After hearing your speech I was inclined to check out your blog! Something you said while you were presenting to the class was how the experience you had with this woman was much more of a conversation than anything else. It made me think about if now we are biased and assume everyone and anyone involved in the funeral business is soulless and in it for the big bucks. I liked this line, "The woman was comfortable and natural in her conversation with Jay and I. She seemed genuinely happy with her position and even shared some things that interested her in the business, like reading coffin magazines as others read car or celebrity magazines. It looked like she really loved what she did." Although it is hard to imagine how someone could actually feel comfortable in this sort of position it obviously does happen. I enjoyed reading this and hearing you speak about it in class. Good Job!
(http://rossi63blog.blogspot.com/2011/05/hw-55-culminating-project-care-of-dead.html?showComment=1305717287029#c2853511685526262599)
Lina -
I found your dramatic speech very intriguing so I decided to check out your blog. I think you make a very good point, there is so much focus on the moment before death and the moment that the person is in the ground, yet there is hardly any emphasis on what happens after that. The fact that you saw trash over some of the tombstones just shows the amount of lack of care is going on. I found this line to be interesting, " she was told to wait a week before visiting so that the cemetery's workers could clean and mow that specific section - meaning that as a whole, the cemetery isn't maintained as often as that monthly or "lifetime" fee implies. " The fact that there is a fee to be underground seems so bizarre. It's literally is paying a rent... This was very eye opening and I found it easy to understand and read. Good Job!
I found your dramatic speech very intriguing so I decided to check out your blog. I think you make a very good point, there is so much focus on the moment before death and the moment that the person is in the ground, yet there is hardly any emphasis on what happens after that. The fact that you saw trash over some of the tombstones just shows the amount of lack of care is going on. I found this line to be interesting, " she was told to wait a week before visiting so that the cemetery's workers could clean and mow that specific section - meaning that as a whole, the cemetery isn't maintained as often as that monthly or "lifetime" fee implies. " The fact that there is a fee to be underground seems so bizarre. It's literally is paying a rent... This was very eye opening and I found it easy to understand and read. Good Job!
(http://normalisweirdbylina.blogspot.com/2011/05/cotd-final-project.html#comments)
Leah -
I really was interested by the information you provided in this blog post. It seems as though the way Indian people deal with death is much more personal. I found it fascinating that young children and saints are buried because they are pure. This part really caught my attention, "Unlike our social dominant practices it doesn't seem that money is an issue in India. Everything done during in the ceremony there isn't a money factor that causes the family to have to worry about things. Its all religion based." In our culture a lot of people associate death with religion. However, do you think in our culture religion is a reason to raise the price? Or do you think there is no comparison between India and the United States, since our country is extremely wealthy? Good job!
I really was interested by the information you provided in this blog post. It seems as though the way Indian people deal with death is much more personal. I found it fascinating that young children and saints are buried because they are pure. This part really caught my attention, "Unlike our social dominant practices it doesn't seem that money is an issue in India. Everything done during in the ceremony there isn't a money factor that causes the family to have to worry about things. Its all religion based." In our culture a lot of people associate death with religion. However, do you think in our culture religion is a reason to raise the price? Or do you think there is no comparison between India and the United States, since our country is extremely wealthy? Good job!
(http://leahsviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/hw55-culminating-project-care-of-dead.html#comments)
Megumi -
Well done. Your essay was concise, and included some very good information. As someone who is considering a home funeral, this post was significant to me personally. My favorite line was, "The ‘traditional’ way to care for the dead only happened within a few years. It was normal before for families to care for the dead bodies of their loved ones-why is there now a need to hand over the body to strangers? " I wonder though what the norm might shift to next or if the practices we predominantly see throughout society today are here to stay. I hope that in the near future (sometime soon) New York will pass a law making it legal to care for the body without a funeral director. Even though this is possible with the director supervising it seems like there is probably a lot of pressure coming from the director towards the customer. Overall though this was a good post!
Well done. Your essay was concise, and included some very good information. As someone who is considering a home funeral, this post was significant to me personally. My favorite line was, "The ‘traditional’ way to care for the dead only happened within a few years. It was normal before for families to care for the dead bodies of their loved ones-why is there now a need to hand over the body to strangers? " I wonder though what the norm might shift to next or if the practices we predominantly see throughout society today are here to stay. I hope that in the near future (sometime soon) New York will pass a law making it legal to care for the body without a funeral director. Even though this is possible with the director supervising it seems like there is probably a lot of pressure coming from the director towards the customer. Overall though this was a good post!
(http://meguminormalisweird.blogspot.com/2011/05/hw55-culminating-project-care-of-dead.html#comments)
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From Megumi: I found your project very interesting and I was curious about what people our age that have not taken the course would think about 'care of the dead.' I found it especially interesting that all interviewees had different answers. The video was also very fun to watch. A line I found most insightful was, "So what separates us from many other teenagers is that we have had a number of moments to really think, to discover and to understand that we have a choice when it comes to our bodies both in life and death." I have to agree with that ending statement because death was a topic I never considered before taking the course. Now, that I have learned the different choices we can make about our bodies, I actually took more time to think things through of what I really wanted. (Though I am also undecisive.) Perhaps knowing that there's so many things to think about make us have to reconsider and second-guess ourselves.
From Natalie: Sarah,
I thought your video was very well put together. The last paragraph of your analysis talks about how we do not pause to notice ourselves and the world around us. I believe you were also able to capture this idea well in your film, with the edited clips of the sidewalk. The audience was forced to talk a minute and appreciate life. I also liked that you asked teenagers who had not taken a course concerning the care of the dead. While all of our thoughts are interesting, it was intriguing to hear the perspective of someone who did not have much experience in the topic.
Each individual however did seem to have a pretty clear idea of what they wanted, considering how much our society tends to avoid the subject of death.
Good job!
From Leah: Sarah,
I thought that your video was very creative and enjoyable. It caught my attention right away. I liked how you explained that we aren't full control of our bodies mentally but physically. It's interesting how even after this unit you still aren't sure what you want to be done physically to your body after hearing all of those alternatives. I liked the fact the people who you interviewed actually took the time and tought about what they wanted done to their body not just bubbles ideas. You did a good job. Keep it up!
From Jay: Sarah,
Your video was different and actually interesting. Although I didn't understand the shots of people walking in the street-I'm assuming it was added for artistic effect-I thought it was well put together and it's fun to watch a video as opposed to your usual super-lengthy blogs, not that that's a bad thing. One thing I think you could've done without was the first part of the analysis where you explain what each girl said, it's redundant. Also, a few males would have been a nice addition. Nonetheless, good post/video.
From Rebecca (Peer): To Sarah:
Your video was good, I liked what everyone had to say. At the end when you asked what I would like done to my body, I tried to think about it. I don't know at this point but maybe this is when I should start thinking about it. Good Job.
From Rebecca
From Mom (Mentor): Thanks for sharing your video and your ideas. Although this is a very serious issue not many people think about it until they are much older and hear the clock ticking. The topic of care of the dead brings up many existential issues...the meaning of life, the passing of time, space, and the purpose of all of this. Thinking about death can help us live a better life. We can focus more on what is important and how we would like to live. We can be more aware of ourselves and those around us, how we want to be treated in life, how we want to treat others which is related to loving ourselves and others. I like to think about all the people who have gone before us, how they lived their lives, how they felt being in a body on this planet and how similar they were to us. Life really is a miracle and we shall see one day about death...it may be a miracle too. xoxo Mom
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