One of the purposes of this writing space, for me, is to draw out the real implications of what seem, initially, to be really rather mundane phenomena. Or to draw connections between what seem to be disconnected cultural obsessions – for example, my claim that immigration border-anxiety is at work in our periodic obsession with celebrity crotch-shots over the past two years. The death of Tammy Faye Messner – a.k.a., Tammy Faye Bakker – is an occasion for a lot of thoughts. I’ll just offer a few here…
Now, I’m fully aware that Messner was a real woman who suffered a terrible, painful death from cancer. So, I don’t want to seem insensitive to that, and I’m not really interested in thinking about the borderline between her as a spectacular production and her as real, suffering person. But I am concerned with those she victimized, and how that victimization makes me wonder if we should be so casual about her death.
The real reason for thinking about her death, then, is this: she’s the freakin’ the headline on CNN.com as I write this entry.
For what is she famous? In some ways, she’s the old lady version of Paris Hilton: famous for being famous. Which is a strange thing to be, though, if Guy Debord’s theory of the spectacle holds true (and its reinterpretation in Jean Baudrillard’s notion of simulation – I hear you, Jay), we might well ask if it isn’t actually the norm against which real meaning ought to be measured as an aberration. Alas. That is another essay.
Her initial fame, of course, came from her time on the Christian PTL Network. The whole game came down when her husband, Jim Bakker, was caught up in a series of cash and sex scandals. If you were around at the time, you know what I mean. But I also remember that moment and what it meant for “the rest of the nation.” By “the rest of the nation” I mean those of us previously unaware of this strange scam Jim and Tammy Faye were pulling off: begging money for prayers and making millions off the whole game. It was really stunning. It was as if, for the rest of us, the chuckle we got on Sunday mornings seeing these folks was exposed as hideously naive and cut-off from a huge number of our fellow citizens. I mark that event as the religious right’s first burst onto the national scene.
The money-sex scandal brought it all out and they looked to be the scam artists we all suspected. None of the trademark tears could make a difference. Jim was off to prison. Tammy Faye became a cultural joke to the point where, honestly, it just seemed too easy and wasn’t all that funny.
And then she dies. And her death leads (or is it “ledes”?) on CNN.com, without even a hint of critical distance or irony or self-awareness. No, her death was (or is currently being) treated as a significant social event. Seriously. The lead headline. Wow.
It made me think of how, late in his life, Richard Nixon was rehabilitated – against any sense whatsoever – as a kind of “elder spokesman” of the political class. Or how Henry Kissinger, who’s been shown beyond much doubt to be a first-class war criminal, still makes appearances as a “well-respected” expert on foreign affairs.
While I don’t mean to equate these three examples (Nixon and Kissinger are shames of a nation, after all), they all illuminate an important consequence of the age of the spectacle. If we relate to the world and even ourselves as images rather than realities, then that relation is structured by a real, felt forgetting. Real, material consequences and realities keep memory alive. Images are just that: images that relate to other, often dispensable or interchangeable images. So when Tammy Faye dies, an old and still familiar image reappears and tells an image story. We don’t hear the scam and the theft, you know, the actual criminality that defined her as a person for decades. We only hear a strange “charm,” whether sentimental or humorous, of a decorated face. That image.
Just as we (apparently) heard only wise old men as Nixon entered his last years and even now with Kissinger. Kenneth Lay was a strange exception to this, but I think his case is one of dying too early. Perhaps after a couple of decades we would have remembered him as “that guy in the middle of a huge news event” rather than, as was the case when he died, as someone who ruined so many folks’ lives. We do forget so quickly in this country.
I worry about this forgetting. Sure, Tammy Faye’s place in our world is small, unlike Nixon’s and Kissinger’s. But forgetting means guilt and accountability give way as the past is reinvented or re-imagined (emphasis, of course, on the “image” part of re-imagining). At that moment, we become implicated in the past, because we’ve failed our responsibility to memory of injustice – however small – in the name of those who suffered. Putting Tammy Faye on the back page, if anywhere at all, when she died would have been its own kind of remembering. A way of letting the reality of her scams and their injustices resonate upon her passing.
