Communicative Commemoration and Graveside Shrines: Jim Morrison, Princess Diana, My ‘Bro’ Max, and Boogs the Cat
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Spontaneous Shrines and Public Memorializations of Death
Publisher
Palgrave MacMillan
Publication Date
2006
First Page
17
Last Page
40
Abstract
Shrines mark hallowed spots; they are composed of culturally or personally significant relics. We travel to shrines to express our devotion and pain, to ask for help, to reach toward other worlds, to remember, and to heal. In this article, I discuss several types of contemporary shrines and detail some of the behaviors surrounding them. While I do not attempt to be exhaustive; I do present specific examples of some common kinds of secular folk shrines, which are part of a material process of communicative commemoration. The shrines I examine include spontaneous shrines, official shrines, roadside shrines, and especially graveside shrines. I delineate the manner in which these shrines are related to each other and also their differing and distinctive features. Finally, I consider spontaneous shrines as a manifestation of consumer culture.
Recommended Citation
“Communicative Commemoration and Graveside Shrines: Jim Morrison, Princess Diana, My ‘Bro’ Max, and Boogs the Cat.” In Spontaneous Shrines and Public Memorializations of Death, ed. Jack Santino, pp. 17-40. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
