Hi Tipsters,
One of the films on the list provided by SNRandall was Cocoon. However, I would
not recommend the use of this film due to the underlying ageist message.
Instead, I would recommend Trip to Bountiful which portrays issues related to
aging in a much more realistic basis. It is one of the best films also to
demonstrate the concept of life review in later adulthood.
As for Cocoon, here is a brief excerpt of an encyclopedia entry that I wrote
this past year:
Cocoon addresses the question--What if a group of senior citizens were to
discover the fountain of youth? Aliens arrive on earth to retrieve hibernating
friends from cocoons left behind millennia ago. Once retrieved from the ocean
depths, these pods are placed in a specially prepared indoor pool. Senior
citizens residing at a retirement community adjacent to the mansion, sneak in to
take a swim and discover the rejuvenating powers of the pool. After swimming
in the pool, they can now engage in activities long ago forgotten and find
renewed life energy and spirit. Unfortunately, their revitalization costs the
cocoons their needed life energy and some of the aliens die. The remaining
cocoons are returned to the ocean and the aliens prepare to leave. However, in
an act of generosity, the aliens offer to take the seniors with them to their
planet where they will stay forever rejuvenated. As one of the seniors explains
to his grandson, "When we get where we're going, we'll never be sick, we won't
get any older, and we won't ever die."
While the film portrays older adults engaged in life and active living, it
implies that this results solely from the magical powers transfused through
contact with the pool and cocoons. A contrast is made between those who reap
the benefit of the pool and those who do not. Those who have been rejuvenated
experience renewed energy, romantic interest, and an active night-life including
break-dancing; those who have not are portrayed as tired, depressed, and moving
towards death. Thus, the film unintentionally supports the premise that old age
is characterized by disability and death.
Warm regards,
linda
--
linda m. woolf, ph.d.
associate professor - psychology
webster university
main webpage: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/
Holocaust and genocide studies pages:
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/holocaust.html
womens' pages: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/women.html
gerontology pages: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/gero.html
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