Tammy Faye’s presence as the lead story on CNN.com is a symptom. And a symptom of something pretty icky. Surely we can do better.
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Tammy Faye never commited any crime , her ex did and she stood by with as much grace as she could in the years to follow. She did not scam the people she loved at 700, PTL nor any other organization, it was all Bakker and his CEO’s who did the dubious deeds if you know the history of the scandals that took place.
Folks polked fun of her flamboyant make-up and nature, that was her, with a heart as a big as an ocean and opened to everyone who needed help.
SHE never turned anyone away. She helped folks with AIDS and stood by the GAYS and also people who were thrown out by their own religious beliefs because they were different.
THIS woman would NOT throw people away and took them into her heart and practiced what she believed in and preached.
Her second marriage was a good match to a good man who met with her heart . I suggest for those who believe that Tammy Faye Messner does not deserve a front page on CNN look deeply at the gossip in their own nature and look at the accuracy of news they have read. She was as much a victim back then as her her ex’s followers. It was her nightmare and when it ended she moved on and she smiled and kept on believing and never ever lost faith and kept helping every last human being she knew and met.
The funny thing about this is :
1. I am not of the far right
2. I learned to deeply admire her
3. I learned about her life through facts not gossip
4. I was raised mormon and still am and I will die one
5. My husband is Jewish
6. My son-in-law is Jehovah witness
7. My son is gay
8. My grandchildren are of the rainbow in nationality
9. God is omnipotentTo Tammy Faye’ Family
God Bless you all and she is definitly in Heaven……~~~~~“`
Hugs to you, Shawny
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Thanks so much for your reply, Shawny.
I think we have a pretty straightforward disagreement. I understand that she was not convicted of crimes, so the criminality of so much of her life is not legal. It’s moral. Televangelism is a scam, taking money from folks who can barely afford it in exchange for prayers or whatever. That’s a moral crime. You prey (pun intended) on those in need and make yourself rich from those needy people.
I cannot find a place of sympathy for folks who do this.
As well, there is the real question of for what is Tammy Faye Messner famous. Being famous. That’s it. That bothers me a lot, especially when I see her on the front page of CNN.com. We are fighting two wars. Presidential primaries are in full swing. Genarlow Wilson suffers in prison. And so on. How could we make Tammy Faye Bakker/Messner our front story?
I really think that says terrible things about where we are as a culture.
John
PS: I’m glad to hear that you don’t hate all those people on your list. I wish more would follow your kindheartedness!
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yes, I got through a great deal of your expression of social concern, as I understand it, re the whole PTL lesson and Tammy Faye’s part in it, and I have spent time through the years thinking about the profound points to be learned from that sad, ugly mess. I have joined in , with enthusiasm, all the Tammy Faye fun I ever came across…laughed, loved it, enjoyed myself. In the end, now, I see a woman, like me, with loves, with jobs, with children, who wanted to live…and did. I admire her courage more than I know how to say. There is so much to learn from any one person. I don’t want to limit myself to one facet of someone’s life any longer, not any more than I want to forget what we learned in ’87.
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….oh, yeah……I believe she is lead on CNN because her death announcement will bring “eyes” to CNN, especially since she died the day after the Larry King interview. I mean this statement as an observation of the character of CNN, not as an attempt to rate Tammy Faye’s news- or otherwise worth. In my mind, news media inspire cynicism unsurpassed by any other facet of our culture, even those who “prey” on faith.
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I agree about CNN.com’s crass “get eyes to the page” strategy. News is a business, after all, for better or worse. My money is on worse!
