Wired Mesh

The Pornography of Grief

Slate has an article on the growing popularity of the memorial T-shirt, that classy article of clothing designed to remind the world that we will never forget until such time as we burn a hole in our sleeve. Such items have become so popular that the newest threat in Oakland, California, public schools is "Don't make me put your face on a T-shirt."

What's troubling about this trend isn't so much the tackiness, but the notion that our society is marketing death and grief in the same glossy, disposable way we've marketed sex, food and clothing. These shirts feel a bit like the pornography of grief -- the emotions of loss and mortality are reduced to a disposable memorial you can purchase for ten dollars.

Chattanooga has its own distinct example of this trend: the MAKUS billboards. You probably remember the first time you saw one; the typical reaction is an open-mouthed wordlessness that can continue for days. It's not ususual to see photos of dead teenage drivers used to remind living drivers to buckle their seat belts. It is unprecidented to see that dead teenager looking so... um... sexual. There's a horrible necrophiliac sensibility about these signs, as if teenage girls are supposed to be inspired to safety by the hot shirtless dead kid. Here the santitized glamorization of death takes on a creepy erotic dimention. Who thought this was a good idea?

If I should die young, please, PLEASE don't put my image anywhere. I promise if you do, I will haunt you.