The Two Coreys

 The 1980s were supposed to be a time of innocence for a late Generation X kid like me, but as I grow older, that idea falls further and further from the realm of reality.  The stories of Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson were hurtful to those of us who looked up to those men as idols as we grew up.  Those two men *were* the 1980s to me.

I think the tale of The Two Coreys hits home even a little harder.  I grew up with Corey Feldman.  He epitomized the 1980s more than any other person for me.  He was in all of the great 1980s movies that define the decade.  Stand by Me.  The Goonies.  Gremlins.  The Lost Boys. Licensed to Drive.  And of course, the place where I was first introduced to him, the hero of Friday the 13th:  The Final Chapter.

I didn't think nearly the same for Corey Haim. He came later, but that doesn't make his story any less tragic   I didn't get to grow up with him, but I do know that when I was in junior high and high school, he was one of *the* teen heart throbs for the girls in our school.  Sure, I'd seen movies with him in them, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you which kid was him in the late 80s to early 90s.  

Feldman was the first celebrity that I ever connected with on a psychological level.  He is easily the one celebrity that I have connected with the most closely largely because that connection transcends a generation.   I think the movie Stand by Me, which was a reflection of his life, was a huge part of that connection.  I didn't know it until decades later, but Feldman came from an extremely dysfunctional home where his parents essentially used him for the money he made while turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse he faced in the industry.  Feldman was able to win his emancipation at the age of 15 based on the fact that he was worth over $10 million in the film industry, but his bank account had barely anything in it.  

There was a tremendous amount of anger in Corey Feldman as a kid.  There was also a tremendous amount of pain.  As a kid, I could feel that pain.  It's probably why Feldman resonated so closely with me, as there were a considerable number of elements in my life that paralleled with his. 

It is unfortunate to know, though, that since all of that crap was corroborated, I'm finding it extremely difficult to find any joy in 1980s nostalgia anymore.  There is a tremendous amount of pain residing in that decade for me.  Watching Corey Feldman on the big screen brings back a lot of that pain.  I can see his pain, and I just can't do anything about it.  That is overwhelming for me.  

Corey Haim's story, even though I never felt that same kinship with him, hurts even more.