Alan Ball, known for his film American Beauty and more recently the Vampire series True Blood, decided to set his dark comedy series Six Feet Under about a family run funeral parlour in Los Angeles for a very specific reason: he defines L.A. as the “world capital of the denial of death.”
The show’s subject matter is not just dark but daring – it is highly political for the many issues it depicts throughout the seasons: homophobia, class, religion, sexuality and the war in Iraq to name but a few.
The depiction of the gay couple featured in the show is perhaps one of the best on television, as they are refreshingly presented as just like any other couple, and not strictly present for the sake of their sexuality.
On the surface, there are countless examples of editing scenes in which characters are dealing with difficult and dark situations, which are then followed instantaneously by a strong, contrasting scene of a polar opposite tone. But one of the show’s most unique selling points is its narrative technique, through which the divide between reality and imagination often becomes difficult to determine.
Characters are constantly coming into contact with people who are no longer alive – including their father. Yet this occurs in a persistently realistic manner. The dead do not appear supernaturally and nor do they scare – the dead are simply present to converse, guide and comfort.
It seems unsurprising then that the son of the very founder of magical realism, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, directed a large number of the episodes. Magical realism gives great importance to the presence of the dead in everyday lives, but in a realistic manner that the reader or viewer becomes accustomed to.This unusual concept is aided by acting from the likes of Michael C. Hall, now perhaps more recognisable as Dexter in the eponymous Showtime series.
Though dealing with death makes for a darker tone, by watching the stories of the Fisher family develop, intertwine and mature, in many ways Six Feet Under emerges similar to many other dramas about a family. Yet its hybrid cinematic style, along with its poetic writing and directing, make it a unique watch.