1324 replies to this topic

[dykehaze]

I think it just shows how much people trivialize mental health issues, and how the internet and media has made it so much easier for people to do that. Anyone can sit behind a keyboard and say anything they like about someone's appearance or personal issues or post a photo of an ill person in a bad state and they never have to see the consequences of what they've just done, they just get to feel smug about taking a shot at a famous person. If you had to walk up to a person and make fun of their appearance, you'd see that person crumple in front of you and it makes you realize that what you've said is really shitty and hurtful. That's how children tend to realize the rights and wrongs in social interaction, that's how they know that they shouldn't hurt their friends' feelings. In the world of the internet, no one ever has to experience the emotional reaction of the person they've made fun of, so it makes it much easier to depersonalize the whole situation and dehumanize strangers. And worst of all, people seem to think they have a right to do so simply because a person is famous or wealthy. The whole "This person is rich and famous, fuck them, why should they be depressed?" thing.

 

We have a long way to go in tackling mental health issues and society's attitudes towards it, and the media isn't helping by turning mentally ill celebrities into spectacles for people to poke fun at. They did it to Amy, they did it to Britney Spears (who is probably lucky to still be alive), and they'll probably continue to do it. No lessons are being learned, I don't think, which is probably the saddest part of all.

Well said and it gets worse. Yesterday I saw a news story about a guy that humiliated his daughter for something she had done and then published it on the net. She committed suicide the next day.

[catpuss]

http://www.forbes.co...my-documentary/


I like that this chap has let Mitch have his say.

[catpuss]

Her body was found by her bodyguard who had some good insights about her. He considered her family and seemed to spend every waking moment with her towards the end of her life. The Belgrade fiasco is discussed by him and a couple of others and Raye definitely doesn't come out of that one well at all. In fact, Raye comes off as someone who has completely tried to wash his hands of any responsibility.
I found Juliette and Lauren two of the most interesting in the documentary simply because they seemed to see early on that she was going down a bad road and tried to do something to stop it. When Amy was in the grips of her drug use and everyone else was pushing her to go on tour even though she had nearly died, it seems like the two girls were the only ones who were actually concerned for her wellbeing. I also wouldn't say that Juliette was totally absent. Her, Lauren and Nick tried to give Amy tough love, but they told her that whenever she needed them and whenever she was ready to start again, they'd be there, but they didn't like the person she had become. Juliette was also one of the last people she spoke to. She called her the day before she died apologizing for everything that had happened over the last couple of years of her life.

Can I ask a question....?? How do you know she spoke to juliette the day before she died. I hope she did, for both of them.

[Soul Power]

How long before before the first search suggestion on Amy is something other than "Amy Winehouse cause of deatb"? Tired of that S.

[mayday]

in mitches book it seems like he was always there in amys life, he was there when she had seizures, in St.Lucia and all these important events so why would a very credible director like Asif Kapadia make Mitch seem like a villain? for more drama? I don't get it, someone's lying.

[WhoDat]

Can I ask a question....?? How do you know she spoke to juliette the day before she died. I hope she did, for both of them.

Juliette says in the film that she did. She called her and apologized for everything over the last few years and asked if they could start again. Juliette said of course they could, and they arranged to speak again the next day, but sadly Amy died that night or the following morning.

[dykehaze]

in mitches book it seems like he was always there in amys life, he was there when she had seizures, in St.Lucia and all these important events so why would a very credible director like Asif Kapadia make Mitch seem like a villain? for more drama? I don't get it, someone's lying.

Mitch is a compulsive liar. He sees a world through rose colored glasses that no one else sees. If he told me his name was Mitch Winehouse I'd be extremely skeptical.

[Poom]

http://www.forbes.co...my-documentary/


I like that this chap has let Mitch have his say.

Again.. I really want to know who were these people who walked out of the interviews as Mitch mentiones all the time.

