Misplaced Pages

#971028

56-560: Tom Thompson, 25, still lives with his mother. A former high school classmate's mother, Ruth Abernathy, calls to say his "best friend", Bill, died by suicide, asking him to give his eulogy. Not remembering him, nevertheless he agrees to be a pallbearer . Meanwhile, his high school crush, Julie DeMarco, reappears in town. At the funeral, Tom's vague and impersonal eulogy confuses the Abernathys and amuses his friends. Julie, upset at their disrespect, tries to leave as they carry Bill's casket out of

112-480: A United States federal regulation , 16 CFR Part 453 (known as the Funeral Rule ), if a family provides a casket they purchased elsewhere (for example from a United States retail warehouse store, as illustrated here), the establishment is required to accept the casket and use it in the services. If the casket is delivered direct to the funeral home from the manufacturer or store, they are required to accept delivery of

168-412: A deceased person, it can also be called a pall , a term that also refers to the cloth used to cover the coffin while those who carry a casket are the pallbearers . Coffins are traditionally made with six sides plus the top (lid) and bottom, tapered around the shoulders, or rectangular with four sides. Another form of four-sided coffin is trapezoidal (also known as the "wedge" form) and is considered

224-430: A pauper's funeral was paid for by the parish, the coffin might have been made of the cheapest, thinnest possible pine . At the other extreme, a coffin bought privately by a wealthy individual might have used yew or mahogany with a fine lining, plated fittings and brass decorations, topped with a decorated velvet drape. In modern times coffins are almost always mass-produced. Some manufacturers do not sell directly to

280-491: A putrefied liquefaction of the body, and all putrefied tissue remains inside the container, only to be exposed in the event of an exhumation. A container that allows air to pass in and out, such as a simple wooden box, allows for clean skeletonization . However the situation will vary according to soil or air conditions, and climate. Coffins are made of many materials, including steel, various types of wood, and other materials such as fiberglass or recycled kraft paper . There

336-605: A rectangular box, often with a split lid used for viewing the deceased as seen in the picture. Receptacles for cremated and cremulated human ashes (sometimes called cremains) are called urns . First attested in English in 1380, the word coffin derives from the Old French cofin , from Latin cophinus , which means basket , which is the latinisation of the Greek κόφινος ( kophinos ), basket . The earliest attested form of

392-400: A coffin made of wood or other materials like particle board or low-density fibreboard. Others will rent a regular casket for the duration of the services. These caskets have a removable bed and liner which is replaced after each use. There are also rental caskets with an outer shell that looks like a traditional coffin and a cardboard box that fits inside the shell. At the end of the services

448-417: A dark comedy and a romantic one, The Pallbearer confounds, and David Schwimmer's puppy dog eyes can't save the procession from going six feet under." Pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral . They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between

504-591: A double date. At dinner, Julie and Scott click, while conversation between Tom and Julie is stilted. Scott mentions that Tom still lives with his mother. Disgusted by Scott, Tom reluctantly drives Julie home. Arriving, she reveals she remembers him in high school. As Tom leans in for a kiss, Julie turns and they knock heads. She apologizes for giving off the wrong signals, as she is moving away. Rejected at his second job interview, Tom goes to Ruth's to help pack Bill's room. Looking through old photos of Bill, they kiss and have sex. She tells him about Bill's father, who died in

560-472: A job and moves into Julie's apartment while she is on her trip. Miramax Films won an auction in October 1994 for the spec script written by Reeves and Jason Katims , initially paying $ 400,000. Reeves was known for co-writing Under Siege 2: Dark Territory and Katims as a story editor on the television show My So-Called Life . J. J. Abrams supervised the writers during the writing process and co-produced

616-411: A set of similar white gowns for pallbearers which remained in the church. If a funeral occurs, pallbearers could come from the fields and swap them with their work clothes. Carriages were built specially made for pallbearers so that 6 people can proceed comfortably or two closed carriages would be used. The 2 leading pallbearers, funeral director and clergyman, would be in the first carriage. The rest of

