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Why I’m More Drawn To Shows About Death and Dying
I recall some years ago when the short-lived show Dead Like Me premiered on Showtime back when cable TV was royalty. There were only two seasons and I didn’t watch any of them. The center theme about death and grim reapers who are assigned to save remove the souls of people right before they die was unappealing.
Besides, I was quite invested in another more appetizing and engrossing alternative about a family-run funeral home.
Six Feet Under incidentally made its debut not too long after the horrors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. And as someone who suffered the emotional turmoil that followed the brutal aftermath, it was surprising to be drawn to a show that explores the personal and professional aspects of a life-altering rite of passage.
Aside from deliciously complex characters, there was a refreshingly more humanized approach to a subject matter that we understandably run away from for as long as we can manage it.
Director Alan Ball, who is best known for the hit movie, American Beauty, which also does an awesome job of digging deeper into the human psyche for that element of shock and wonder, created Six Feet Under with the intention of exposing the normalized existence of those who aren’t able to blissfully forget that people do in fact die everyday.
