By Chenxi Hu (A2 Media Studies)

With the upcoming sequel to the well-known animation film “CoCo” (寻梦环游记), I decided to watch this impressive movie again to re-experience the inexpressible feeling I gained when I was young. With the increase in age, newer life experiences have shed more light on the topic of “death”, a topic most Chinese family avoid discussing with the young. Through this article I will introduce how different cultures view “death” in language of movies and my view on “death”.

The story in “CoCo” took place on the Day of the Dead, the most popular and important festival in Mexico. A little boy Miguel accidentally fell into a crowded, colorful, and lively world filled with skeletons. He then began his journey of searching for his deceased music idol in this world, and all sorts of bizarre and interesting things followed suit.

I was totally amazed by the atmosphere and people’s behavior on the Day of the Dead. People wearing special make-ups of skeletons decorate the graves of their deceased family members. They wait until the new day to celebrate the Day, which brings separated families back together. The marigold, an orange flower representing death, fills roadsides and the local cemetery. People spend a day singing, having fun, and parading through the city. They do not mourn for death but celebrate and make merry to memorialize it. One sentence to summarize the Day of the Dead would be – a nationwide carnival to commemorate death.

In contrast to many other cultures, the Mexican philosophy of death is really unique and intriguing. In stark contrast, in East Asian cultures, people’s behaviors related to death strongly indicate their uneasiness about it. The word “death” and its synonyms are strictly forbidden on happy occasions, especially during holidays. They also decided to avoid using the number “four” because the number has a similar pronunciation to the word “death”.

From another perspective, this feeling is best expressed through congratulatory phrases centered on longevity. “Wishing you live as long as the South Mountain” (寿比南山) is most frequently used to congratulate an elder on his birthday. It would be a terrible mistake to give a clock (钟) as a gift, simply because the pronunciation of the word “clock” is the same as that of the word “ending”.

These remind me of a movie I watched a few years ago called “The Farewell” (别告诉她). It tells the story of a grandmother who was diagnosed with cancer, but the family chose to hide this condition and to ease her feelings. The family used a fake wedding as an excuse to gather all family members to visit her for the last chance. This film depicts people’s reactions to such events in an authentic way. It is fairly similar to what happened to one of my close relatives several years ago. In traditional opinions, death is frowned upon. If people know they are going to die, their opinions and mental health can deteriorate and speed up the dying further. This is why although the person dying has the right to know, the family members always tell a “white lie” in most cases.

Why do the Chinese people shun the topic of death? The answer might be the so-called “superstitious view” of death. As an essential component of Chinese culture, Taoists (道教) believe in cultivation and prolongation of life, but this belief was later misunderstood and distorted into a longing for “no death” (不死). In the Han Dynasty, many people were sent overseas by the Emperor to search for “drugs of no death.” The term “no death” was lavishly used to name many things, such as “no death people,” “no death country,” and “no death water.” Eventually, a new immortality cult evolved from this worldly desire for longevity, and death began to be seen by the Chinese people as something bad that should be avoided.

So, how should we view death? Most people have probably thought about this question as a child at one insomniac night. My opinion is that we should not consider “life” and “death” to be positive or negative. “Living” is not always a good thing. For example, people might lose the motivation and desire to achieve career successes, accumulate wealth or uncover world’s mysteries. In contrast, if we know we are going to die next month due to World War III, we are more likely to do something meaningful and take every moment of living as a treasure, such as taking time with our family. We should clearly realize our time is really limited; what we can do for society, for our families, and for ourselves is finite, so we can know how important the moment now we are having.

Moreover, I love the concept of the Dead World in “CoCo.” It’s a place where people continue to “live” as soon as someone recalls them in the real world. Only when there is no one left in the living world who remembers you, you disappear from that world. The concept greatly emphasized the family relationship, and contribution to not only yourself but the whole society, so someone will always remember you.

To me, it seems to be a perfect definition of “living” and “dying.”