SECTION 10

#1732913830972

672-508: A tow truck takes Tom and Julie back to his house, as he sneaks into his mother's room to get her car keys, she enters his room. Tom reveals he once wanted to dance with her at a school dance and she kisses him. Falling into Tom's bed, Ruth calls, knowing Julie is there with him. When Tom seeks advice from Brad, he suggests mailing the bracelet with a letter to end things with Ruth. He does so and continues dating Julie. On her birthday, she asks him to meet her parents. That morning, Tom sees Ruth with

728-467: A tradition that already existed in Accra where the kings were using figurative palanquins in the forms of their family symbol. And as those chiefs who were using figurative palanquins had to be buried in a coffin looking like their palanquin, their families used figurative coffins which were formerly nothing else than the copies of the design palanquins. Today figurative coffins are of course no more reserved for

784-467: A variant of the six-sided hexagonal kind of coffin. Continental Europe at one time favoured the rectangular coffin or casket, although variations exist in size and shape. The rectangular form, and also the trapezoidal form, is still regularly used in Germany, Austria, Hungary and other parts of Eastern and Central Europe, with the lid sometimes made to slope gently from the head down towards the foot. Coffins in

840-419: A year to be on her own. Julie then invites Tom to a concert. Arriving at Ruth's, Tom is rushed to an Abernathy family gathering. He realizes Ruth had overheard him talking to Julie about their date later that evening. When Tom's car breaks down, Julie finds Ruth's charm bracelet, so he tells her he has been helping Bill Abernathy's mother since the funeral. She mistakenly assumes it's a platonic friendship. After

896-895: Is emerging interest in eco-friendly coffins made of purely natural materials such as bamboo , X-Board , willow or banana leaf. In the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century in the United States, glass coffins were widely sold by travelling salesmen, who also would try to sell stock of the companies making the coffins. Custom coffins are occasionally created and some companies also make set ranges with non-traditional designs. These include printing or painting of peaceful tropical scenes, sea-shells, sunsets, cherubim, and patriotic flags. Some manufacturers have designed them to look like gym carry bags, guitar cases, cigar humidors, and even yellow dumpster bins. Other coffins are left deliberately blank so that friends and family can inscribe final wishes and thoughts upon them to

952-621: Is packed with dried grasses. Sometimes coffins are constructed to permanently display the corpse, as in the case of the glass-covered coffin of the Haraldskær Woman on display in the Church of Saint Nicolai in Vejle , Denmark or the glass-coffins of Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong , which are in Red Square , Moscow and Tiananmen Square , Beijing , respectively. When a coffin is used to transport

1008-424: Is possible that some would be chosen from each of these societies. The leaders of each society should be informed of the plan, in order to properly appoint their members. There is a tradition in a couple of places where trained pallbearers were chosen by funeral directors. When this happens, pallbearers acknowledge their duties and position, and are not required to go into details on the subject during that time. If

1064-653: The Dawenkou culture (4100–2600 BC) site at Chengzi, Shandong . The thickness of the coffin, as determined by the number of timber frames in its composition, also emphasized the level of nobility , as mentioned in the Classic of Rites , Xunzi and Zhuangzi . Examples of this have been found in several Neolithic sites: the double coffin, the earliest of which was found in the Liangzhu culture (3400–2250 BC) site at Puanqiao, Zhejiang, consists of an outer and an inner coffin, while

1120-761: The Greater Accra Region . These colourful objects, which are not only coffins, but considered real works of art, were shown for the first time to a wider Western public in the exhibition Les Magiciens de la terre at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris in 1989. The seven coffins shown in Paris were done by Seth Kane Kwei (1922–1992) and by his former assistant Paa Joe (b. 1947). Since then coffins of Kane Kweis successors Paa Joe , Daniel Mensah , Kudjoe Affutu or Eric Adjetey Anang and others have been displayed in many international art museums and galleries around

1176-504: The war . Tom tells Ruth about Bill's fictitious love interest based completely on his own infatuation with Julie, and they continue to see each other. Tom spies on Julie working at a record store from his car. One day, at closing time, he sees her let Scott into the store, who then kisses her. When Scott sees Tom, he drives off. The next morning, Julie tells Tom about Scott's kiss, not knowing he had witnessed it. Reminiscing about high school band, she tells him she wants to just drive away for

