My First Day on Earth
Story
"My First Day on Earth" follows an alien with the ability to turn off all his negative emotions. He comes to Earth to work in garbage disposal and meets a young Muslim woman who is dealing with her mother's terminal illness. Touring the city, they exchange ideas about the feeling of loss and the option of suppressing it permanently.
Rationale
Is it "better to have loved and lost"? If you could get rid of all your bad feelings, would you choose to do so? The film wonders about the functionality and humanity of grief. It also discusses how in the face of loss, almost all our belief systems become coping mechanisms.
Cultural themes
The film discusses the Muslim faith as a way to deal with grief. It tries to explore the purpose of religion as consolatory as the woman explains the ritual around death to a literal alien being. It abstracts the sensation of grief as well as the practices around it.