Museum Slammed Over Exhibition Saying Kurt Cobain ‘Un-Alived’ Himself

The Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle (aka MoPOP) caught the ire of social media users over the weekend, with an exhibition curiously stating that Kurt Cobain “un-alived” himself.

The late Nirvana frontman died by suicide at the age of 27 (in 1994), following lengthy battles with mental illness and substance abuse.

The exhibit at MoPOP mentions Cobain in relation to ‘The 27 Club’, referencing culturally significant artists who all died at the age of 27. A placard reads: “Kurt Cobain un-alived himself at 27, placing him in the company of other artists who passed at that same age under tragic circumstances, such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.”

It went viral over the weekend thanks to Twitter user @sovietscifi, who posted a photo of the placard last Friday (August 9) and quickly garnered more than five million views, nearly 200,000 likes and 7,000 retweets. They wrote in a follow-up tweet directed at MoPOP, “Using ‘unalived’ seems particularly tone deaf when it's referring to maybe the most famous instance of suicide as a result of mental illness of all time, especially in a museum that has used paraphernalia from his life and career as a focal point for decades.”

real photo my friend just sent me from the nirvana exhibit at the museum of pop culture in seattle pic.twitter.com/X7geuj2NeB

— lugubrious (@sovietscifi) August 9, 2024

Another user pointed out that the exhibit also features placard explaining the use of the term ‘unalive’. It reads: “In the digital age, social media influences how online communities engage in discussions, particularly around sensitive topics like mental health. One example is the term ‘unalive’, which has emerged online to describe death by suicide or homicide.

“Users on social media platforms created this term to navigate around algorithms that censor content related to mental health and explicit topics. ‘Unalive’ has sparked constructive conversations, especially among young people, addressing issues such as depression, anxiety, and suicide.

“In this exhibition, the Guest Curator has chosen to utilize the term ‘unalive’ as a gesture of respect towards those who have tragically lost their lives due to mental health struggles. by bringing awareness to this language, we aim to foster meaningful dialogue and raise awareness about the complexities of mental health and language in our society.”

There’s a placard next to it that talks about the social context of “unalive” in how people talk about mental health but this is still stupid pic.twitter.com/iKA30ECUW7

— ブランドン (@burandon_sama) August 9, 2024

Nevertheless, reception to MoPOP’s exhibit has been unanimously negative, with one user joking that the museum “wouldn’t want ... to trip the TikTok censors”. Another user slammed the exhibit for being “so un-serious and un-respectful”, while another quipped to MoPOP’s curators, “You are a museum, you can use real words and phrases, it's completely ok.”

One user pointed to George Orwell’s iconic novel 1984, where the ‘un’ prefix was utilised in newspeak to replace antonyms (ie. ‘uncold’ used in place of ‘hot’ and ‘ungood’ in place of ‘bad’).

In another scathing reply, a user opined that ‘unalived’ is “one of the worst inventions of the 2020s”. They wrote, “Usually I think it’s cool the way the linguistic canon shifts and evolves as younger generations begin to dominate the sociocultural scene but ‘unalived’ makes me want to KILL! MY! SELF!”

At the time of writing, MoPOP have not publicly acknowledged the backlash.

If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or other mental illness, we implore you to get in contact with Beyond Blue or Lifeline:

Beyondblue: 1300 224 636
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Suicide Call-Back Service: 1300 659 467

Beyond Blue and Lifeline both also offer online chat/counsel. Check their respective websites for operational hours and details.