TV commercials for funerals
As I was having dinner (the only time of the day I watch TV), I had the dubious chance to stumble upon two interesting commercials. The first one was for a life insurance, which people could join between 50 and 80 years old. A woman announced with a smile, and not dissimulating her excitement, that it also covered the funeral fees. Oh yes ! Let's buy it !
5 min later (no I didn't change channel, the first series of commercial was over, then we had 2 min of the programme itself, then again commercials), comes the commercial of a tomb maker. A daughter says to her father "Oh that's a nice tomb that you bought there !". Father : "Oh, yes it is, blablah...". Daughter : "Dad, can I also be buried there ?".
So if you also want a nice tomb, call today XY kaisha !
I am pretty sure in a not so distant future, they will use pop stars to sell their funeral business. It will be like "This actress has already reserved her tomb in X cemetery. Increase your chances of meeting in the afterlife with this actress and buy the same model in the same cemetery today ! Call for free 0180-000-die-now or check our website www.join-in-the-grave.co.jp. For 1 million yen, we give you the option of getting a unique funeral ceremony to make sure that your soul will never get hungry in heaven !"
The main programme was not really the most relevant for these commercials, although it did share a common abyss for stupidity. The participants were cooking in a giant "nabe" (casserole) of 5000 litres (6.10m of diametre), for reasons that only the gods can comprehend.
I have to agree and disagree.
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Originally Posted by Maciamo
For some reasons, I don't like the idea of eing cremated. It destroys organic fibers and creates air polution.
Oddly, I have to agree with you. I read about the cremation process some time back and it does not sound appealing to me (especially the part about putting your cooked bones in a grinder to make the pieces uniformly one size).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maciamo
If that was true, why would they need to advertise funeral services to people who are alive, so that they can choose which one they want for themselves ? Most people decide whether they are going to be buried/cremated, according to what religion/sect's style, in which cemeterry, and many actually buy their tomb before dying. Some people have clear lists of instructions of what music to play at the funeral, what flowers they want or don't want on their tomb, etc. Rich people may have a huge memorial tomb built in their honour, or for the whole family. So in my opinion, all this is to satisfied the desires and pride of the person, not really for their family, especially if they have to support the costs.
Still, who is going to "enjoy" the service? It sure isn't going to be the deceased. As you said, often times it is the dead person who pre-arranges his/her services. There's a lot of ego involved on how that person wants their send-off to be like. It is putting on a show for their family and friends. If the family member handles the services, this doesn't do the dead person any favors. It is for the survivors' own comfort. Like I said, funerals are for the living.