some of the stress away from the funeral. After this ceremony many Japanese "expect nothing" from their families after they die, including a funeral. Controversy There is a lot of controversy surrounding living funerals. Critics believe funerals should be performed after death. They may feel that this is the only way to truly respect the dead. In Japan a living funeral is also considered "a denial of ancestral significance." Living funerals can also be seen as egocentric because the person having the funeral might use it as an opportunity to brag, since listing accomplishments during one's life is often a popular thing to do during this ceremony. However, Mizunoe Takiko, who had a living funeral on television, said that the purpose of her funeral was "to express appreciation to all those who have been dear to me while I am still alive." Fiction Atlanta Coming 2 America Empire Records Futurama (Season 3, Episode 17: "A Pharaoh to Remember") Get Low Hiccups Little House on the Prairie The Living Wake Mrs. Brown's Boys Red vs. Blue The Weather Man The Fault in Our Stars Boston Legal (Season 2, Episode 14) Tom Sawyer Grace and Frankie (Season 2, Episode 12: "The Party") The Good Place (In Season 4, Episode 8, "The Funeral to End All Funerals," the four human characters, who have all died, had their deaths reversed, died again, while also living through 803 rebooted versions of the afterlife, hold a living funeral for themselves in their 804th version of the afterlife, even though one of the characters is unconscious and none of them are technically alive) New Amsterdam (Season 2, Episode 13) Sinterklaas is Coming to Town Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 11, Episode 1) Non-fiction Tuesdays with Morrie One of the more famous living funerals was for Morrie Schwartz, as documented in both the book and film Tuesdays with Morrie and feature Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom as one of the central characters. Living funerals became much more popular because of Tuesdays with Morrie. He brought up the question of why one should wait until he is dead to be appreciated. "What a waste," he said. "All those people saying all those wonderful things, and Irv never got to hear any of it." References Death customs