Dear All,
What music, films, books do you find philosophically meaningful with respect to our course? Generally about human nature and/or specifically about death & dying? I'll start with a few favorites:
The Cold Missouri Waters (about a horrible 1949 forest fire which killed a bunch of firefighters; told from the point of view of the sole survivor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQNeGPJdcQ
Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
A classic folk song with many, many versions. Here's an old one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLFbUbmH7To
From Brandon "Smoove" Housley
ReplyDeleteA film called "After Life" on Netflix (It is about a young woman who is caught between life and death. The funeral director who appears to have the gift of transitioning the dead, but might just be intent on burying her alive).
Dying at Grace (2003)
ReplyDeleteThis film is about the experience of dying. Five terminal patients in a Palliative Care Unit share the last days of their lives and deaths with a film crew. They do so in the hope that their experience will be useful to the audience in managing its own fear of dying and death. Their families, friends and staff share in the task. Without narration or interviews, the camera simply and intimately observes the events that occur over the course of fourteen weeks as five people come face to face with the doorway through which we all must pass.
Cries and Whispers (1972)
When a woman dying of cancer in turn-of-the century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.
Lightning Over Water (1980)
Director 'Nicholas Ray' is eager to complete a final film before his imminent death from cancer. Wim Wenders is working on his own film "Hammett (1983)" in Hollywood, but flies to New York to help Ray realize his final wish. Ray's original intent is to make a fiction film about a dying painter who sails to China to find a cure for his disease. He and Wenders discuss this idea, but it is obviously unrealistic given Ray's state of health.
Left Behind (series) (2001)
The Biblical prophecy of Armegeddon begins when the Rapture instantly takes all believers in Christ from the Earth. A reporter left behind learns that the Anti-Christ will soon take power.
I agree with the Left Behind series. I havn't seen the others that you have posted
DeleteAct of Valor
ReplyDeleteSeals go behind enemy lines to retrieve information from terrorists in order to save many U.S. cities from a massacre. The story follows an elite seal team under Lt. Rorke who go behind enemy lines to retrieve a captured CIA agent. After they save her, they then have to use the information she has gathered to take down a terrorists group.
Saving Private Ryan
After landing on Normandy, a group of US Army Rangers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose 3 brothers have been killed in action.
I agree with both of these! I loved both of them when I watched them. Saving Private Ryan I could quote throughout the entire movie.
DeleteI had to think about this one, considering the fact that I watch so many movies, but read less books.
ReplyDeleteArmageddon comes to mind when thinking of movies. When Bruce Willis dies at the end of the movie, or takes his life, to save the others on the space ship and even the whole Earth. This was definately a honorable act and relates to our Death & Dying course.
Another movie that comes to mind is Pearl Harbor. I know this is a long movie, but it has such a good ending. When Josh Harnett dies while fighting for his country and he asks Ben Affleck to take care of his unborn child back home. This also relates to our Death & Dying course.
Armageddon is such a powerful movie...need a box of tissues to finish the movie!
DeleteThe Bell Jar (1963)
ReplyDeleteBy Sylvia Plath. A young women has a mental illness and makes several attempts at suicide because she feels as though she is trapped from life in a bell jar.
The Awakening (1899)
By Kate Chopin. A woman under the constraints of society during the time period who wishes to have social freedom eventually can not handle the pressures in her life any longer.
I love the awakening it is a wonderful book
DeleteThis may come as a surprise but i think the saw movies can be seen as philosophical because of the situations they are faced with in those movies. they are faced with situations with life and death. Also, they have to deal with ethics when making those decisions because sometimes they can end up taking someone elses life.
ReplyDeleteI would say that for music Florence and the Machine the song My boy builds coffins, it has very profound lyrics.
ReplyDeleteFor movies I could list a million but the best choices I think are 50/50 about cancer. intouchables about handicaps. Forrest Gump about life and death, suicide, war, and illness.There is also a very philosophical push in children's films these days, such as happy feet two which has two very existential krill who wonder what their place in life is, are they just one in a krillion? All exactly alike? or do they have greater purpose?
As far as books, As I lay dying, The Awakening, World War Z, Ulysses, any Shakespeare (Hamlet specifically)and the list goes on...
A more recent movie (as well as book series) that comes to mind is The Hunger Games. The movie description reads, "Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister's place and must rely upon her sharp instincts when she's pitted against highly trained Tributes who have prepared their entire lives. If she's ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."
ReplyDeleteThere is certainly a lot of death in these books and the movie. It may seem unrealistic but we never know what will happen in the future. Not that I see The Hunger Games as the future of North America, but our human nature can be unpredictable and inhumane at some points.