SECTION 20

#1732913830972

1232-450: The 19th century. The handles and other ornaments (such as doves, stipple crosses, crucifix , symbols etc.) that go on the outside of a coffin are called fittings (sometimes called 'coffin furniture' – not to be confused with furniture that is coffin shaped) while organizing the inside of the coffin with fabric of some kind is known as "trimming the coffin". Cultures that practice burial have widely different styles of coffins. In Judaism ,

1288-466: The 19th century. Another way to indulge in funeral ceremonies included objects such as golden palls, royal horses, and expensive wax tapers. The funeral van with the coffin-bearers holding the corners of the pall follows, with the pallbearers beneath the pall actually supporting the casket. In the 19th century, white was worn in the British countryside for mourning. For example, the village of Piddington had

1344-611: The King is alive or dead. Pallbearers in the US and Canada most commonly carry a casket by the handles, and at around waist height. In the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and most countries in Asia, the coffin is often carried on the shoulders. There are typically 6 to 8 pallbearers depending on the size and weight of the coffin. In Scandinavia, the casket is carried by three straps, which go under

1400-520: The UK are mainly similar to the hexagonal design, but with one-piece sides, curved at the shoulder instead of having a join. In Medieval Japan, round coffins were used, which resembled barrels in shape and were usually made by coopers . In the case of a death at sea, there have been instances where trunks have been pressed into use as coffins. Coffins usually have handles on the side so they will be easier to carry. They may incorporate features that claim to protect

1456-409: The body or for public health reasons. For example, some may offer a protective casket that uses a gasket to seal the casket shut after it is closed for the final time. In England, it has long been law that a coffin for interment above ground should be sealed; this was traditionally implemented as a wooden outer coffin around a lead lining, around a third inner shell. After some decades have passed,

1512-435: The casket has been lowered, the pallbearers on the right side of the casket (the heart of the deceased) then pull the straps off. Further, chief mourners and attendants such as pallbearers and canopy usually wore mourning gowns with hoods. The act of putting on of particular mourning clothing, along with offering food, and burial banquet were ancient practices preserved by European Renaissance burial traditions that lasted till

1568-404: The casket; the pallbearers on each side take their side of the strap over their shoulders and the casket itself is suspended by the straps on knee height. The advantage of this method is that the weight of the casket is distributed on the shoulders of the pallbearers, and the casket can be lowered immediately to the grave, as the pallbearers will simply walk lengthwise on each side of the grave. Once

1624-405: The church path is narrow and the turns are sharp which may be hard to go past with pallbearers, a coffin carriage might be used. Otherwise the coffin can be lifted to the altar and placed down by the pallbearers. Unless the state of the street is that the coffin cannot be removed from the hearse standing near the curbing, it would not be backed up at either the church or house. Allocated seating for

1680-453: The church. Tom drags the casket and the rest of the pallbearers after Julie. Upon being asked if she knew Bill, she admits she didn't but was saddened to see him in the casket. Asking her out upsets Bill's relatives, so he's forcefully relieved of his duties as pallbearer. Visibly upset, Ruth tells Tom he is in Bill's will. Afterwards, Tom calls Julie and she requests Scott and Cynthia come along for

1736-595: The coffin must be plain, made of wood and contain no metal parts or adornments. These coffins use wooden pegs instead of nails. All Jews are buried in the same plain cloth shroud from shoulder to knees, regardless of status in life, gender or age. In China , coffins made from the scented, decay-resistant wood of cypress , sugi , thuja and incense-cedar are in high demand. Certain Aboriginal Australian groups use intricately decorated tree-bark cylinders sewn with fibre and sealed with adhesive as coffins. The cylinder

The Pallbearer - Misplaced Pages Continue

1792-429: The coffin. However, no coffin, regardless of its construction material ( e.g. , metal rather than wood), whether or not it is sealed, and whether or not the deceased was embalmed beforehand, will perfectly preserve the body. In some cases, a sealed coffin may actually speed up rather than slow down the process of decomposition. An airtight coffin, for example, fosters decomposition by anaerobic bacteria , which results in

1848-406: The dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewelry , use of the word "casket" in this sense began as a euphemism introduced by the undertaker 's trade. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" and "caskets", using "coffin" to refer to a tapered hexagonal or octagonal (also considered to be anthropoidal in shape) box and "casket" to refer to

