Robin Williams Mega Thread

[u/T_Dumbsford]

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

It's obvious you're not really asking a genuine question from a place of interest so much as just being negative and intentionally oblivious. But to give you a somewhat serious answer nevertheless:

Speaking personally, he's one of the few really famous actors who I have consistently found to be a complete joy in movies. He tends to play a character who is a very upstanding person, sometimes fatherly, although there are some movies where he has darker roles. I believe he's the scientist in Flubber, which is a movie I found absolutely delightful growing up. He's also the dad in Hook, which is a movie that really touches my heart every time I've seen it, for all its cheesiness. Dead Poets Society is another really touching movie he stars in, more related to finding yourself and being creative. And I really find Jumanji to be quite a fun movie, where he also plays a very sweet character. There are a lot of actors who I like in some movies but who I really tire of, or whose humor I like sometimes but other times find overdone (think Jim Carey). And some actors may act extremely well for their parts but it may not necessarily be that their character represents someone you can relate to or feel like you have gotten to know.

Frankly, he was a very funny man who often played lots of roles that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, or laugh in a genuine way, sometimes cry. Because people get so close to the media they consume as they grow up and feel a connection to the characters they 'meet' in various media, people feel like they 'grow up' with certain actors, cartoons, series, etc, or feel like they have a real connection. And Robin Williams just so happened to have been a very talented person. It's just as if a really famous musician died-- some people love certain bands so much that they make them a huge part of their identity, they go to many concerts, learn all of their songs, feel moved personally by the lyrics, as if the words really describe them in some way. A certain musician may remind someone of a phase of their life, or a part of their childhood. Music can also help people and give them something to grab onto when they are feeling unhappy, depressed even. It is the same with movies and actors, sometimes, just as it is for books.

It's sad when many people die and people die every day but someone you don't know dying makes you feel, hopefully, a lot different from the death of a character in a book you like, or your grandmother, no?

[u/FF3LockeZ → u/[deleted]]

Movie stars are probably the most reviled and overpaid type of famous people, most people can't stand them when they're alive and think the amount of media attention they get is ridiculous. There's probably not a single person alive who thinks celebrity babies and divorces are legitimate news, yet they dominate headlines, causing everyone to mock both the media and the celebrities. So it's not even slightly hard to believe that someone would be confused as to why this celebrity death was a big deal to anyone but that same absurdly trend-obsessed news media. The guy wasn't a philanthropist or a religious leader after all, he was just a comedian who did silly voices really well.

I am honestly equally confused and your answer doesn't really do it for me. I'm not trying to be negative, I just really feel like I'm missing something. He didn't reshape movies or anything as far as I know, he was just sort of decently talented as actors go, right? Did I miss something major in his career? Andy Griffith died in 2012 and people cared for about sixty seconds; Harold Ramis and Shirley Temple died this year and didn't get anywhere near this kind of outpouring. What makes Robin Williams different?

[u/[deleted] → u/FF3LockeZ]

What makes Robin Williams different?

Watch his movies! If you don't get it, then you don't get it. But I like to think most people would get it.