[catpuss]

Juliette says in the film that she did. She called her and apologized for everything over the last few years and asked if they could start again. Juliette said of course they could, and they arranged to speak again the next day, but sadly Amy died that night or the following morning.

Many thanks for that, I am so pleased that they talked , it must of been very difficult for Juliet to watch Amy destroy herself, pleased they had a chance to be friends again however short lived that might have been, it also says somthing about how good friends they were. Women do have very different friendships with other women than with men. They can show a vulnerable side and be comforted and shown empathy with no agenda.

[mayday]

just curious, did everyone on here buy janis's book? I can't seem to find it anywhere, I'm not old enough to buy from online stores and I doubt my parents will let me buy it, if anyone has a PDF file they're willing to email me please let me know. I'll be buying the Amy Docuemtary to fulfill my read. Thanks.

[Mizzwanned]

just curious, did everyone on here buy janis's book? I can't seem to find it anywhere, I'm not old enough to buy from online stores and I doubt my parents will let me buy it, if anyone has a PDF file they're willing to email me please let me know. I'll be buying the Amy Docuemtary to fulfill my read. Thanks.

I've seen it on eBay

[HelloSailor]

Juliette says in the film that she did. She called her and apologized for everything over the last few years and asked if they could start again. Juliette said of course they could, and they arranged to speak again the next day, but sadly Amy died that night or the following morning.

 

Heartbreaking. Amy really seemed to be in a retrospective kinda mood before she died, trying to make amends. 

[HelloSailor]

Again.. I really want to know who were these people who walked out of the interviews as Mitch mentiones all the time.

 

I get the feeling that some people really struggled with the interviewing process, which seems to have been quite cathartic. I seem to remember reading that people like Juliette took a really long time to get on board.

I can imagine some of the people close to her having to stop the interview, maybe even hesitating to continue, but I get the feeling they all came back to finish the job or at least to provide evough footage for the documentary. It can be interpreted in different ways : maybe someone walked out because they no longer approved of the direction the narrative was taking, maybe they were shocked by some of the questions, or maybe they just simply felt they had said enough and just wanted to let Amy rest in peace. 

[HelloSailor]

Some people talk about how her family should just have sent her to rehab, or that the time Mitch told her she was fine in 2005 was their last chance to save her from addiction. But rehab is no holiday, as it's sometimes made out to be. Too many people (rich people) book themselves into rehab just to get away from the Hollywood craziness or to do a 'cleanse', like it was part of their yearly detox craze. 

 

In reality, rehab, if done properly (not Amy booking herself into the hospital for a few days at a time and not dealing witht the emotional aspect of her addiction) is an extremely painful process. Amy was an adult, you don't just kidnap people and lock them away for 70 days. Considering that Amy's career was based on her making music, writing songs, touring (etc.), I can understand how people close to her might have felt that Amy continuing to do exactly that might help to keep her afloat, give her a reason to get out of bed avery day. When Blake went to jail, Amy sank more deeply into her addiction. If she had been forbiddent from touring, would it have saved her or would it have sent her deeper down the spiral? Amy often said she drank when she got bored. I think she was in a lose/lose situation. If she hadn't been allowed to tour, she might've been bored, and if your raison d'être is music, you may feel under attack. She was allowed to tour in her final year, but seemed bored with her old songs. So how to get her out of that cycle? 

 

If music was her life, it stands to reason that allowing her to tour would be beneficial. Of course, we know it didn't work out that way, but I can understand how her family tried to support her. 

And also, if you add Brezil to the time-line, you can see how Amy might have convinced her enyourage that it would be OK. In footage from the beginning of that year, Amy seemed in OK spirits, you see her smile quite a bit as if taken aback by the crowd's response and her voice was alright. Also, she seems sober or in control for the most part. And then in just a few months she's in a really bad way. The differencre betwwen Brazil and Tony Bennet footage is shocking. 

 

Addiction is so much more complicated than that, you can't just narrow it down to its binary narrative : "if she had been sent to rehab in 2005, she might still be alive today".