An Economic Look at Celebrity Suicides
This is a gem of an item, found through the Improbable Research blog. It’s a study of the social benefits of celebrity suicide by Samuel Cameron (an economist at the University of Bradford) and his colleagues. You may need to be at an educational institution to get the full report, but here is the abstract:
“This Commentary suggests that it is possible, from an economic perspective, that any individual artist/celebrity suicide may be of net benefit to society. Sales of the artist’s products and associated merchandise may increase after the suicide, and people, including those who were not even born at the time of the suicide, may derive value from its iconic reification, not to mention the higher value they derive from some private goods. A case study of Kurt Cobain is given to illustrate this phenomenon.”
Read more: “Artists’ Suicides as a Public Good” Archives of Suicide Research, Volume 9, Number 4, October-December 2005, pp. 389-396(8)
October 11th, 2014 at 3:31 pm
I feel it is devastating that many artists are not alive to see to what extent the world appreciates their work. It is a tragedy that many people would rather die than live in a world where their efforts go unnoticed but as soon as they pass, their work becomes precious.
Artists may be unconventional at times. This unconventional way of life is often only appreciated and accepted once others notice how challenging the lives of artists can be.
It is shameful that some artists are not alive to experience the appreciation they deserve.