"Habits of the Bosom"
by Peter Hart-Brinson, Founder and Executive Director, B.S. Institute

On behalf of the Brinson Sociological (B.S.) Institute, I now formally declare Anna Nicole Smith's death to be Sociologically Interesting.

Why?

Because of this. 
While the B.S. Institute was originally skeptical about this particular case, the testimony provided by ordinary people across the country about her death provides a striking view about what it is that people love about celebrities.

In some of these e-eulogies, she embodies (bosom and all) not only the average American, but our belief in the American Dream. People identified with her because she was an ordinary person who managed to make something of herself. In revealing herself to us, she also reveals ourselves to us.  She shows us the raw, naked humanity present in all of us--including our flaws and imperfections.

Her rise to celebrity greatness validates the deeply-held American belief in the value of hard work. Her life confirms our mostly taken-for-granted values about the capacity of the individual to triumph over adversity and anonymity. In Smith, the moral rectitude of the meritocracy is confirmed.

Not only was it her ordinariness that made us love her, but she also exhibited almost super-human qualities and characteristics that captured the spotlight. Once captured, the spotlight would not let go of her (no matter how much one might try to divert one's eyes), and her glaring natural endowments became almost supernatural. Her rise from ordinariness to unsurpassed greatness was the story of her life, and it captivated the nation.

This combination--her symbolism of the ordinary person and her supernatural powers--make her a heroine in the mythological sense of the term. In our Judeo-Christian world, the generic mythological heroine becomes a Christ-figure. The symbolism can be seen in her humble origins, her supernatural endowments, her charismatic power over the multitudes, and her ultimate persecution at the hands of a ruthless jury in the court of public opinion. Just as a hard rock tomb could not contain the spirit of such supernatural beings, neither could the Hard Rock in Hollywood (FL, that is) contain Smith's spirit.

The lasting influence of Anna Nicole Smith on our moral life will be felt for years to come. In her life and death, the moral order of American society is rediscovered, reaffirmed, and renewed.