The Day Of The Dead: Positive Outlook In Movie Coco
The movie portrays Coco’s grief and death throughout. The film shows death and loss with a hopeful outlook. The Mexican tradition honors the deceased by celebrating the day of dead. Families gather to prepare food and celebrate the memory of loved ones. Mama Coco’s memory is used in the film. She’s the great-grandmother Miguel. She has a memory problem and does not recall her father. Miguel undertakes an adventure in order to uncover the truth regarding Coco’s dad. This film shows the importance of family by using both methods.
The film Coco takes places on El Dia De Los Muertos or the day of dead. Mexico is the place where this tradition began. The day of dead is when people honor and remember their dead relatives by making an altar. Families offer food, sweets and goodies to the altar. Candles are also lit in memory of the deceased. The day of the deceased is believed to be a time for the spirits to visit their loved ones on earth. Miguel, Coco’s grandson, is Miguel in the Coco movie. Music is not allowed in Miguel’s home, as it is believed Coco’s Dad abandoned Coco and Coco’s mother to pursue his career as a professional musician. Miguel’s family views music as a bad omen. Miguel’s dead family members, with the exception of Mama Coco’s father are placed on an alter for the Day of The Dead. They don’t care about him at all because he is a forgotten man. Miguel wants to learn more about the grandfather he never knew. Mama Coco has memory loss, and Miguel is unable to hear any of her memories.
Miguel is a music lover and wants to be a musician. He is cursed for stealing Ernesto de la Cruz’s Guitar and crossing over into the Land of the Dead. Miguel makes a trip to Ernesto de la Cruz’s house to get what he refers to as the musicians blessing. On his journey, Miguel discovers who his true great-grandfather really is. He also learns about the fate of those who die without being remembered. His great-grandfather Hector is one such person. Miguel sings Remember Me at the end and Mama Coco remembers Hector singing it to her when she first started.
Coco deals with grief and death. The film shows how death can be embraced more positively. This film also shows that memory is important because Coco remembers her dad’s memories after hearing a certain song.
Culture is important in determining how people view death. In some cultures the acceptance of death as an inevitable part is encouraged. Coco’s dying is celebrated in the movie. On the day of death, a talent competition is held. The cemetery is decorated with flowers and candles in the scene when Miguel steals Ernesto de La Cruz’s Guitar. The background is filled with fireworks. The families coming together in celebration of their loved one’s gives off a sense of harmony and joy. The research shows that people who hold religious or mystical beliefs have an easier time coping with death. This is because they are more likely to believe in a future life, and also because their social support comes from religious or mystical associations.
The film portrays grief in a positive light. Miguel tells Miguel’s baby sister to always remember her loved ones. The altar also has Mama Coco’s photo, which means she is in the afterlife. “Ninetyfour% of studies have shown some positive effects from religious/spiritual convictions on bereavement. There was, however, a wide range of inclusion populations and outcome measurement”.
The film was for children and it presented a positive attitude towards death. It is inevitable that everyone will die. This does NOT mean that you are forgotten because of your death. The film portrays neutral acceptance of the death. Neutral acceptance is the view that death is a part of everyday life.
The death of a close relative is a difficult experience for everyone. Death is portrayed in the film as a celebration, but that may not be true. Some people might feel confused, angry or sad. Kubler Ross suggested five stages for grief: denial and anger, bargaining and depression, as well as acceptance. Counseling is a great option for those who need help coping with grief.
Memory is the ability to store, retrieve, and encode information over a period of time. The hippocampus plays a role in spatial and recognition memory. Mama Coco greeted Miguel at the beginning and called him Julio. Mama Coco doesn’t remember Hector, either. Miguel tells us at the start of the film that Mama Coco struggles to remember things. Her age can be a factor. She has a memory problem. If she’s a great grandmother, then she must be very old. Memory loss is a common problem as we age. Coco’s development is nearing the end of adulthood. The brain can also stop functioning optimally at 60 years old, resulting in problems such as dementia and Alzheimer’s later on.
Mama Coco was in her world when Miguel first talked to her. There were no emotions displayed and she refused to speak. Miguel begged Coco not to forget her dad Hector when he returned. He played the song Remember Me because Hector used to sing it to Coco every day as a child. Coco was very attached to the song. Coco begins to sing along, and she remembers her father Hector. Hearing the song impacted her and helped her retrieve this memory. The results of the explicit memory test confirm previous findings that AD patients are heavily dependent on familiarity. They also indicate that there could be limitations to what music can do for memory recognition.
Hector confronts Ernesto. He recalls how Ernesto poisoned and stole his songs to make him famous. After telling Miguel about Coco, his daughter, he then tells him another memory. “This memory could be a personal memory, because he has personally experienced it.” Hector only wanted to know the truth and that his wife and daughter would forgive him. Imelda and Coco, Hector’s wives, thought Hector had abandoned them, but he was actually poisoned by Ernesto. Imelda and Ernesto were reunited after the film’s end.
Coco, as a movie, has a psychological reference to death and grieving. This film showed the use of memory throughout. Coco would have lost Hector forever if she hadn’t been able remember him. There were also references to memories, such as Hector’s memory of his family.
The movie had a positive take on death, grief and loss. They chose to show people as happy and joyful instead of sad. Many people associate death with darkness and gloominess. But in this film, the bright colors were used. The film had a happier outlook.
