The Western Funeral Culture from "Elizabethtown"

Josianne 2022-03-22 09:02:06

Here, funerals are viewed as a culture. What we know are the hanging coffins in Wuyi Mountain, the sky burial in Tibet, and the more common folk mourning and mourning. What everyone sees at funerals or memorial services are white banners and black cloth, what they hear is cries, and what they feel is solemnity. In general, it is to create a touch that allows everyone present to grieve together.
In this film, a completely different funeral culture from what we usually see is fully displayed. Unlike ours, Western burials make it almost impossible to feel the overwhelming, breathless grief that we have, which translates into nostalgia for the deceased. So what we will see in the film: At the memorial service for Drew's father, the venue was decorated with lanterns, everyone in the meeting was smiling, Drew's mother danced on the podium, and there was thunderous applause from the audience. The final rock band performance literally turned the memorial service into a big family gathering. Some people may think that the reason for this is that Westerners are cold-blooded, while we value affection and family affection. I don't think so. I think the reason for such a difference is mainly due to the cultural differences between the East and the West. We believe that the souls of people after death will go to a place called the underworld, where there are kings of Yama, ox-headed and horse-faced, and all kinds of big ghosts and little ghosts. The human soul has to suffer when it comes to this place, and only after suffering can it be reincarnated as a human being. So we approach a person's death with a state of fear. While Westerners believe that human souls go back to heaven after death, there are gods, angels and fairies. Heaven is a happy place, and the arrival of the human soul in heaven is the beginning of another life. It is this difference in cultural understanding. When dealing with the deceased, we cry and cry, hoping that the deceased can come back to life without having to suffer in the underworld. new life. So in the movie Drew actually carried his father's urn to someone else's wedding and went on a date with a gentle and understanding flight attendant. It wasn't a blasphemy against his father, but it felt like his father's soul was always with him.
At the later funeral, when the coffin containing Drew's father's belongings was put into the grave, there was a small situation, but Drew's mother couldn't help laughing at the funeral. I laughed too.
A film that learns about a culture.

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Extended Reading

Elizabethtown quotes

  • Claire Colburn: Sadness is easier because its surrender. I say make time to dance alone with one hand waving free.

  • Claire Colburn: So you failed. Alright you really failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You think I care about that? I do understand. You wanna be really great? Then have the courage to fail big and stick around. Make them wonder why you're still smiling.