I am not really a big fan of Heath Ledger, but I have seen many of his films—from 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight’s Tale, Four Feathers, and Brokeback Mountain. When the news about his death broke out, I was taken aback because I never would have imagined that at a young age and a great actor as he is, he committed suicide. Sure, many Hollywood actors resorted to such “horrendous” act just to escape from depression and even illusions of grandeur; it’s just a shame that even Heath Ledger, whatever the reason of his untimely demise was, has become a victim of it. But I could never blame Heath Ledger. For an individual who is trapped within the confines of fame and flair, there is always a prize to pay. It’s a matter of retreating or retiring. And Heath chose to retire. And the way he embraced it was just so beautiful and poetic. According to reports, he was waiting for his masseuse to arrive. Naked, he took antidepressant drugs and bided his time as the pills creep in and enfeeble his body. It successfully did. And, until his last breath, Heath perfectly exemplified the beauty of death. That is, by dying naked.

By dying naked, Heath Ledger stripped himself off of his responsibilities, of his pretensions, and of his dilemmas. Someone told me that being naked gives a person a sense of self-liberation. A feeling of freedom that he can do whatever he wants to do. I myself have proven that nakedness can actually help us releases our inhibitions. It brings us back to nature. As what Stratz espoused in his book Die Frauenkleidung, “The simple child of Nature sees in nakedness nothing at all; the clothed man sees in the uncovered body only a sensual irritation. But at the highest standpoint man consciously returns to Nature, and recognizes that under the manifold coverings of human fabrication there is hidden the most splendid creature that God has created. One may stand in silent, worshipping wonder before the sight; another may be impelled to imitate and show to his fellow-man what in that holy moment he has seen. But both enjoy the spectacle of human beauty with full consciousness and enlightened purity of thought.” I reckon that in our nakedness we can see the real beauty of a person.

Heath Ledger surrendered his being to Nature. Although it might seem obnoxious that he deviated from Nature’s very own course, that is, by taking his own life, still he recognized that “under the manifold coverings of human fabrication there is hidden the most splendid creature that God has created.” His naked death is his way of giving himself to the Divine Being, of “disrobing” himself as he is, not Heath Ledger as a shrewd lover, not Heath Ledger as a brave knight, and not even Heath Ledger as a gay cowboy.
Heath Ledger may be dead, but he will always be remembered as an actor who etched an incredible contribution to Hollywood movie industry. But his final act, his curtain call will be remembered most of all.

I am not really a big fan of Heath Ledger, but now, he made me think of a very best way to die. I mean, if there is such a best way to end up life, I reckon that nudity is a romantic way as to how others would find me dead. At least, you have nothing to hide.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 8:23 pm by antiquenoelcid and is filed under Blogs at iba pa.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.