I’m a lot less sympathetic, for sure, but that’s no surprise to you or anyone else who read this. That said, I thought attacks on her appearance were pretty tasteless. Not my style, but, hey, that’s me. I figure she had a style and she should get that thing on as often as possible. She did. I’ll give her that: unwavering commitment to her look!
In the end, for me, she’s a strange case because we forget the scamming…and also because she’s famous for being famous. An old version of Paris Hilton. She didn’t do much, really, to deserve fame, yet she’s totally famous. “Only in America…”
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Well said….to be honest….CNN via Tammy Faye led me to this site for the first time…curious at what kind of comment her death had drawn. I am 54. News was not always such a sophisticated whore. I spent a significant part of my adult life viewing news as a service, not a money maker. From what I have read, it did not make money, nor did its “deciders” ;> see it as such. I don’t believe that egos, money, the desire for it, or people have changed. The concept of selling via news evolved, perhaps as outlets evolved. I don’t know. I know that I don’t like the phenomenon. I don’t know who or what to believe, and I wonder just how much I am being jerked around. Never have I felt so much need to know and so little power to really know…..in the midst of an embarrassment (on several levels) of riches…
…and, damn yeah….unwavering commitment to look…..whatever one’s personal taste or level of un-pc-ness(finger points to…..me) you got to salute, get down with whatever your look is…..
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I too, laughed at their lives, and was delighted when it came tumbling down. As I read what some had to say, I’m saddened. Is there no forgivness?? I’m not expressing this because I’m feeling guilty since she is now gone.
Jim and Tammy, were on Larry King, I believe in 2000, they shared with all that were watching, how, that because of their downfalls, they learned to become better people, having suffered the consequences, for the things they had brought upon themselves. In no way did they blame anyone for their troubles and their heartaches. That not only did it destroy their marriage, their family, their lives, but most of all, it destroyed the very thing that they were working for….to help people everywhere to accept the forgiveness that comes from Jesus Christ.He who has no sin, let him cast the first stone.
Do we not believe, that life’s lesson’s are a school of hard knocks, and that we lean from them. That they teach us how to be at the top of our game at getting through this world, until that time comes, that we all must face. It’s called death, and you will not escape it, and neither will I. It will come for you and it will come for me. At what time….. we do not know, but you and I do know….. death is coming for us.
Ahhh, yes, we say we learn from our mistakes, but what have we really learned. One of he biggest mistakes in a person’s life, is not learning how to forgive people for the wrongs they have done.
I’m so thankful that when my time comes to be judged for the condition of my heart and the life that I’ve lived, that you unforgivers, will not be my judge and jury. I know and you know, you would never give me a fair trial. You always want to condem the other person, giving you a feeling of superiority, of being a better person, being rightous in your own eyes.I have many things to be forgiven of, people that I have done wrong, spoken harsly against, people I’ve hurt, loved ones that betrayed, and it goes on and on.
To those that do not believe in the here after, or a day of judgement, let me say this, (I borrowed it from someone, somewhere, but it fits us all)…I can not quote it word for word, but you’ll understand it’s meaning. I would rather live believing judgement is coming…than live like it’s not, only to find in death, that judgement has come.
None of us know the condition of another’s heart….we all have done things, things we regret, things we hate, secrets we have hidden, and praying no one will discover. We beg and plead for our families, loved ones, friends, and all those around us to forgive us and to forget our so called mistakes. Yes, we cross our fingers and hope with all that’s in us that we’re never found out. Oh my, it’s terrible, the sins we have committed and try to hide. Even hiding them from our ownselves, locked away, behind the closed doors of our hearts and minds.
I wonder why would we keep condemning people for their lives, and plead forgivness for our own. Is the pot, calling the kettle black, or visa versa…..I would rather take a man’s word, as to his hearts condition anyday, than to hold on to his past, as if it were some how the right thing to do. Because he may do the same thing over again.
My hats off to CNN, whatever the reason for the interview, I really don’t care. It was the message of forgivness and love to one another, that was most important to Tammy Faye.
