Video

“Death Differently”

Death Differently is cinematic education on innovations in death care featuring death doulas, hospice workers, alternative death advocates, music thanatologists, green burial funeral directors, and many others. The series’ goal is to highlight these individuals working in the emerging – but mostly unknown – death and dying space to challenge death myths that contribute to … Read more“Death Differently”

The Underpass (2015)

The ironic “fear” of the Halloween season isn’t normally my bag, but I can’t resist featuring this 2015 short horror film by David Schmidt, who had previously directed another horror short – The Lovecraft Syndrome (2004) – starring my wife, Kat. The Underpass is set in our fondly-recalled former neighborhood of Rogers Park and explores … Read moreThe Underpass (2015)

Death of the Endless (“The Sandman”, 2022)

Gaiman has written of his Death character that: The mythology of “Sandman” (…) includes in it seven entities who are not gods, who are not worshiped, but are essentially more powerful than gods, because gods die when they are forgotten, but the Endless are always there, and one of those seven is Death. (…) I … Read moreDeath of the Endless (“The Sandman”, 2022)

“By the River”: the Death Hotels of Varanasi

For the people of Varanasi – the holiest of India’s seven sacred cities – death is a blessing. Stretching along the banks of the river Ganges, Varanasi is a place where devout Hindus go to die in the hope of achieving moksha: freedom from the endless cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). ‘Death hotels’ provide a … Read more“By the River”: the Death Hotels of Varanasi