I spotted this hitherto-unnoticed detail during our annual (ritual) holiday season viewing of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. The ornate skull on the evil Mr. Potter’s desk is a nice piece of sinister foreshadowing, but – curiosity piqued – it took some detective work to identify the actual prop, which is an antique death’s … Read moreSo, About That Skull on Mr. Potter’s Desk in “It’s a Wonderful Life” …
In the Death Issue of The Nib Magazine, two dozen artists from around the world offer their perspectives on mortality, from a heartfelt and poignant memoir of infant loss to an exploration of the cultural relationship between Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. Here’s a generous assortment of excerpts and below are some sample panels … Read moreThe Death Issue
The fantasy cultures in George R. R. Martin’s epic Game of Thrones stories have conjured a rich diversity of religious perspectives. The journey of Arya Stark, noblewoman by birth and killer by temperament, leads her to the House of Black and White, which is the temple, headquarters and thanatorium of a cult of priestly assassins … Read moreThe House of Black and White
You can see more of artist Jenny Jinya’s “Loving Reaper” cartoons here – though be aware that few of them end quite this happily.
Critic, author and video essayist Lindsay Ellis offers a survey of the many personifications of Death in Western art and culture.
Memento mori/carpe diem perspective from Four Thousand Mondays.
According to ceremonialist Daniel Lev Shkolnik: In the oldest story in existence, Gilgamesh crosses the sea of death in search of immortality. In Greek mythology, Charon ferries souls across the river Styx to Hades. In ancient Egypt, departed souls were thought to travel with Ra on the solar bark to reach the sacred field of … Read moreOdyssey of the Dead (2019)