I now have freedom from my own unforgivness, my continued laughing and joking, making fun of her and Jim Bakker. Because of her interview and her last words the day before her death, I truely believe she is in heaven. I believe she had faith and peace with her Savior. As I sat watching the interview, her spirit, gave witness to my spirit, that she was in His Spirit. His word tells us that the natural man can not understand this mystery, because he does not know “HIM” as The Forgiver.
Her last testimony was this, and I quote. “I want to say that, I genuinely love you, and I genuinely care, and I genuinely want to see you in Heaven someday. I want you to find peace. I want you to find joy.
Who was she speaking too……
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who do you think you are, you are so insensitive to the situation at hand. Who cares what she did before , it doesnt matter. She was a woman that started off on the wrong path and then decided to turn her life fully over to christ, something that you should think about doing. I am sure your record is not squeaky clean, do the world a favor and keep your comments to yourself.
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She never acknowledged that she and Jim swindled viewers in the prayers-for-cash scheme. She laughed at it, as if it were some sort of joke that they asked people for millions upon millions of dollars in exchange for an alleged prayer.
Insensitive in this case is pretending that these folks are anything less than moral criminals. Frankly.
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Hi John,
Judging by your intense dislike for the Bakker’s or anyone with a darkened past, I’m lead to believe, that you must be a pillar. I’m also lead to believe, that you must be one of those, that was scrammed of a million or so. What is your problem?? If it’s not one thing they did or didn’t do, then you find something else to harp about. You need to get a life. You seem to have a sense of putting your thought’s and words together, as if to be a reporter or a columnist.
Yet it’s people like you who have the world in the mess it’s is. You just keep stirring and stirring, and, just like the media you eat this dung up. Then you cook up a pot of dung, put it on a fancy platter, and feed it to anyone who is hungry for this type of contaminated bull. And, just like the pig that returns to it’s own vomit, they keep comming back for more.We all know the story of Jim and Tammy Faye, we know all the stories of people’s lives….so are we suppose to keep dwelling on it?
Just remember, when you point a finger, there are three pointing back at cha’….btw….if you think I’m judging you, you are right…..I’m judging your character by your attitude. I think you have alot you could offer of yourself…..so why are you wasting yourself on something that is in the past?
Yes it will happen again and again, history has proven it from time beginning. But we go on with life, and we are judged by others, just like we judge them. In the end what good does it do any of us to be so critical of each other?
You are the one who started this, and I’m sure your thriving on it, so as to not be accused of doing the stirring also, this will be my last post. I do pray, you will find forgivness for yourself, and then, I repeat, “and then” you will be able to forgive us. that have sinned against you and the world you live in. Regards, Marlene -
Well, Marlene, I think we can leave the “get a life” stuff aside. We both have full and rich lives, I suspect, so that’s a strange debate or argument to have.
The mainstream media fawned over Tammy Faye Messner as she passed. Hardly a critical word uttered, really, which is why I felt compelled to write this post.
I don’t think this sort of post is wasting time. It’s about more than just Tammy Faye – it’s about our postmodernity and forgetful cultural form – but it could just be about Tammy Faye and worthwhile as such. What she did was outrageous. Registering that outrage, some might argue, is a responsibility of any citizen witness to such outrageous behavior. One needn’t be perfect to render judgment of another, especially when the action being judged is so egregious.
Since this sort of scam is still being done by televangelists, it is hardly a matter of the past. Since it is ongoing, it is important to say “this is bullshit, wrong, immoral.” As well, a critical relation to the past is part of how we draw lessons from history. To the many hundreds of thousands scammed by this prayers-for-cash scheme, we owe a bit of outrage and a lesson or two.
Are you really disputing anything I’ve said in my post? Or are you just unhappy that judgment of the character of a public figure is being rendered?
This site is for critical engagement. So, post away. That’s why we’re here.
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