Mortality Movies: In the Prep Room
Mortality Movies is a 30-minute program with three death educators discussing topics such as funerals, grief, and related end-of-life topics. During each episode, several film clips are shown related to that episode’s topic. The expert panel discusses the film clips and share information that can help audiences understand end-of-life issues and plan for our 100% guaranteed mortality. Host @GailRubin leads the discussions. In this episode, the panel view and discuss film clips regarding what happens inside the prep room at a funeral home. Here are the YouTube links to clips from the films referenced in this program: Just Buried (2007, clip is 2:40, • Mortality Movies: Bernie on Corpse Cosmeto... ) In this clip, a young female mortician talks about the embalming process in explicit detail. Bernie (2011, clip is 2:44, • Mortality Movies: Bernie on Corpse Cosmeto... ) At the very beginning of the film, which is based on a true story, Bernie Tiede shows a mortuary school class the process of how morticians make a deceased person look good. My Girl – (1991, clip is 1:40, • Mortality Movies: My Girl on Corpse Makeup ) In this scene, Jamie Lee Curtis plays the new cosmetologist on staff at a funeral home, and Dan Akroyd plays the funeral director. This scene speaks to the uncomfortable feelings we have when we view the deceased made up in a way that does not reflect how they looked in life. Six Feet Under – (2005, clip is 2:46, blocked on YouTube) In the prep room, David Fisher washes the body of his brother Nate. Their mother comes into the prep room, expecting there to be a viewing. My Mexican Shivah – (2007, clip is 2:17, • Mortality Movies: My Mexican Shivah on the... ) This clip shows the Jewish ritual body washing tradition called tahara. It’s conducted by volunteers with the Chevrah Kaddisha. This scene is interspersed with the credits for the film. Ordinarily, the body would not have a cloth over the genital area, but this was done for modesty during the filming. It shows how thoroughly the body is cleaned, and water is poured over the body. The Mortality Movie panelists are: Host and producer Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death (https://agoodgoodbye.com) Jane Westbrook, Death Educator Kelly Saindon, Licensed Spiritual Counselor
