MOVIE APA

This is a group discussion. You will self-select yourselves into groups. Groups should be no more than 5 people. You can select a movie from the list in the library folder “movies”. You will post 1 group initial response to the movie discussing the questions below. You as an individual will respond to 2 of the group posting about other movies. If you have another movie in mind about the elderly, please let me know so I can approve it. 

The Notebook 

Give a summary of the movie 

The Notebook is a movie about the struggles of Dementia. It starts with an elderly man who is reading to his wife, who is in the nursing facility for Alzheimer’s and cannot remember anything from her past. He reads her stories from a journal. The movie then goes back in time to the 1940s. We are introduced to Noah and Allie. Noah is a lower-class man who works at the lumber mill and becomes romantically involved with Allie, who is very wealthy. They live in South Carolina. Allie’s rich family does not approve of their relationship and eventually sends her away to New York to college. While Noah tries to write her letters, she never gets them because of Allie’s mother. Noah then enlists to fight in World War II with his friend, who gets killed. Allie becomes a nurse in New York and eventually meets Lon, who is wealthy and has the approval of her rich parents. During this time, Noah is featured in the newspaper after completing renovations on an old, abandoned house that he and Allie used to talk about. Noah and Allie eventually reunite and have a life together. Back in the present, it is shown that reading the journal jogged Allie’s memories enough to make her happy for a brief time, but then she relapses and begins to panic. Noah gets admitted too after this and after he reads her the journal again, they both pass away peacefully in their sleep. 

 

How was the older person and aging portrayed? Linda 

The Notebook portrays the older characters in a stereotypical positive and negative light. The sweet couple has been together for years, deeply in love, and he is at her side every day. This positive stereotype brings false perspective for young viewers. Young viewers who see this movie and expect to have this type of unwavering support may be disappointed to find many elderly patients neglected in nursing homes from lack of support or other unfortunate circumstances. The opposite might also be perceived as some viewers may be experiencing a loved one struggling with mental illness and not have the support that Noah demonstrates for Allie in this film. The film portrays memory loss as a normal part of aging, which is a negative stereotype for the aging process. Allie struggles to remember her past and fails to recognize Noah and her children, this is part of the Alzheimer's disease process. Allie’s character paints a picture of the elderly patient needing constant support, dependent on others, and lacks independence. Many older adults are independent and mentally intact, this film shows the polarizing views of aging in our society.  

Would you want the life that the movie projected of the older adult?

The Notebook is a true romance story. Old fashion love is ideal to me. Yes, I would want to live the life that the movie projected of the older adults. I would want to live their lives because they truly loved one another. Although, the wife suffered from Alzheimer's disease her husband did everything he could up until the day they died to help her with her condition. Alzheimer's disease can be a difficult condition to battle, however some older adults battle conditions a lot worse than the character in the film. Older adults can have a variety of conditions, such as chronic pain or something that confines them to their bed. The character in the film did not have to go through her disease alone. She had someone who truly loved and believed in her when others like her children gave up on her. Her husband recognized she needed to be in a nursing facility. He did not only find her a nice place but also moved in as well although it was not necessary for him to be there. Therefore, yes, I would want that life.