are so many people on this forum who did not pick on you. So if one out of 100 post-viewers pick on you, then you did good and your feelings are okay because even if those 99 people did not voice their support you are free to assume their support. Support by omitting picking. I hope this makes sense

 

So here's my voiced support: your feelings are valid and reasonable. Carrie Fisher was present in our lives by virtue of our participating in her work, being interested in her welfare, and by our identification with her humanness that we also see in ourselves. We also have this in common with her; we know she has passed and we all will pass away. We all will walk/slide/fall/crash/crawl through that same door. God have mercy.

 

You're right and I appreciate you pointing that out, it's easy to forget sometimes. Thank you so much for the support and I offer mine to you as well.

 

Yet you participate in public forums which can be some of the more toxic places on the internet.

 

I do and some days it's harder to participate than others. I do it to try and overcome avoidance and social anxiety issues that I have. I've been getting better over the years here and most of the exchanges have been beneficial and enlightening. Some have been more stressing and taxing and almost made me run for the hills and not look back. Today's bit here...was one of those times, but I'm not going to let it put me off...have to get back on that horse. I just might think twice before sharing something truly personal and meaningful. As it is, I was finding it tough to say anything and never dreamed that one comment to someone whose post I admired could turn into...all this.

 

As for missing someone you never knew... it's very possible, depending on who you are and who the person in question was.

 

For me, seeing Carrie brought a smile to my face. Not solely for her role as Princess Leia but for who she was. A hilarious woman, quick and witty, utterly bright and so strong. Even now I delight in seeing her in appearances in the media because some of her habits, her manner of acting and speaking is very recognizable and in that sense comforting to me... I'll miss it, I'll miss her and I'll miss that I'll never be able to tell her this. To let her know how she touched and changed my life even without ever meeting each other.

 

If it wasn't for these forums we'd not have met, so for that I'm grateful...and for everything you said. It was a comfort and I appreciate everything you posted about her too. We're on the same wavelength. Thank you. *hugs*

Edited December 29, 2016 by Lunafox

[LordChunk]

Wow this is probably the best tribute I've read so far and one to actually make me take note of the accolades of her life as a person.

All this "Goodbye Princess Leia" nonsense, both here and all over reddit, ( as though the character had actually died ) sort of illustrated people's lack of knowledge of Carrie as a person.

 

Well, it's hard to think of it as insulting or anything, and I wouldn't call it a lack of Carrie as a person; she was wealthy, famous, and people loved her because she was Princess Leia. She was and always will be remembered for being Princess Leia. And I don't think Fisher would mind people still calling her that, in fact her latest book that she basically died promoting was "Princess Diarist" after all!

 

I agree with the guy you were responding to, though, that she was "ok" in Star Wars but should be remembered for other things. While we are talking about her, and not to be negative during the time of her passing now... she was kind of "meh" in Star Wars. In Episode 4, she was a hungry actress; she had afire in her eyes, she was passionate and put some energy into her role as Leia. Episode 5 and 6, I didn't see quite that fire in her eyes. Dare I say, she looked almost bored in some episode 5 scenes, despite the undying love for ESB. Carries' best SW performance IMO was in Episode 4 and I don't feel any of the other movies she really ever had the same fire.

[Tsillah]

I would agree yes and perhaps it's being perceived wrong. I just found it annoying that a pretty incredible human has passed on and all many people seem concerned about is "no more princess leia" though I'm sure not everyone posting as such purely meant it as such.

 

Well I'm pretty sure none of us here actually know her personally. We can only connect to whatever we felt a connection with when it comes to her. For some people her role as Princess Leia is all they know her for and it resonated with them for whatever reason.

 

I mean Star Wars fandom is a pretty big deal. You can think that pathetic or weird but it can mean a lot to a person. Now, I do not profess to know or understand the depth of such feelings towards a franchise, but I know it's there and that for a lot of people it's real.

 

I guess on a philosophical level we are all trying to figure out what this life of ours is about and what meaning exists in it. Some people find it in religion or science others find it in Star Wars. Hell, I read in the UK there is an official Jedi church. We all need something to believe in to make life have meaning or make it bearable and when part of that dies, in this case quite literally, it's a personal loss. Not because of the person herself but the loss of what they represent in our lives. The feeling of that loss is just as real for a person because it's a part of themselves.

 

So maybe that's what people feel, because clearly most of us don't know her personally, but people do experience a loss. Hope that makes a little sense.

[menofhorror]

Episode 8 will probably be a rehash of Empire strikes back.

I am so "excited".

 

 

It is though kind of ****ed how many are devastated about the loss of Leia and not about the death of Carrie Fisher.

[Sith-Viscera]

Yeah, but do you think it was a good idea then to insult other people by being dismissive about their experience? I mean the character Princess Leia was a big deal back then. Female strong characters are more common now but "just" the Princess Leia role had a big impact back in the 70s and early 80s. You completely dismiss that as if it's not enough and indirectly it does mean you're saying that your experience is deeper or better than another's.

 

Wouldn't you agree that that was perhaps not the best way to approach this?

 

Yeah this guy missed my point. Other wise in my original post on this. I didn't feel it was appropriate for me to fill in those on Her History. I just wanted to tell them the bad news because any Fan of Her, Carrie Fisher, The Person & her Iconic Role as Princess Leia, Would Want to Know of her shocking untimely demise.

 

Again, wasn't my place to Educate those that might of not known of her History, just because i knew a lot about her my self.

 

I just can't believe a Person can't try to make a Nice gesture, to let people know of a celebrities Death and all this animosity breaks out, about this and that in all these different threads about Carrie Fishers Death, it's, SO NOT THE POINT of the Threads that have been made. But yet people has to fine fault with something so that they, can B%$% & Moan.

 

Truly the lost of Carrie Fisher & Now her Mother, Debbie Reynolds Death is Sad.

What is even more Sad, Is those that took away the meaning of these Tribute threads with there ridiculous bickering.

You should be ASHAMED of your selves, You know who you are...

 

Now, Please Take Care & Be Well too all.......