The Gothic Elements of

Gothic Elements of Selena's Impact

Selena Quintanilla Perez died at 1:05PM on March 31st, 1995 at a local hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. She was twenty-three years old. The entire world was shocked and saddened by the devastating news of Selena’s death. Over sixty thousand people showed up to her funeral from all across the United States and beyond. There was candlelight vigils set up in several locations across the nation by fans in order to mourn for her loss. Her death was the top story in the media during the days surrounding her death. Selena was on the cover of The New York Times for the two days after she died. People magazine also published a commemoratory issue in honor of Selena that was celebrating her life and musical career. The motion picture, Selena, was released in 1997 and was an autobiographical film based on her life with Jennifer Lopez playing the starring role.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gothic elements that embody the impact of Selena’s life and death can be seen in the media coverage after the time of her demise. Television news stations around the country placed a major focus on the heartbroken fan-base with consistent images of tears, anguish, candlelight vigils, memorials, etc. With such an emphasis on the emotional reactions of the public, it had a specific mood to it that is not too far from a dramatic telenovela. The idea that the life of a kind, beautiful, and bright young woman was taken away so quickly and violently carried a depressing tone that touched all of her fans. Selena’s death reinforced one of life's ugly truths that sometimes terrible things happen to genuinely good people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are some additional gothic elements that revolve around the impact of Selena’s death that I had not been initially aware of. Selena died on March 31st, 1995—two days away from her third wedding anniversary to Christopher Perez and seventeen days away from her twenty-fourth birthday. I feel that a gothic element surrounding these misfortunes could be the notion of “deprivation.” To elaborate, Selena and her loved ones were abruptly and unjustly deprived from celebrating such meaningful occasions with one another. Following his wife’s death, a dejected Christopher Perez began abusing alcohol and drugs to cope with his inconceivable range of emotions. Another gothic element at work here is Christopher’s complex struggle to overcome the adversity against his destructive self-medicating behavior.