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This is a small rant about Steve Jobs, and this cult of celebrities that pervades our society. When Steve Jobs died, there was a flood of articles on that topic, which is not surprising in and of itself. However, what really "shocked" me about these was how far the authors took their praise.

I would never expect to see an article in which negative things were said about him (which is to say, BEFORE his death). What irked me about this wave of articles is that in these, Steve Jobs is instantly elevated to the rank of Folk Hero. To be fair, most celebrities who die end up in the same boat. However, Steve Jobs rose higher than most, and according to some articles, he took his place alongside the likes of Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison.

Article

I'm willing to concede that the iPhone had an enormous impact on the market, and played an important part in shaping the market into what it currently is. To say that it rivals an achievement as incredible as "inventing" (for lack of a better term) electricity (nevermind the other inventions Edison was responsible for) is a bit much. Moreover, these articles ignore the fact that there are plenty of other companies who could fill Jobs' shoes. Had he not invented the iPhone, another company would have come up with something similar, that could have been just as influential on the market. On the other hand, few are those who could ever match Albert Einstein. It's only recently that we've seen the emergence of research that might disprove his theories.

The terminology used by the article reminds me of a sketch that I came across several years ago. In this context, I find it almost frightening how accurate this particular one is:

The iPhone


The hype surrounding Jobs' death could also be attributed to something we discussed in class. Kate brought up the notion that we constantly need to "emote" because we no longer know how to express our emotions properly. Or, rather, we no longer have faith in our traditional methods of expressing emotions. Therefore, instead of looking at facial expressions and body language, we feel this need to over-emphasize our emotions, to ensure that those we are addressing are getting the right message.

Therefore, when a person dies, and people erect shrines for them online, people need to over-emphasize their grief, and make sure that everyone knows and understand that they are mourning. Often, this can also become a "cheap" way of earning sympathy and attention from others, by exaggerating one's grief, to the point where we seem to be unable to shoulder this grief on our own.

Every society and culture has a socio-culturally acceptable mask that one dons when confronted with death, even if it does not necessarily impact us directly. Emoting has become that mask; it is the internet's version of a black veil.