1904-415: The dead. Thus, this leads up to the ‘ending’ ritual on the last day. In every tradition of Buddhism, there seem to be spiritualist who communicates with the dead at the request of the pallbearer. Usually, the primary reason is to make sure that there has been sufficient merit produced by the deceased's family to prevent an unwanted rebirth. The arrangement for Princess Louisa 's funeral during 1768, held

1960-509: The deceased. In Taiwan , coffins made of crushed oyster shells were used in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 1990s, the rock group Kiss released a customized Kiss Kasket , which featured their trademark makeup designs and KISS logo and could also be used as a cooler. Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was buried in one. Design coffins in Ghana , also called Fantasy coffins or figurative coffins, are only made by specialized carpenters in

2016-403: The deceased. This type of pallbearer is most often a gentleman in the profession of the deceased who has achieved significant merit within their position. A pall is a heavy cloth that is draped over a coffin . Thus the term pallbearer is used to signify someone who "bears" the coffin which the pall covers. In Roman times, a soldier wore a cape or cloak called the pallium. In medieval times

2072-438: The envelope and sneaks away. At brunch with Julie's parents, her father disapproves of them. As Tom begs Julie to not leave for a year, Ruth barges into the restaurant, humiliating him. At Brad's bachelor party, Tom makes a scene, telling him not to marry Lauren, calling her an albatross around his neck and that Scott agrees. The next day, Scott apologizes to Tom and they reconcile. Talking about their childhood, they realize there

2128-470: The figurative palanquins which had existed already a long time. With the resurgence of cremation in the Western world , manufacturers have begun providing options for those who choose cremation. For a direct cremation a cardboard box is sometimes used. Those who wish to have a funeral visitation (sometimes called a viewing ) or traditional funeral service will use a coffin of some sort. Some choose to use

2184-408: The film. The Pallbearer opened at number 9 at the US box office in its opening weekend (5/3-5) with $ 2,319,236. By the end of its run, the film had made $ 7,656,388 in the United States and Canada. The review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes reported that 48% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The consensus summarizes: "Between

2240-521: The first announcement that women were to be utilised as contributors of the pall at the funeral. Garter King of Arms then promptly notified the Lord Chamberlain that ladies had only gone into a funeral process by mourning or attendants under the chief mourners. To hold the ends of the pall draped over casket or to transport the coffin was a tremendous honour. The ability of pallbearers to come towards royalty which only few were allowed to, be it whether

2296-434: The funeral service and during then the casket would be carried. Thirdly, pallbearers are carrying the casket to one's final resting area after the funeral. Depending on the tradition, pallbearers would either carry the coffin on their shoulders or by their waist. At times additional pallbearers, known as honorary pallbearers, walk either behind or directly in front of the casket in a showcase of supplemental distinction towards

The Pallbearer - Misplaced Pages Continue

2352-457: The individual cemetery . In parts of Sumatra , Indonesia , ancestors are revered and bodies were often kept in coffins kept alongside the longhouses until a ritual burial could be performed. The dead are also disinterred for rituals. Mass burials are also practiced. In northern Sulawesi , some dead were kept in above ground sarcophagi called waruga until the practice was banned by the Dutch in

2408-475: The inner box is removed and the deceased is cremated inside this box. Traditionally, in the Western world, a coffin was made, when required, by the village carpenter , who would frequently manage the whole funeral . The design and workmanship would reflect the skills of that individual carpenter, with the materials and brasses being the materials that were available to the carpenter at the time. In past centuries, if

2464-417: The lead may ripple and tear. In the United States, numerous cemeteries require a vault of some kind in order to bury the deceased. A burial vault serves as an outer enclosure for buried remains and the coffin serves as an inner enclosure. The primary purpose of the vault is to prevent collapse of the coffin due to the weight of the soil above. Some manufacturers offer a warranty on the structural integrity of

2520-556: The pallbearers is usually at the left front pews, once the coffin is placed then pallbearers may sit, and funeral director sits directly behind the coffin. Thus, this shows how societies are impacted by a death of a member and how pallbearers function in short turns. Coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse , for either burial or cremation . Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets , particularly in American English. Any box in which

2576-517: The pallbearers would take the second carriage. Honorary pallbearers are arranged in a similar manner following the active pallbearers. Pallbearers’ carriages would leave a specific place at a certain time in case those who wish to ride to the church or house could meet at that area. If the dead was a member of a fraternity or other societies, the family could likely select that entire group. At Masonic funerals, pallbearers are usually selected from that order. If there are more than one organisation, it

