On July 13, 2013 Glee actor Cory Monteith unexpectedly died in a hotel in a Vancouver hotel. The believed cause was an overdose of alcohol and heroin. Cory, known as “Finn” to Glee viewers was only 21 years old at the time of the tragedy. He struggled with substance abuse from the age of 12 and left school at age 16. He made the decision to seek rehab attention at the age of 19 after family and friend intervention. Cory’s death affected so many people who loved him, and supported him whether apart of his family, friends, or the viewers and fan of the show.
The reason why we chose this incident as our cultural artifact is because it is so relatable to young people today. Almost all of us know someone or of someone that has passed away because of a drug addiction. What the person may not realize is the amount of people it affects. The video we chose to illustrate this showed the grief that all his loved ones experienced because of that one decision Cory made. His mother weeped, “How do you go on being a parent when you don’t have a kid to parent to?” His peers at his high school decorated his locker knowing that there will never be another time he will open that locker again. Additionally, his girlfriend Lea Michelle known as Rachel on the show was also his girlfriend in real life. She did her own song dedicated completely to Finn by the artist Adele entitled “Make you feel my love” that was very emotional. Not only in this video, on the Emmy’s they did a tribute that emphasized how Cory was apart of the acting world’s “family” and from his death they lost a member of it. This shows how although one may not realize it, there are so many people out there who love and support you even when you are feeling low and like you can’t take it anymore.
In our culture, it is increasingly popular for young kids to intake drugs because they think it is the “cool thing to do” or everybody is doing it. Peer pressure causes young people to do it because they think that surely a tragedy like this one won’t happen to them. But it can happen to anyone. Young people are so naïve to what the drugs actually do and the effects they can have. Most importantly, one doesn’t have to necessarily look like a drug addict or make it known to others that they are. Cory for instance, didn’t look like a typical drug abuser, but he was and that is what was shocking to everyone when they found out about his death. The only thing to do is make young people aware of what can happen, educate them, and hope they won’t fall into a similar trap.
We talked about in class how often times girls feel like they have to act or look a certain way because of what our society pressures them into thinking. They have to have flawless skin, be skinny, and be desirable to men in order to be beautiful. If they aren’t they feel unimportant and ugly to everyone else. This incident builds on this idea of “fitting in” and societal standards that are placed on young adults and adolescents who feel they have to do these things to themselves to fit into the norm. Taking just one pill surely can’t do much harm right? That’s what they’re told when they fall into the trap of abusing drugs at least. Cory will be missed by many people, and the hope is that his tragedy will prevent others in the future.
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