Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett: Death of icons for 'Me' generation
TMZ is reporting Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is dead at 50; other sources have confirmed this startling news. On the heels of news earlier Thursday that Farrah Fawcett, most famous for her iconic role as one of the original Charlie's Angels, had died of cancer at 62; suddenly two of the seminal contributors to pop culture of the 70s and 80s are gone, in one day.
These twin deaths are striking evidence of the mortality of the "me" generation. Americans in their late 30s and 40s identify with Michael Jackson as the child star who never aged (and, in his age, grew grotesque and thus was shunned, a gollum that one imagined living forever); Farrah Fawcett was the sex symbol, the very inspiration for an entire industry of hair care products. Without Farrah, would Suave exist? Without Michael, who would emblemize dripping-with-crystals, gold-painted, always-near-bankrupt excess?