The hunger games are so intensely philosophical! I love them!
DeleteMy Sister's Keeper: the younger sister is pressured into keeping her sister who is suffering from leukemia stay alive.
ReplyDeleteHotel Rwanda: The true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle and war against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.
I was going to mention the movie, My Sister's Keeper. It is a great movie, and even better book. It takes you through the situation of a young girl having leukemia. It is great because it shows how this disease cna affect the entire family. This situation is taken to court and tears the family apart. There is a twist at the end of the book, that does not happen in the movie that is very interesting too.
DeleteI agree with My Sister's Keeper. Such a great movie and inspiring! I read the book as well and it had the same affect as the movie did for me.
DeleteI found this very interesting art collection about death. It is Richard Harris' art collection called Morbid Curiosity you can see some of the pieces on his website here http://www.richardharrisartcollection.com/ Check it out they are kinda neat and very interesting for our class!
ReplyDeleteThere's a really good song by Dave Matthews called "Gravedigger" that deals explicitly with the subject of death, and it even won him a Grammy. Of the song, Matthew's said, "It's kind of these different stories that are brought together by walking through a graveyard with their names and the dates of their births and their deaths, and the stories that came out of their lives. It's sort of just telling those stories and some others as you wander through a graveyard and what you might think if you could walk into the graves and find out what people went through to get there."
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/i7wSefU2H9Q
The other song that really strikes me was Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," which was written in response to the death of Clapton's 4 year old son who tragically fell from the balcony of their 53-story apartment. This song really strikes at my own heart because you can hear the sadness and pain in Clapton's voice. It's one of the most emotional songs that I have ever heard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRsJlAJvOSM
What the "Bleep" Do We Know? by Betsy Chasse in Movies
ReplyDeleteThe Shack by William Young and The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
ReplyDeleteThe Five People You Meet in Heaven is a great book because, even though it may not have a traditional Catholic view of heaven, it shows just how much impact each of us has on each other, even if we don't see it now. The legacy we leave behind may not be apparent, but it's there.
DeleteI think a very emotional and relating song is "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" by Steve Wariner. everytime I hear this song it reminds me of my grandmother who passed when I was 13. I cry everytime I listen to it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGmzyH2nI4
Another one is "If Heaven Wasn't so Far Away" by Eric Church.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAf-ikOAjkA&feature=related
Great song especially Eric Church... That song does reallyake you think at least it makes me think just like Tim McGraws live like you we're dying which was already mentioned
DeleteLive Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw. Basically don't wait to find out the news, start living like it is your last days. Very good advice, very hard to do. Also, I Won't Let Go by Rascal Flatts. This song is very personal to me in that I applied it to a very difficult situation in my life with another person. Yet, I think it can be viewed as my relationship with God also. He will never let go of me which is a very comforting thought.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I love the FootPrints In the Sand poem.
I feel like a lot of country songs have more to do with death and dying than something like a pop or rap song. Not really sure if it has anything to do with the population that the songs are intended for, like with hip hop or rap being more young teens and the country being more older people? I feel like there could be some sort of correlation betweeen the topic of the song and the fans of the song.
DeleteAre you saying I am old?! :) Just Kidding...I am in comparison to all of you! I can see your point to a degree but I think it is maybe the perspective of death that is different. Rap songs deal with death but often through violence whereas country music often uses illness to convey sentiments about death.
DeleteMary Kay! I love Tim McGraw, but that song Live Like You Were Dying is so powerful!! I agree with Morgan though, a lot of rap and hip hop do not speak about death, it is all country songs :) And no Mary Kay I dont think you are old! :)
DeleteAccording to the show "MANswers" country music is more likely to make you depressed and suicidal compared to any other genre of music (I promise I'm not making this up). I understand that show is intended for humor as well as seemingly irrelevant facts however it does make sense being that country music is a very personal kind of music that a lot of us can relate to. I don't think we all relate to doing drugs, making excessive amounts of money, and representing our "hood" on a daily basis (shots fired at rap music, which is easily the most asinine genre there is). In all seriousness country music does a wonderful job in conveying real life scenarios or emotions that we have endured sometime throughout our lives. I absolutely love country music and could not agree more with this Tim McGraw song. Also, just as an aside I am going to the CMA fest this upcoming summer (be jealous).
DeleteI don't know music or movies that well, so I am going to stick to books.
ReplyDeleteI've already mentioned this, but one book that I feel has meaning in relation to this class is The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson. This book tells the story of a boy who finds out that he only has 24 hours to live.
