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| When can you speak ill of the dead? | When can you speak ill of the dead? |
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| It's a month since the death of Michael Jackson - an event which triggered much worshipful coverage of the singer's life. Has enough time passed for a more impartial assessment of the man? | It's a month since the death of Michael Jackson - an event which triggered much worshipful coverage of the singer's life. Has enough time passed for a more impartial assessment of the man? |
| When Michael Jackson died the global media cleared the decks for the King of Pop. But not everyone was reading the script. | When Michael Jackson died the global media cleared the decks for the King of Pop. But not everyone was reading the script. |
| "This guy was a pervert," said Peter King, Republican state congressman for New York. "He was a child molester, he was a paedophile, and to be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?" | "This guy was a pervert," said Peter King, Republican state congressman for New York. "He was a child molester, he was a paedophile, and to be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?" |
| It's a hostage to fortune to say nice things when someone dies. And reacting to Jackson's one was particularly tricky Sam Leith | It's a hostage to fortune to say nice things when someone dies. And reacting to Jackson's one was particularly tricky Sam Leith |
| The British satirical magazine Private Eye summarised the media's U-turn on Jackson thus: "What you didn't read in all the newspapers: 'Mad Paedophile Dead: Yesterday a 50 year-old mentally ill paedophile died in America.'" | The British satirical magazine Private Eye summarised the media's U-turn on Jackson thus: "What you didn't read in all the newspapers: 'Mad Paedophile Dead: Yesterday a 50 year-old mentally ill paedophile died in America.'" |
| Our traditional response to a person's death can be summed up by the Latin "de mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est" - roughly translated "don't speak ill of the dead". But in the information age, where the news keeps on rolling and the notion of deference has long since been replaced by a fascination with fame, how does the old maxim hold up? | |
| A person's death is an opportunity for onlookers to sound magnanimous, sensitive and profound. But also stupid. | A person's death is an opportunity for onlookers to sound magnanimous, sensitive and profound. But also stupid. |
| When the controversial publisher Robert Maxwell drowned in 1991, the then prime minister, John Major, praised him as a "great character" who had given him "valuable advice". | When the controversial publisher Robert Maxwell drowned in 1991, the then prime minister, John Major, praised him as a "great character" who had given him "valuable advice". |
| Maxwell was widely suspected of being a crook and a bully. So when, not long later, it emerged he had stolen hundreds of millions of pounds from the Daily Mirror pension fund, Major's praise looked foolish rather than gracious. | |
| Recently it has become fashionable for politicians to pay tribute to any number of celebrity victims. | Recently it has become fashionable for politicians to pay tribute to any number of celebrity victims. |
| Risky talk | Risky talk |
| Princess Diana's remains the defining celebrity death that set the tone for what was to come. As the feminist commentator Joan Smith put it 10 years after the event: "I came across many people who felt as I did: shocked by the sudden death of a well-known person, especially in such absurd and avoidable circumstances, but not personally involved." | Princess Diana's remains the defining celebrity death that set the tone for what was to come. As the feminist commentator Joan Smith put it 10 years after the event: "I came across many people who felt as I did: shocked by the sudden death of a well-known person, especially in such absurd and avoidable circumstances, but not personally involved." |
| When Jade Goody (above) died in March, TV presenter Sir Michael Parkinson commented she came to represent "all that's paltry and wretched about Britain" - he was slatedBishop Jonathan Blake, who presided over Goody's wedding, criticised Sir Michael for "putting the boot in to a young woman so recently buried" | |
| But to speak out against the tide of grief was risky. "We were immediately perceived to be on 'the other side' - deficient in compassion, sympathy, empathy, whatever you want to call it." | |
| The death of Michael Jackson brings up many parallels. The funeral was moving for his fans but contained moments of extreme irony: "Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," declared Paris Katherine Jackson. | |
| Families are entitled to such pronouncements but these days wise commentators take a nuanced view of someone's death, says the columnist Sam Leith. | Families are entitled to such pronouncements but these days wise commentators take a nuanced view of someone's death, says the columnist Sam Leith. |
| "It's a hostage to fortune to say nice things when someone dies. And reacting to this one was particularly tricky. For a long time he's been Wacko Jacko. So he wasn't someone who was unequivocally lauded." | "It's a hostage to fortune to say nice things when someone dies. And reacting to this one was particularly tricky. For a long time he's been Wacko Jacko. So he wasn't someone who was unequivocally lauded." |
