Conclusion

Abstract

If the majority of scholars are to be believed we are on the cusp of entering a new era in our relationship with death. A topic that was taboo for most of the twentieth century now seems to be experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. All of a sudden death is becoming a mentionable subject again, whereas it had been largely avoided previously, something to be hidden away rather than publicly discussed. Only during the latter part of the past century did death begin to make its reappearance, and the news media are believed to have played a role in this. We don’t know for certain whether increased public discussion of death is caused by increased media coverage, or vice versa. Other social developments are likely to play their part also. Yet, undoubtedly, we are now exposed to a multitude of mediated representations of death through newspapers, news broadcasts and, especially, the Internet.