ABSTRACT
The discrepancy in the value of the dead is the result of the links between power, politics and hegemonic discourse grounded in broader ideologies and structures of neoliberalism. After all, capitalism has led to the appropriation of oppressed groups, their experiences and narratives, the treatment of the dead and the continuation of inequalities associated with the neoliberal capitalistic system. The disparity of costs is resulting in families choosing the economic option of cremation as the national cremation rate surpassed 50 percent of all the dead in the United States. The fascination with dead celebrities under late modernity is much more than a ‘reasonable’ extension of our culture’s obsession with the lives of celebrities. Likewise, the dead that have served as agents of the state are granted, though with less fanfare, a similar discourse to that of celebrities: they are heroes and, as such, have value in their life due to their death.
