The Death Of The Funeral

You’ve probably heard the old saying. “Only two things in life are certain: death and taxes” It’s true: at some point, we all will die. Although you may think death is an unpleasant subject, it is something that everybody must cope with. People are different all over the world, but death is one thing that everyone has in common. ( Stair, choosing a career in mortuary science and the funeral industry 6)

Painful as it may be, such experiences brings home the finality of death. Something deep within us demands a confrontation with death. A last look assures us that the person we loved is, indeed, gone forever.” (108) Cable finishes his essay by asking, Tim if his job ever depressed him. Tim in reply says, “No it doesn’t, and I do what I can for people and take satisfaction in enabling relatives to see their loved ones as they were in real life.” (108) After reading this essay I feel as though sometimes we don’t understand death so therefore we do not talk much about it. By reading about what goes on after your loved one dies and is sent to these places to be prepared and ready for burial, it helps to understand why morticians and funeral directors do what they do. Knowing that someone enjoys taking the responsibility in providing that comfort in a sorrowful time makes me appreciate these people in these occupations a bit

Every individual experiences the act of death, and most persons experience the death of someone they know of. Whether family, kin, or someone infamous, the living deal with the process of dying. Anthropology seeks to understand the universal process of death ritual and how different cultures deal with death differently. An anthropologist can extract social values of a given culture, past or present, from how death ceremony is practiced. Such values could be regarding political hierarchy or an individual’s status in a society, and about a culture’s spiritual or religious faith. By exploring death ceremony in ancient Egypt, contemporary Hindu death practice in India, and current North American funerary rites, it can be illustrated that

The article, “10 Burdens Funeral Directors Carry”, written by Caleb Wilde expresses the unique struggles of those working the funeral business. They face numerous challenges through trying to aid and support those mourning a loved one. This often over looked and underappreciated field offers a salient as well as specific service desperately needed by each community. By encountering: depression, psychosis, isolation, stress, workaholism and death itself funeral directors make numerous personal sacrifices to continue to provide honor and respect to the dead.

Cremation and burial services are among the most common choices for American post-mortem body disposal (NFDA, 2017). Though the population of the United States is continuing to grow, observing increases in funeral rates, the number of active funeral homes has significantly decreased within the past ten years (NFDA, 2017). This could be due to the extreme shift in American practices, from a traditionally religious population to a more environmentally aware and loosely religious society (Fleming, Farquhar, Brayne, Barclay, 2016; Pew Research Center, 2015). Because of the general shifts in the prioritization of traditional practice, funeral homes should be better equipped -especially in cremation services- to suit the needs of the evolving disposal preferences of all demographics through observation of holistic

Dead?" AlterNet. In this article, Frankie Colmane looks into how dead bodies are treated in the United State even after Mitford's expose of the funeral industry was published. The article takes both a philosophical and scientific issue with the procedure of embalming sighting proven negative effects to human beings and the environment. Colmane shows that even though people are aware of the malfeasance and misappropriations of the funeral industry following pieces like Mitford's, very little has changed. Therefore problems that have been discussed in earlier works should not be forgotten. Rather they should be continually brought up until the issue is solved. During the 1800s, embalming became common practice because the dead family member would lie in state within the home for a period of days or weeks until it would be buried (Colmane 2010). The article shows the duplicity such as when "funeral directors were arguing forcefully against charges that their mediation between the living and the dead translated into social obstruction that barred the stricken from facing death with maturity, realism, and honest" (page 2). This article will be used to illustrate that things have not changed with funereal practices despite the publication of Mitford's essay.

While reading through the lossography I found a common similarity among most of the lossographys’, which is the ritual of having a funeral or a wake after someone has died. A specific example, is when a classmate describes the experiences of his grandfather’s wake (pg.8). I noticed most of the lossographys included some kind of ritual either mourning or celebrating the death of a loved one. I also noticed how age and

A great many books have been written about cemeteries in Dallas, Texas. More specifically, many of these books are based on the pioneer cemeteries of Dallas's founding families. Many of Dallas's older cemeteries are not in use today for anything more than tours or an occasional local history lesson in a quiet park, and some of these cemeteries have been absorbed by large funeral companies while others are protected by private organizations. Dallas's rich history contains a variety of cemeteries that tell us how burial practices in Dallas have reflected Dallas’s societal changes.

Criticisms of American funeral practices have been made publicly aware since the 1920’s, and actually go back to ancient times in the scope of human’s ceremonies for the dead. Since the first published argument against modern funerals various authors joined the movement publishing their disparagements of customs for the deceased; that in essence contend the grandiosity and lavish displays are merely a social and psychological representation of the monetary opportunity of funerals (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 306-307). Even further, regarding the encompassing funeral industry as exploiting grieving loved ones for their financial gains, while disregarding the actual needs of modern society (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 307).

Some cultures are traditional and want to bury love ones in a traditional way. However, younger generations are more creative in the way they bury loved ones. For example, sea lovers may have their ashes put into an eternal reef and put into the sea. A positive spin is being put on funerals and now being called “celebrations of life”. The death rate is low right now but as baby boomers get older the death rate will rise, and the funeral service industry will see a big boost.

1. Watch “The Undertaking” where this video examines a family who works in the funeral industry as a window into American feelings on death and dying. Then, respond to the following questions: How do funeral rituals describe by the Lynch family show our cultural values about death and dying? How would a sociologist create a research question to systematically evaluate the claims that the Lynch family makes about death and dying? The funeral industry arguably exists to serve micro-level relationships, consoling individuals who have just lost others central to their social existence. How is the funeral industry connected to institutions at the community and

“Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” is an essay written by Jessica Mitford. She creates a clear replica of the funeral industry in her essay. She explains about how the funeral directors do not consult the kin of the deceased before the process. The goal of Mitford is to share many of the practices of the funeral industry, and show how barbaric they are.The tone of the essay is to inform people about the process, from the deceased first arriving to the morgue until the end of the funeral service. She discussed about the embalming and the industry in her essay.

After some research on five current trends in the funeral service operations, I decided to choose the following submerging topics: personalization, technology, “green” funerals, women in the industry and pet funerals. In regards to personalization, Shivon loved the idea that more services were becoming specific to a deceased individual’s life. Families are trying to seek ways to make meaningful funeral services, while helping with the grieving process. “The idea of personalization has resulted in an explosion of unique services that reflect the hobbies, passions and interests of someone who has died” (National Funeral Directors Association, 2017). With technology on the rise, it is only appropriate for funeral homes to jump on the

Mankind’s history of burial practices and funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. There is no specific way to planning a funeral. Every civilization and culture has provided for their dead in different ways. Religion and personal beliefs play an important role in the burial practices and funeral customs of a given culture or civilization. Furthermore, each civilization and cultured ever studied have three things in common: some type of funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies; A sacred place for the dead; and memorialization of the dead. As far back as the time of Christ, burials have been noted to take place. In time burial and funeral customs have become very distinct, interesting and

     Because of the increasing education of the consumer, many may choose to bypass the funeral home as a way of lowering costs.