Another good book is Rotters by Daniel Kraus. Grave digging is a large part of this book, but the major theme is actually about life and relationships with others.
Actually, I could probably give a good reason why any of the books I read can relate to this class, but those are two major ones. Although the class is titled Death and Dying, life is also an important part of the class since it is about human nature. Due to that, I would recommend any book by Andrew Smith. If you ever have time, just pick up one of his books.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8k9rD7lx9c&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLx1Rg8cYv05oNoaelUIawfg
ReplyDeleteThere is a song by Listener called Wooden Heart. It talks about how we are all imperfect and that we all make mistakes. But that we should never give up on hope. "Are church is made out of shipwrecks from every hull these rocks have claimed but we pick ourselves back up" Our self is the church, our mistakes are the shipwrecks and the rocks are our choices.
I strongly suggest listening to Mumford & Sons "The Cave" there are various opinions on what the meaning of Mumford & Sons "The Cave" is about but many people have narrowed it down to referencing several of Homer's lines and quotations from "The Odyssey" as well as Plato's philosophy of out lives revolving around being inside a cave. For example Plato explains his idea of archetypes with an allegory in which prisoners were tied down from childhood in a cave, unable to move, and forced to stare at a wall. On this wall, were the shadows made by people coming in and out of the cave. If these prisoners were released, Plato suggests, they would not understand the things they saw outside the cave; the shadows would continue to seem much more “real” to them.
ReplyDeleteGreat song selection and as a huge Mumford & Sons fan this is easily my favorite song by them (Babel being a close 2nd). For anyone who has not listened to "The Cave" I suggest they do, due to the vast amounts of interpretations that the song involves. Not to mention that there is not a single song I dislike on their two albums. Anyways, my interpretation of "The Cave" has something to with a man trying to get out of the dark (the cave) and see the good in life (the light outside the cave). I tend to think it refers to having an anti-establishment attitude and that we should not be brought down by all the negative aspects of life. Searching for self-identity and overcoming the metaphor of "the cave" is the ultimate goal we should all strive for as people. However you decipher the song, everything about it just seems right and is overall a wonderful listen.
DeleteI took the lyrics to mean the narrator of the song is someone who was struggling with life but was able to escape that darkness (crawled out of the cave). He's talking about how his pain is now his strength and motivation (I will find strength in pain and I will change my ways), and even when there are downfalls he will keep trucking on (So tie me to a post and block my ears...I know my call despite my faults and despite my growing fears). It also sounds like he's trying to save someone else from the same fate. Either way, whatever it means, I love it and most of their music.
DeleteThose who like the Mumford and Sons should check out the Civil Wars... for real though. They're amazing and have a similar sound.
DeleteA couple of movies that come to mind for me:
ReplyDeleteRestrepo (2010) - A documentary about a group of american soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. This movie really illustrates how well we have it here in the US and just how quickly ones life can be taken
Fight Club (1999) - Pretty sure the majority of us are familiar with this movie. Besides the amazingly crazy story line, this movie is jam packed with philosophy on life, what life is, and how we should live our lives.
No Country for Old Men (2007) - This movie has a good bit of philosophy on good vs evil but at the same time, three different views on growing old are explored.
One song that I believe is relavant to this class is Suicide Thoughts by Notorious B.I.G. (explicit (http://youtu.be/-6ChkExqv2E)). This song is draws a vivid picture of a man that is contemplating suicide and why he is in this mind state. I believe that this is a very powerful song because of its ability to explain why someone would consider suicide and their thought process during this time.
ReplyDeletefrom SHAD
ReplyDeleteLife is Beautiful Sixx AM ("Life Is Beautiful" is about Nikki Sixx's past drug addiction, the difficulties he encountered while addicted, and his realization that "Life Is Beautiful". Part of the chorus of the song, "Will you swear on your life, that no one will cry at my funeral", is a quote from Sixx's former roommate and co-lead guitarist from Ratt, Robbin Crosby. Years after being turned onto heroin by Sixx, Crosby died from a heroin overdose in 2002.)
This song gives me goosebumps. I feel like I am reading Sixx's diary when I listen to it and I dont deserve to, he puts so much of his energy into his song.
