This past month, the documentary Montage of Heck, about Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the band Nirvana, was released online and in theaters. The movie is at many times hard to watch. Despite being the creative force behind arguably the most important band of the 1990s, Cobain is plagued by depression, anger and substance abuse. The movie is produced by his daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, who was widely written about as she was born to her mother, Courtney Love, who used heroin while pregnant.
The movie raises issues of music and art but also of how we relate to each other as a society. A common refrain is that Cobain is the “spokesman for a disaffected Generation X.” The movie delves into Cobain’s upbringing, but at times also casts his woes into a directly medical context. I didn’t know this, but Cobain suffered debilitating and constant stomach pains, at times. In an interview, when asked about how his stomach ailment relates to his music, he states:
“Thats a scary question. I think it helps. I would give up everything to have good health. But then again I’m always afraid that if I lost my stomach problems I might not be as creative.”
I was surprised that Cobain considered parts of his artistic drive coming directly from medical suffering. In this instance, Cobain attributes his suffering to enabling a productive part of his life, his music.
Whether for better or worse, for many, if not most, people, illness can limit or define their lives. All this underscores how powerful a health care provider and system can be in allowing people to regain agency and control of their own lives, and in turn our society.
