DEATH DENIAL AT THE MOVIES

Dear Friends,

The holidays are finally here! There is no better time to snuggle up with a blanket and watch movies about…death denial! You heard that right. Film captures elements of the human experience with complexities ripe for Beckerian analysis. With gratitude to film buff and Terror Management Theory co-founder Jeff Greenberg (and his colleagues), this edition of our newsletter is dedicated to Beckerian film reviews.

But before you queue up the movies and start popping the popcorn, please take a moment to reflect on the work of the Ernest Becker Foundation.

Among our efforts to spread knowledge of Becker’s synthesis, in 2019 the EBF:

• Sponsored 10 research awards at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s annual conference for young scholars whose research is influenced by Becker’s ideas.

• Interviewed authors such as Caitlin Doughty and Corinne Masur, as well as social science researchers, doctors, psychiatrists, spiritual practitioners, poets, and even a former politician, all of whom cite personal and professional benefit from applying Becker’s ideas.

• Participated in workshops, film screenings, educational seminars like Seattle’s recent “Deathsploration,” and panel discussions about Becker’s work.

In addition to outreach efforts, the EBF continues to produce educational materials focused on mortality’s influence on human behavior. Supported by expert interviews and current empirical research, our recent features have explored death denial’s effects on our relationship to the environment, women’s rights, criminal justice, the medical and mental health fields, and more. Among our plans for next year’s features will be a spotlight on how death reminders in political advertisements influence voters.

We will never “solve” the problem of death, nor can we fundamentally change human nature. The goal is thus not to work against death, but with it. The more we understand ourselves and our response patterns to the human condition—particularly our tendencies towards in-group bias and tribalism in response to confrontations with mortality—the more we can work to mitigate conflict, reduce denial, and respond in more prosocial ways. Research has shown that emphasizing the values of tolerance and common humanity can reduce defensive behavior in the face of mortality. The EBF seeks to spread understanding of these concepts through education and outreach, in the interest of advancing prosocial behaviors and our individual quality of life in turn.

Thank you again for supporting the Ernest Becker Foundation; we hope you share in our belief that Becker’s ideas and all that has sprung from them are of utmost relevance in today’s world, and essential to improving the human experience. We hope that Ernest Becker’s ideas have made a difference in your life and your understanding of the world around you.

Neil Elgee, Founder
Deborah Jacobs, Executive Director
and the EBF family.

Fellini learned…that looking at the world means going beyond appearances, introducing a new and original dramatic dimension and discovering the motivations hidden behind the facts…A human being is not merely a social creature, as he or she is also subject to existential problems. Fellini came to realize that our understanding of reality is devoid of any sense if we ignore the constitutive elements of culture, and more especially the elements involved in the construction of the personality.

–Angel Quintana, Masters of Cinema: Federico Fellini, p. 12

The analysis of human motivation and behavior proposed by Ernest Becker and formalized in terror management theory illuminates many aspects of human experience portrayed in films. In this issue, my colleagues and I we will apply this analysis to some recent provocative and topical independent films. We hope these essays will provide impetus to watch these films for those of you who haven’t and will provide some additional insights into the films for those of you who have. As with all things EBF, our optimal goal is to utilize Becker’s ideas to contribute to abating human cruelty, alleviating suffering, and enhancing life on this planet; or at least provide you a little stimulating food for thought.

—Jeff Greenberg, Co-founder of Terror Management Theory