[My Mother, My Friend] This short film emotionally enveloped me. It portrayed death as the random, frightening, tragic fact of life that it is. In the protagonist's reflection on the moments leading up to her mother’s death, I was on the edge of my seat and lost for breath. However, despite her honesty and bravery for sharing this story, she lost me in the final frame.
As an atheist, to me death is the end. That is what makes it sad, and that is what makes life so special. I feel the prospect of Heaven and eternal life, whilst understandably comforting in moments of death, is contrary to evidence and merely wishful thinking. To me, it belittles the importance of living in the moment, as well the emotionally devastating reality of losing a loved one.
The hopeful and tranquil notion of Heaven - no doubt one of the most widely held beliefs in our society - comes so naturally to us that we do not realise the logical and rational contradictions of the concept unless we stop and think about it clearly.
Still, I learnt from this film, as much as I've learnt with my own experiences of death, that we must live each day as if it could be our last, and to make it known to those close to us how much we love and appreciate them.
Lost on the final frame
[My Mother, My Friend] This short film emotionally enveloped me. It portrayed death as the random, frightening, tragic fact of life that it is. In the protagonist's reflection on the moments leading up to her mother’s death, I was on the edge of my seat and lost for breath. However, despite her honesty and bravery for sharing this story, she lost me in the final frame.
As an atheist, to me death is the end. That is what makes it sad, and that is what makes life so special. I feel the prospect of Heaven and eternal life, whilst understandably comforting in moments of death, is contrary to evidence and merely wishful thinking. To me, it belittles the importance of living in the moment, as well the emotionally devastating reality of losing a loved one.
The hopeful and tranquil notion of Heaven - no doubt one of the most widely held beliefs in our society - comes so naturally to us that we do not realise the logical and rational contradictions of the concept unless we stop and think about it clearly.
Still, I learnt from this film, as much as I've learnt with my own experiences of death, that we must live each day as if it could be our last, and to make it known to those close to us how much we love and appreciate them.