Kind of a cliche title, I know. But after watching Corrina, Corrina in this class, and Life is Beautiful in my Senior Seminar class, I can't help but point out the obvious. In the movie we watched in this class, humor is not directly aimed at the death of Molly's mother, but the movie itself is considered a comedy. A comedy about death and people in grieving? As a communication major, we would call that modern-day taboo. But speaking in nontechnical terms, it was an awesome movie with a great message that did not seem offensive or taboo in any way.
If anyone has not seen the movie Life is Beautiful (Le Vie Est Bella!), I would highly recommend it. Yes, it is one of those foreign language movies (Italian) but if you take the time to sit through the subtitles, you will gain nothing but respect. This movie also presents humor, but in a different manner than Corrina, Corrina. The characters and main setting in this movie are in a Jewish Concentration Camp. To explain these dramatic measures to his young son, the father tells his son that they are entered into a game (the holocaust), and that if they win (survive), the grand prize will be an army Tank. Throughout the whole movie, the father hides all of the actualities of their fate in this camp, and tries to spin them off as competitions that he and his son must defeat so they can earn more "points" than the other players (prisoners) and be put ahead of the game. It really is a comical adventure, and in every way possible, this movie is taboo. It unquestionably makes fun of possible death and the holocaust. The father is pulling this comedy skit up until the very end of his life, which is sacrificed for his sons safety and freedom.
So when we think that the words "funny," "happy," or "silly,"cannot be related to death, I do not think that it is fair. Not all death or dying situations have to be dark. Sad of course, but there can be light found in anything, even in grieving.
This brought to mind the phrase "too soon?" that is sometimes said after a person makes a joke (about the deceased) at a time that might be said while the grieving process is still going on. This type of humor is taboo, and I feel that it often rude or disrespectful. However, the humor that was shown in Corrina, Corrina was not directed toward Molly's mother's death. Rather, Corrina showed Molly that even though her mother had died, life still could be enjoyed and memories of her mother could still be remembered. Remembering happy memories of someone who died lets us focus on the positive times with the person.
ReplyDeleteWhen you think about it, laughing forces our mouths to smile. What better way to make ourselves happier than to smile? I believe that humor is one truly effective way to cope and to continue to enjoy your relationship with the person who died.
I also really enjoyed the movie Life is Beautiful, but I don't think that was exactly a healthy type of humor. Guido used humor to hide the reality of the situation from his son. In that situation it was definitely the right thing to do, but it it not really applicable to the rest of life. Humor should be used as a part of the grief process. Death is sad, but the best way to grief in my experiences have been to laugh about the funny memories people had of my deceased loved ones. It was about appreciating the times we had with them, and that is what helped me grieve them the best.
ReplyDeleteAs a society we definitely view death as something that should not be discussed, or as being something that has to be dealt with in a specific manner. I have seen both movies and I think along with the humorous aspect it gives a differnt perspective on being open about the idea of death. However I do believe that some of the concepts in Life is Beautiful go against what we discussed in class. I understand that it is important to protect children when possible from the demons of the world but also by turning death into this mystical experience it takes the reality away from it and may even make it harder when reality sets in. With that being said I really enjoyed the comedic aspect displayed in Corrina,Corrina. I think it took a lot of the pressure of the situation off of Mollie to act or be a certain way. It wasn't necessarily the idea of being funny or comedic but moreso just being comfortable and open about the entire process.
ReplyDeleteI also saw the movie "Life is Beautiful" in my senior seminar class with professor diamond. I LOVED it! The class also had to write an essay on whether lying is ever justified. To me, after watching the movie, when lying to his son Joshua, he was doing so to save his life. If he had let Joshua see the despair and hurt and murder going on around him, he would have lost his will to live and would have never made it in the end. Asking whether lying is justified is a hard question to ask because it is so situational. But I truly gained a sense of love for life after this class and after this movie. I actually got a new tattoo that is my favorite EVER! And I thought, what better to express how I want to live my life then having it say, "Life is Beautiful". <3
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