“Late” Capital: Amusement and Contradiction in the Contemporary Funeral Industry

The contemporary funeral industry exists in a restive, unsettled state within late capitalism. Drawing on a multi-sited ethnography, I discuss recent crises that have revealed apparent cultural contradictions in the funeral industry. The funeral industry mediates and transforms these inherent contradictions as evidenced by the meanings made available to the consumer (via consumables). I argue that many of these constructed meanings are at odds with one another while still permitting consumers to occupy multiple positions simultaneously. This is accomplished in part due to the incorporation of amusement along multiple levels of the funerary apparatus, from the institutional logic of the industry, to the enacted bereavement rituals of participants. Amusement, then, works to resolve, bracket, and perpetuate contradictions.