| While Jackson was never convicted of child abuse - and was once acquitted - a finger of suspicion continued to hang over him. | |
| Residing in the stars | Residing in the stars |
| President Obama's spokesman chose to balance the "spectacular performer" with the private individual whose life had many "sad and tragic" elements. And yet more desperate individuals began losing their heads with the most "egregious self publicising" from celebrities like Uri Geller and Brooke Shields who hadn't seen Jackson for years, says Leith. | |
| We obituarists do argue amongst ourselves - should you out someone's sexuality or mention that they may have committed suicide, for instance? Bob Chaundy | We obituarists do argue amongst ourselves - should you out someone's sexuality or mention that they may have committed suicide, for instance? Bob Chaundy |
| And of course the politicians joined in. "A young man has left Earth, but now resides in the stars," said Diane Watson, the Democratic representative from California. Meanwhile in the Mother of Parliaments, Labour MP Keith Vaz tabled the following Early Day Motion: "That this House celebrates the life and music of Michael Jackson; commends the role his music has played notes that he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide and won 13 Grammy awards and hopes that his legacy will endure." | |
| Leith believes politicians like Vaz make a "category error" when they posture in this way. "They appropriate cultural events. You wouldn't really expect Michael Jackson to ratify the Countryside Act 2000 so why should parliament say what a jolly good dancer he was?" | Leith believes politicians like Vaz make a "category error" when they posture in this way. "They appropriate cultural events. You wouldn't really expect Michael Jackson to ratify the Countryside Act 2000 so why should parliament say what a jolly good dancer he was?" |
| Dr Johnson famously remarked: "In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath" - in other words, feel free to embroider a bit when paying tribute to a man's life. But Bob Chaundy, former obituaries editor at BBC News says the days of the slavishly affectionate portrait no longer apply. | Dr Johnson famously remarked: "In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath" - in other words, feel free to embroider a bit when paying tribute to a man's life. But Bob Chaundy, former obituaries editor at BBC News says the days of the slavishly affectionate portrait no longer apply. |
| "You try to create as true and full account of that person's life as you can. So with Michael Jackson you couldn't just talk about the music - you had to mention the allegations of paedophilia. This is obituary, not hagiography." | |
| Miserable, judgemental | Miserable, judgemental |
| But an obituary needs to tell a story first and foremost. "You can't ignore the fact that he sold more records than any other artist. If he was just a child molester we wouldn't be writing about him." | |
| However, the boundaries of what can and can't be said are not always clear cut. | |
| Walter Cronkite: an obituary in the Guardian last week pulled no punches | Walter Cronkite: an obituary in the Guardian last week pulled no punches |
| "We obituarists do argue amongst ourselves - should you out someone's sexuality or mention that they may have committed suicide, for instance?" | "We obituarists do argue amongst ourselves - should you out someone's sexuality or mention that they may have committed suicide, for instance?" |
| The Reverend Tim Sledge, a vicar in Romsey, Hampshire, believes society has a confused reaction to death: "The media portrayal of a life has almost become like an autopsy." | The Reverend Tim Sledge, a vicar in Romsey, Hampshire, believes society has a confused reaction to death: "The media portrayal of a life has almost become like an autopsy." |
| Sledge conducts 100 funeral services a year and says his primary task is to help people come to terms with their loss. | Sledge conducts 100 funeral services a year and says his primary task is to help people come to terms with their loss. |
| "One of the ways to do that is to look back at a person's life and celebrate it. You need to steer a careful course, deal with it honestly but don't obsess about the bad parts or it becomes a cesspit." | "One of the ways to do that is to look back at a person's life and celebrate it. You need to steer a careful course, deal with it honestly but don't obsess about the bad parts or it becomes a cesspit." |
| He admits there have been times, researching funeral subjects, when it seems nobody has a good word to say about the deceased. | |
| "With one chap wherever I turned, people said he was miserable, judgemental, anti-social. I thought, 'My goodness, what can I say?' | |
| "So I started his tribute with: 'Let's be honest, he could be a pretty cantankerous so-and-so.' And you could feel this palpable sense of relief spread around the church as people realised I wasn't just going through the motions." | |
| Honesty is crucial then, but he warns against concentrating on someone's flaws: | |
| "I think we've made a national sport of pointing out people's faults. The purpose of a funeral is not to be critical. It needs to be a balance of honesty and generosity." | "I think we've made a national sport of pointing out people's faults. The purpose of a funeral is not to be critical. It needs to be a balance of honesty and generosity." |
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