2632-430: The public, and only work with funeral homes. In that case, the funeral director usually sells the casket to a family for a deceased person as part of the funeral services offered, and the price of the casket is included in the total bill for services rendered. Some funeral homes have small showrooms to present families with the available caskets that could be used for a deceased family member. In many modern funeral homes

2688-432: The roles of pallbearers and casket bearer. The former is a ceremonial position, carrying a tip of the pall or a cord attached to it. The latter do the actual heavy lifting and carrying. There may otherwise be pallbearers only in the symbolic sense if the casket is on an animal or vehicle. In Western cultures , the pallbearers are usually male family members, close friends, or colleagues of the deceased. A notable exception

2744-413: The showroom will consist of sample pieces that show only the end pieces of each type of coffin that can be used. They also include samples of the lining and other materials. This allows funeral homes to showcase a larger number of coffin styles without the need for a larger showroom. Other types may be available from a catalogue, including decorative paint effects or printed photographs or patterns. Under

2800-534: The term pallium was shortened to pall. Christians would use a pall to cover their loved ones when burying them. In Ancient Indian Buddhist cultural traditions of grieving, often requires pallbearers to consume a vegetarian diet which excludes garlic, onions, leek and chives. They tend to also abstain from alcohol for at least 49 days after passing. This is thought to be the maximum duration likely between death and rebirth . Hence, acts might be performed frequently during this duration in order to produce merit for

2856-433: The traditional Ga and their kings, many families who use figurative coffins are indeed Christians. For them design coffins have no longer a spiritual function, their appeal is more aesthetic, aimed at surprising mourners with strikingly innovative forms like automobiles or aeroplanes, fish or pigs, onions or tomatoes. So the figurative coffins, rather than constituting a new art form as it was long believed, were developed from

SECTION 50

#1732913830972

2912-583: The triple coffin, with its earliest finds from the Longshan culture (3000–2000 BC) sites at Xizhufeng and Yinjiacheng in Shandong, consists of two outer coffins and one inner. A coffin may be buried in the ground directly, placed in a burial vault or cremated. Alternatively it may be entombed above ground in a mausoleum , a chapel , a church , or in a loculus within catacombs . Some countries practice one form almost exclusively, whereas in others it may depend on

2968-700: The word is the Mycenaean Greek ko-pi-na , written in Linear B syllabic script. The modern French form, couffin , means cradle . The earliest evidence of wooden coffin remains, dated at 5000 BC, was found in the Tomb 4 at Beishouling, Shaanxi . Clear evidence of a rectangular wooden coffin was found in Tomb 152 in an early Banpo site. The Banpo coffin belongs to a four-year-old girl; it measures 1.4 m (4.6 ft) by 0.55 m (1.8 ft) and 3–9 cm thick. As many as 10 wooden coffins have been found at

3024-538: The world. The design coffins of the Ga have long been celebrated in the Western art world as the invention of a single, autonomous artist, the coffin maker Kane Kwei (1924–1992) of Teshie . But as Regula Tschumi shows with her recent research this assumption was false. Design coffins have existed already before Kane Kwei and other Ga carpenters like Ataa Oko (1919–2012) from La have built their first figurative coffins around 1950. Kane Kwei and Ataa Oko had only continued

3080-479: Was another Tom who moved away after junior high. So Tom brings the other Tom to Ruth, who appreciates the gesture to reminisce about her son. They both realize they needed someone at the time, Ruth mourning her son and Tom pining for his childhood crush. At Brad's wedding, Tom patches his friendship with Brad approving of his marriage to Lauren, as Scott and Cynthia also reconcile. Tom also gives Julie his car keys for her trip. She hints that she wants to dance. Tom gets

3136-496: Was the funeral of Lee Harvey Oswald , in which reporters, pressed into service to carry the coffin, outnumbered the mourners. In some African cultures , pallbearers are not family members but are staffs of professional funeral agencies who are paid for their services. The first duty of a pallbearer is to appear at least thirty minutes before the funeral begins as the funeral director can then provide directions. Secondly, they will also be notified on where they are able to sit during

#971028