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On the podcast this week, Steven and Sean are lying to our dear Nai Nais about their impending death\u2014 No, shhh! Don\u2019t tell them about it. They don't know they\u2019re going to die. It\u2019s the 2019 film from Lulu Wang, The Farewell.

Talk about an intriguing dilemma at the heart of this film. Clearly, it\u2019s about a cultural difference, but does that make it any easier to come to a good answer? If you knew that your beloved grandmother was dying, and soon, would you make the decision not to tell her? Is it right to keep information like that from her? It is her life, after all. What right does anyone have to keep news like this from someone else?

But therein lies the rub\u2014depending on where you\u2019re from, keeping that news from someone could make all the sense in the world. Why subject someone you love to grief, pain, and possibly even regret when they don\u2019t have to face those emotions? Would it actually be a kinder act to keep them unaware of their impending death so their final days can be happy?

Hell if I know. We\u2019re from the U.S.A. As Billi says in this film, keeping that sort of information from someone here is surely illegal. In China, though? That\u2019s a whole different thing.

I suppose the best thing you could do, no matter where you live, is to just treasure whatever time you have with the people in your life. That\u2019s the best message to be taken from this film. We never get to have enough time with the ones we love, but we can choose to fill that time with love.

It sucks like hell when we lose those we hold dearest in our hearts. There\u2019s no denying that. We should all strive to be more like Billi: find the strength we need inside us, surround ourselves with those that mean the most to us, and love them with every we\u2019ve got.

(Recorded on November 23, 2020)

Links to Stuff We Mentioned:

The Farewell - IMDb

The Farewell trailer - YouTube

Audio Hijack - Rogue Amoeba

Radio Disney

Awkwafina - IMDb

Crazy Rich Asians - IMDb

Jumanji: The Next Level - IMDb

Uncut Gems - IMDb

Adam Sandler - IMDb

Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens - IMDb

Bad Boys for Life - IMDb

Ouroboros - Wikipedia

Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt's Creek Farewell - IMDb

Schitt's Creek - IMDb

The Hashtag That Changed the Oscars: An Oral History - The New York Times

Filmmaker Lulu Wang Based 'The Farewell' On Her Family's Real-Life Lie - NPR

Arnold Schwarzenegger - IMDb

Jingle All the Way - IMDb

52% of young adults in the US are living with their parents. That's the highest share since the Great Depression. - CNN