Deletealso SHAD
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJDDxHIaaVk
(this is for the above comment about Sixx)
Night by Elie Wiesel (Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War. In just over 100 pages of sparse and fragmented narrative, Wiesel writes about the death of God and his own increasing disgust with humanity, reflected in the inversion of the father-child relationship as his father declines to a helpless state and Wiesel becomes his resentful teenage caregiver. "If only I could get rid of this dead weight ... Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever." In Night, everything is inverted, every value destroyed. "Here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends," a Kapo tells him. "Everyone lives and dies for himself alone." He was 16 years old when Buchenwald was liberated by the United States Army in April 1945, too late for his father, who died after a beating while Wiesel lay silently on the bunk above for fear of being beaten too. Having lost his faith in God and mankind, he vowed not to speak of his experience for ten years, to allow time, as he put it, to see clearly. In 1954 he wrote an 865-page manuscript in Yiddish, published as the 245-page Un di Velt Hot Geshvign ("And the World Remained Silent") in Buenos Aires, after which the French novelist François Mauriac persuaded him to write it for a wider audience.)
I just learned of this song recently, but these lines really struck me:
ReplyDeleteThe Once and Future Carpenter by The Avett Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihf9A9g6pck
And my life is but a coin, pulled from an empty pocket
Dropped into a slot with dreams of sevens close behind
And hope and fear go with it, and moon and the sun go spinning
Like the numbers and fruits before my eyes
Sometimes I hit, sometimes it robs me blind
Sometimes I hit, sometimes it robs me blind
Forever I will move like the world that turns beneath me
and when I lose my direction I'll look up to the sky
and when the black cloak drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender, and remember
well we're all in this together
If I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die.
Also, for some bluegrass/country music: 1) The Three Bells by The Browns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4Oe_YeNqUE
DeleteIt tells the story of the life and death of Jimmy Brown.
Some random ones about death:
On and On and On by Wilco.
And the World Turned by Gabe Dixon Band
Five people you meet in heaven is a book that came to mind. It's the thought of what will you see or who will you meet when you die. Which goes back to the ideas of if there is a life after death...
ReplyDeleteMy Left Foot The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working-class family, and became a writer and artist. The film also stars Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker, Fiona Shaw, Julie Hale, Alison Whelan, Kirsten Sheridan, Declan Croghan, Eanna MacLiam, Marie Conmee, and Cyril Cusack. It was adapted by Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan from the book of the same name by Christy Brown.[2] Many of the scenes were filmed through a mirror, as Daniel Day-Lewis could only manipulate his right foot to perform the actions seen in the film.[3]
DeleteWe watched this movie in art class it reminded me of The Diving Bell and the butterflies
Ohh, I love The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It really got me thinking!
DeleteBetter Days by the Goo goo dolls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-kHleNYIDc
ReplyDeleteFix you by Coldplay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SHK4J392rI
How to save a Life by the Frey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjVQ36NhbMk
All these songs (at least for me) make you think about the lyrics and sometimes even life experiences or even political stances
Let it be-- The Beatles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajCYQL8ouqw
Cancer-- My Chemical Romance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kORu9bjnUuw
Adams Song --- Blink182 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MRdtXWcgIw
"Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I
Not only is it a catchy tune but the lyrics paint an interesting story. The whole song is a conversation between a couple except the man is dead and the woman is not handling it so well.
It is not evident if the mans voice is from his ghost and the woman cant hear it, or if she is imagining both sides of the conversation, regardless its very interesting. I wont go into the whole song but part of the refrain deserves some merit.
Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore
Although she does not know what will happen to us when we die, she takes comfort in the fact that they will be in the same place.
This exemplifies one of the key reasons our culture believes in an afterlife. As humans we create far more meaningful relataionships than any other animal. Its safe to say that losing someone close to you is a bit like loseing part of you. And when a significant other dies sometimes we find it hard to believe that, no, we refuse to believe that we will not see them again. And this is why the idea of an afterlife is so comforting.
Oh god! How come no one has mentioned "Sound of Silence" so far? Its by Simon and Garfunkel. I think its about death but I could be wrong. Its a simple melody with a dismal yet comforting feel to it. The song opens with the classic
ReplyDelete"Hello the darkness my old friend..."
I believe this is an individual speaking to his perception of death personified. Unlike most of us he is comfortable with the notion of death and dying and has thought to great lengths what it means to die. He goes on...
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.
I think he is critisizing the people who go through life without sharing or doing anything meaningful. He notices that these people typically go to great lengths to avoid "the sound of silence" (which is a creative way to flesh out the conception of death) This means that the people who don't acknowledge that they will die eventually, go through life without truly appreciating it. This brings up the arguement we discussed earlier this year about the fear of death being a motivator of the living. And why it is healthy to fear death.
I personally think all music allows me to delve into deeper thoughts. It really frees my mind and lets all of my creativity and logic flow freely and reach conclusions that may have once seemed ridiculous. I use music for background noise in nearly everything I do for this reason. The greatest thing about music is that there is such a variety and it's all really great stuff!
ReplyDelete