In 1947 "The Most Beautiful Suicide" was published in Life Magazine. The image of a young beautiful woman seeming to lounge peacefully atop a wrecked car shook Americans with it's juxtaposition of beauty and death.
This image is in direct contrast with the normal circle-of-life happenings encountered in daily life. You're born, you grow up, start families, grow old and die. Wash and repeat. Most of us have been fortunate to know and love at least some of our grandparents and be somewhat acquainted with the wrinkles and maladies that seem to afflict our elders.
And yet, no matter how hard you work and what amount of fame you may achieve, it will eventually be contrasted with the ghost of your youth. We saw Audrey Hepburn age. We watched Ronald Reagan lose his fight to Alzheimers. And we all witnessed the lovely Elizabeth Taylor settle into a wheelchair.
In a few cultures elders are respected and revered as wise leaders. But to the majority, youth and beauty are worshipped.
When one dies young the death is usually referred to as tragic because death has not come to them in it's natural form. They were robbed of their hopes, dreams and future plans. And yet, they've also cheated the system. They've managed to drink from the mythical Fountain of Youth, even if it cost them their lives.
Would Marilyn Monroe be as universally adored today if we had watched her grow withered and old? Would Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison have their own reality TV shows?
These martyrs for beauty paid the ultimate price but will always and forever be young and beautiful.
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