Kurt Cobain trying to fire a Nirvana bandmate on tour.
The late Nirvana legend Kurt Cobain has a legacy that looms large over the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. For many of his fans, even 30 years after his death by suicide, Cobain’s loss is still raw. Recently, though, some visitors to the museum reported reading something that surprised them. A placard, purportedly on display in one of its exhibits, described the iconic musician’s death in the following way: “Kurt Cobain un-alived himself at 27” via CNN.
Kurt Cobain “Unalived”?
“Unalived” is a common term on TikTok which was initially used to get around censors on the app when discussing death. However, it has taken on a euphemistic meaning offline, a way to talk about death and especially suicide while attempting to avoid the subject’s inherent discomfort.
The appearance of “unalived” in a popular tourist destination, especially about Cobain, stunned some visitors, who shared photos of the placard as early as May.
Many argued that using the term disrespected Cobain and his legacy and was used to avoid having to discuss suicide directly. Some users who found the image, which went viral on X earlier this month, even compared it to Newspeak, the simplistic, euphemistic language used in George Orwell’s dystopian classic “1984.”
Another user posted a photo of another sign they stated was near the placard, which explained that the exhibit’s guest curator chose to use “unalived” as “a gesture of respect toward those who have tragically lost their lives due to mental health struggles.”
Adam Aleksic, a linguist who studies the way young people speak online and posts on TikTok as The Etymology Nerd, stated that he isn’t surprised to see “unalived” appear in a museum.
The term “unalive” was used in a 2013 episode of the Disney XD series “Ultimate Spider-Man.” In the episode, Deadpool tells Spider-Man that he plans to “unalive” their enemy, Taskmaster, and his followers. This use of “unalive” predates the birth of TikTok by several years.
Some fans believe that the outlet should have used the real word when talking about serious issues. A fan, who has had a family history of people committing suicide has said that hearing nalive bothers. It takes the seriousness of the issue out of the equation by replacing it with a goofy phrase.
“Unalived” is perhaps the most famous term from algospeak, an internet-native slang that uses euphemisms or misspelled words to avoid censors or algorithmic flags that would otherwise bury or demonetize their content. This has been labeled as a replacement of clear, direct language with meaningless, sterile, inoffensive nonsense.
