XC: COTD # 5 Six Feet Under

 "Pilot." Six Feet Under. HBO: 3 June, 2001. Television. 17 May 2011. 

Six feet under is basically a comedy which revolves around  a family of undertakers. Since their undertakers they have a very interesting kind of sadistic way a living.The first episode starts off with these three siblings who find out their father was killed in a car accident .Nate  who is one of the sons works in Seattle must travel to town to deal with his father's death. Nate's brother David  is a  homosexual(though I'm not sure his family knows this)is secretly sleeping with a male police officer. Their mother Ruth  has to confess that she's been having an affair with a hairdresser. Oh and there is the sister Claire who seems to be the most normal of the family.  Episode one shows you  how family surrounded by death by nature deals with their own personal deaths, kind of how the rest of the world does so. No one is immune to death and everyone suffers at least once because of death.

The Will." Six Feet Under. HBO: 10 June, 2001. Television. 17 May 2011.

 Episode two shows this inventor that dies leaving behind his family to take care of all of his problems and debts. There's not even any money left over for a decent funeral. Nate from episode one comes and offers them some help since he is also grieving for his father's loss.He proposes a unique idea one I've never even heard. He told them to rent out a casket for awake like purposes, and then later on when they gather more money they can cremate their father. This would have been a genius plan but it's currently illegal to sell back a used casket.While the reading of the will takes place , Ruth receives many gifts which include stocks, cash and insurance. As for the the rest of the family the  funeral business ends up getting split  between David and Nate much to Nate's dismay, as for Claire she gets a college fun. Basically everyone wins, how nice is that. Episode two shows an example of  dealing with the death of a family member, and dealing with the legal responsibilities(wills etc). This is a process most people in America go to so it can relate to the audiences which is good.

The Foot." Six Feet Under. HBO: 17 June, 2001. Television. 15 May 2011. 

 Episode three shows  a bakery owner die, which leaves Federico  to take care for the death.The third episode  explores how a family or anybody really can rise pass whatever tragedy their stricken with and go on with their merry lives.

Episodes Consolidation of Dominant Social Practices:

Six Feet Under seems to really focus on the emotional aspect of  care of the dead. It helps prove that the experts, on death are still subject to the emotional/mental, and even physical stress that comes from  death. Just like with Birth even doctors get sick, while being doctor may help reduce this chances it can't stop it from happening. With death even undertakes die/have to deal with personal death's, while being an undertaker may reduce the stress associated with death it doesn't stop it from happening.

Six Feet Under is an interesting show because it attempts to challenge the dominant social practices of grieving for the deceased. Six Feet under shows that no matter how much time and effort we put in there is no way guaranteed way to prepare yourself for death. Six Feet Under does challenge the idea of being able to move past the seemly impossible grievance period. Each episode revolves around death in a different way. As of episode three I don't see how's it's possible for this family to escape the idea of death I mean they do come from an undertaker family after all.