Funeral Scene from The Bay, Season 3
Do you ever go to watch a "new" series and realize that you've already imbibed? Such is the way of streaming in the 21st century.
On the recommendation of friends we started into the detective series, The Bay, on Britbox, only to quickly discover that we've watched the first two seasons. The upside is that there is now a third season and we're well into it.
One of the episodes includes the funeral of a young man who has been murdered and of course the killer or killers have yet to be caught -- that's why there are multiple episodes. Funerals in movies and series are often odd because they really aren't much like funerals or memorials in real life. Having presided at 500+ I can say this with confidence. One aspect which is consistent is that virtually all these depictions are Christian-esque, even though they tend to be odd mash-ups of different Christian traditions.
The funeral in The Bay is a Muslim service, and includes the ablutions for the body, the gathering for prayers, and the burial. These scenes are quite touching and I commented to Ruth that I can't recall ever seeing a Muslim funeral on the screen before, let alone with sensitivity. The writer of the episode, Furquan Akhtar, offered on Twitter that he was pleased to be able to represent an important aspect of what is presumably his religion in this way.
It's important that diversity is portrayed with sensitivity in films and series, including religious practices. Grief is universal and each religion has developed its own practices to provide meaning for those who mourn. Why not give a window into these different traditions?
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