The episode “Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.” of the TV series One Tree Hill, shows the character Quentin’s funeral. All his friends and their families attend his funeral, mourning his death. They are visibly distressed and sad about his passing. The funeral takes place in a graveyard. The casket is displayed next to different flowers and a cross. Towards the end, we can see Jamie, who was like a nephew to Quentin, lay a cape on the casket.

The voiceover at the beginning of the clip explains: “Grief is like the ocean, it’s deep and dark, and bigger than all of us”. This quote from the episode perfectly describes Ariès’ third attitude towards death. The third death mentality in his book is called ‘your death’, and is solely concerned with the death of the other. As depicted in the video, friends and family are grieving around the casket, mourning the death of their loved one.

According to the author, this behaviour is a critical index for the grave culture. People bury their loved ones in graveyards they can visit and pay their respects. At the end of the video, we can see how Jamie puts a cape on the casket. It is a sentimental object which connects him with the deceased. It forms a link, so the survivor stays connected to and does not forget the dead.

This episode from 2008 shows that Ariès’ different death mentalities, especially ‘your death’ shown in the video, are still traceable in the 21st century. Families still bury their loved ones in graveyards, so they can stay connected and have a place to mourn the deceased. This behaviour indicates that the different death mentalities are still relevant today.