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In this paper I discuss the ways the contemporary American funeral industry has re-figured itself in response to a number of economic crises in 1990s. This re-figuration primarily involved de-emphasizing utilitarian products and services and instead focusing on the manufacture of cultural goods that resemble those found in other leisure and entertainment industries. I analyze this move in light of Guy Debord's theorization of the spectacle as being an economically-, culturally-, and historically-specific product that alters human relations through the mediation of novel technologies of representation. I argue that the use of the spectacle in funerary ritual can provide diversion and amusement, as well as human connection and meaning-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]