Death, Dying And The Dead In Popular Culture: Literature Analysis

Death is the unavoidable end of life and for centuries people have been seeking for answers to unravel the mysteries of death. Nowadays, as medical treatments continue to advance, new cultural perceptions are formed surrounding one of the most intriguing topics, death. In the news article, “American Attitudes Towards Death: 12 Facts from New Pew Research Center Survey” by Yasmine Hafiz, she discusses the popular cultural perception of death and death related topics in America. A scholar article “Death, Dying, and the Dead in Popular Culture” by Keith F. Durkin will also be used to examine the scientific quality of Hafiz’s news article and to show the paradox of cultural perception of death in America.

Initially, Hafiz’s news article suggests that the majority of people living in America think that death is something to be avoided and people rarely talk about death to their families or friends (Hafiz: 2017). This social phenomenon shows that people are often afraid of death and carry fears toward the uncertainty accompanied death, forming a death-denying society. As a death-denying society, people are afraid of thanatological studies, open discussions of death or dying, and believe death should be left for the medical professionals (Durkin: 2003). Thus, talking about one’s plan for the medical treatments one will receive when one dies is considered to be inappropriate and it is a taboo that needs to be

The paradox between the conservative view of death and the daily exposure of high volume of fictional death scenes suggests that the popular culture is serving as an avenue to help people to become more accepting toward the topic of death and dying. Other diverse opinions on suicide and End-of-Life treatment vary with one’s religious belief and family background. Thus, it is difficult to arrive at a final conclusion on moral