When the cold creeps from the heels to the head, and the light of the memories you made begins to fade at a pace that feels beyond discomfort, one begins to question the reality of mortality. All of the small steps an individual has taken either lead to their ultimate climax or the quiet continuation of the clock as they waste away in the silken sheets of the hospital bed. This is the actuality of death; often, it has been glorified for centuries, sometimes presented as “an escape” or, many times, “heroic” or “merciful.” This romanticization is evident in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and in the more recent Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, among countless other works of literature and media.
The wildly popular 13 Reasons Why, released on Netflix on March 31, 2017, is based on the novel by Jay Asher; the show centers on the fictional Liberty High School and its students who investigate clues left behind by Hannah Baker, a former student, as to why she committed suicide. The following season’s progress further into what some would consider vulgar ideas, but the initial focus on suicide is what makes it so dangerous. Unlike numerous other aspects of the show, the act of killing oneself is not fictional; it is a topic that is sensitive and carries far more weight than some would like to recognize. Although the episodes attempt to draw viewers in with their unexpected content, it is better not to skirt the topic, making it seem intriguing and “cool.” Whether intentional or not, this leads to a normalization of death while hiding its ungodly truth.
A different yet still apparent approach is the portrayal of the Creature and Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1816), and their glorification of “the end” for distinct reasons. The story traces the Creature’s origin and the grief that follows for both the Creator and the Created. The Creature despises his own existence for being unloved and rejected, and Victor (the Creator) wishes to escape through death for bringing a gruesome monster who haunts him and the lives of his loved ones into the world. At the end of the tale, this theme of “escape” is made more than obvious with the Creature leaving out with “‘I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct…’” (Shelley 148) even with this aligning firmly with the story and adding depth to it, it is crucial to not envelope and obsess one’s self with it’s message as countless before have in the past.
As many are already aware, the media and literature twist the seriousness and truth of a topic to appeal to more people; despite this being an intelligent way to hook one’s attention, it is an ill use to employ this through the romanticization of death. The final minutes of one’s life will never not be addressed; it is an inevitable event, one to end them all, and the solution isn’t to entirely steer clear of it, either; it is to be further educated on the matter. This, however, will not be accomplished through sugarcoating or pretending to ignore its importance in day-to-day life. It’s essential to recognize the weight that comes along with it and not throw it around so willingly. Just remember to live life to its fullest, because “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
