twooffour said:
It's like with movies - in order to care-a-lot, people need a connection to a character.
Show them lots of mass atrocities (or cartoon Jedis killed), and they'll be like "oh no this is bad" for a few minutes, then move on. Do something to a well-portrayed character they've built an emotional connection to - and you've got yourself a memorable movie experience.
Which explains why I didn't give a shit when MJ died, why I don't give a shit about this, and why I haven't given a shit about all the other shocking, untimely, often self induced, celebrity deaths of the past decade.
I feel less cold hearted now.