There's two things that are forever certain in life: Death and Taxes!
Over-used references aside, i applaud the BBC's integrity to show something so controversial rather than shy away from it. Death is an unavoidable part of life. We are all going to die. I think we can all learn something from Gerald too, that if you accept it, if you don't fear it, you can die with dignity and at peace with yourself. Now i'm not religious, but i think death is meaningful to everybody and it's important to experience the feelings, emotions and struggles that it brings. No-one was forced to watch it. Children too young to view it were likely sent to bed and i'm sure parents would be capable of not watching it if they didn't want their children exposed to it. No, this was a show for people who were like Gerald, willing to accept death as a fact of life. I consider that an admirable quality.
Slightly off topic, it's not actually the first time i've seen a person die for real. One of Jim Sterling's "Jimquisition" videos was entitled "video gamers don't want real violence", and he showed a slightly disturbing very old clip in which some American leader / senator / someone along those lines took out a gun out of a paper bag in public, looked at it, then put it in his mouth and shot himself in the head, all to avoid a scandal. Now, if the BBC showed that "depiction of a real death" on TV i could absolutely understand the outrage. It was shocking, it was violent, it was unsettling. Comparing the two deaths, there is a stark contast. I implore anyone with a strong constitution to watch the video for themselves and see what i mean.
Over-used references aside, i applaud the BBC's integrity to show something so controversial rather than shy away from it. Death is an unavoidable part of life. We are all going to die. I think we can all learn something from Gerald too, that if you accept it, if you don't fear it, you can die with dignity and at peace with yourself. Now i'm not religious, but i think death is meaningful to everybody and it's important to experience the feelings, emotions and struggles that it brings. No-one was forced to watch it. Children too young to view it were likely sent to bed and i'm sure parents would be capable of not watching it if they didn't want their children exposed to it. No, this was a show for people who were like Gerald, willing to accept death as a fact of life. I consider that an admirable quality.
Slightly off topic, it's not actually the first time i've seen a person die for real. One of Jim Sterling's "Jimquisition" videos was entitled "video gamers don't want real violence", and he showed a slightly disturbing very old clip in which some American leader / senator / someone along those lines took out a gun out of a paper bag in public, looked at it, then put it in his mouth and shot himself in the head, all to avoid a scandal. Now, if the BBC showed that "depiction of a real death" on TV i could absolutely understand the outrage. It was shocking, it was violent, it was unsettling. Comparing the two deaths, there is a stark contast. I implore anyone with a strong constitution to watch the video for themselves and see what i mean.