End-of-Life University Ep. 570 Death’s Guide to Life in Art and Popular Culture with Dr. Dean Cantù PhD
Learn how death has been personified throughout history in culture, society, and the arts and what that says about our fear of death and desire to control it.
About the guest:
My guest today is Dr. D. Antonio “Dean” Cantù who is Dean of the College of Health, Education, and Human Sciences at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. He has conducted research on the Personification of Death throughout history in art, music, literature, television, film, and popular culture. He has authored numerous publications and presented 3 TedX talks on this subject and today discusses how death is depicted in various societies and how it provides a better understanding of life. Learn more about his work at his website:
This episode includes:
- How our society could be both fearful of death and obsessed with it at the same time
- Some people delay completing advance directives because they cannot conceive of the idea that they will actually die
- There four major types of personification of Death
- The figure of the Grim Reaper came about during the Black Plague and was an attempt to get some control over the concept of death
- Death is sometimes portrayed as a romantic, seductive figure, which reflects the delicate balance between life and death
- Death can also be portrayed as a friend or comforter, especially in art work, film
- In graphic novels and film death is sometimes portrayed as a superhero
- COVID-19 helped break down some of the walls of our death denial
- How the pendulum swings back and forth between death awareness and avoidance
- There seems to be greater interest in death and dying among college students now
- Death as a teacher for life
Links for this episode:
Resources
Related Episodes
- Cross-Cultural End-of-Life Practices with Gary Wederspahn
- What Forrest Gump Teaches Us About Death and Dying
- Nights of Grief and Mystery with Stephen Jenkinson
Other Links
- Field Guide to What Really Matters
- 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying by Karen Wyatt MD
- Latest post on Substack: Letting Go of Guilt
- What Really Matters Podcast: How Do I Forgive Myself?
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