Abstract
This thesis examines the personalisation of Pakeha (European) post-mortem practices in New Zealand. While much of the discourse surrounding funerary and disposal processes maintains that contemporary practices demonstrate a 'denial' of death and funeral director esurience, funeral directors themselves have argued that the austere Anglophone approach to death has been superseded by personalised practices. This transformation has become particularly evident in the last two decades and emphasises a historic shift to funeral services that encompass the heterogeneity of late-modern individuals. The aim of this thesis, however, is not to recapitulate funeral director rhetoric or reiterate the criticisms levelled at the industry, but to critically examine the implications and manifestations of personalisation, and explore the funeral directors' role in the provision of contemporary funeral services. In addition to archival research, this ethnographic endeavour includes in-depth interviews with funeral directors (and related occupational groups) and an extended period of participant observation. The theoretical issues explored in this thesis are grounded in this ethnographic data.
This study reveals that personalisation is integrally linked to constructions of grief, the pastoral role of funeral directors, and Foucault's concept of bio-power. Funeral director participants asseverated that funeral practices had 'evolved' to effect the 'healthy' resolution of grief. Personalised funerals represented a re-alignment of 'natural' human needs and cultural practices, and funeral director rhetoric amalgamated essentialist interpretations of grief with personalised memories and continuing bonds (Klass and Walter 2001). Funeral directors explicitly linked personalisation to secularisation, emphasising the perceived lack of 'guidance' and 'care' in contemporary society. Although 'impersonal' religious funerals provided funeral specialists with an important point of departure, many funeral directors emphasised the pastoral dimension of contemporary funeral directing. This dimension constitutes a key component of the funeral directors' role and permeated all facets of funeral service - particularly the increasing range of after-care funeral options.
Although the funeral director rhetoric emphasises the democratisation of funeral practices and the primacy of individuality, an examination of the discourse reveals that this personalisation also demonstrates the normalising technologies integral to Foucault's concept of 'pastoral power'. I argue that funeral directors play a significant role in articulating the boundaries of 'appropriate' funeral behaviour by accentuating the importance of 'authenticity', 'dignity' and 'healthy grief'. These concepts underline the expertise of funeral directors, define the acceptable parameters of post-mortem practices, and reify the integral involvement of funeral directors in the construction process. The specific subjectivity promoted by funeral directors constitute individuals that are not only 'honest' and 'real', but recognise the 'need' for a funeral service, emotional expression, and memorialisation. These individuals similarly realise the importance of integrating the deceased into their own biographies, while acknowledging the significance of guidance and control. This subjectivity clearly legitimises the role of the contemporary New Zealand funeral director. This thesis illustrates, therefore, that funeral directors play a salient role in articulating bio-power within New Zealand society, and that this endeavour is integrally linked to the occupations' continuing pursuit of professional identity.