When the seeds of this story were planted in my mind months ago, I never imagined I would receive the financial and motivational support that I have and so before I delve into the real reason for this post, I want to extend a hearty thank you to everyone, including Spot.us, Anh Do and David Cohn for making the entire process of reporting on a very sad and grim topic enjoyable.
During the research process of "Unclaimed Kin in Los Angeles Piling Up," I came upon a documentary called "A Certain Kind of Death" that I would have probably never discovered were it not for a suggestion from a user on a message board revolving exclusively around people's fascination with death.
Directed by Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh, "A Certain Kind of Death" is not for the faint hearted. Its bleek look into the L.A County Coroner's office and the unclaimed men and women that end up there is very hard to swallow. The 69 minute documentary leaves no stone uncovered - from the actual bodies found, some decomposed so badly, you can almost smell them through your screen to the goings on of the mortuary, where the blood from the bodies trickles into the drains on the floor, before they're put in cardboard boxes and cremated in gigantic ovens where only dust and bones remain.
Two of the coroners investigators that I spoke to in my story - Joyce Kato and David Smith are featured in the film. As stark as it is, Babcock and Hadaegh manage to humanize a few of the people who remain unclaimed, piecing together their lives through photographs, details as well as personal belongings. Perhaps the most poignant and heart breaking story to come out of the documentary is that of Ronald Tanner, a man found in his apartment who essentially knew he was dying and laid out burial plot information and other important documents on a table before more or less bleeding to death. In many ways, the film allows you access to a forbidden and often not talked about segment of society, so much so that you think to yourself, "should I be watching this?"
If this phenomenon is something that interests you, I highly recommend the film, as it is essentially the visually representation of the story I've told and will stay with you for days after you've finished watching.
And a final note: an intriguing event will be taking place in June - the Genealogy Jamboree and Resource Expo put on by the Southern California Genealogical Society will feature exhibitors and speakers from national and local genealogical societies, including Megan Smolenyak, the founder of unclaimedpersons.org included in my story. The Jamboree will take place from June 11 to 13 at the Burbank Airport Marriott and Convention Center. 818-843-7247, scgsgenealogy.com
Posted by Liana Aghajanian on 06/01/10
