Film Analysis Of Losing Autonomy In Still Alice

1) This video was an educational and eye-opening documentary about the infamous Alzheimer’s Disease and its effects on the victim and their family. The film follows several different families, each directly affected by the disease, and how they cope with the loss of their, or a loved one’s, memories and mind. One such family, the Noonans, had a rare form of the disease, where its destruction of the mind began much earlier in life, around age fifty. Three of the Noonan siblings out of ten caught Alzheimer’s and none of the other seven knew whether they had the gene for it or not, passed on by their mother, who also died of this. Watching this unfold in the movie “The Forgetting” was rather eye-opening,

The brain slowly starts to diminish in the elderly. According the Maslow, this stage in life is a life review (Berger, 2011). Allie and Noah’s life is in a review throughout the entire movie. Allie is trying to remember what her life was like. Unfortunately, Allie comprehends the story Noah is telling her, but doesn’t realize it is herself. She states in the movie, “this is a great story, the girl seems so amazing” (Cassavetes, 2004). Her lack of ability to remember is due a threat to her development. Allie has Alzheimer’s disease, which is a disease that one cannot remember due to the proliferation of plaques and tangles in the cerebral cortex (Berger, 2011). This disease is common in the elderly. Alzheimer’s has taken over Allies life, as she

Just Love me: My life turned upside down by Alzheimer’s (Lee, 2003), has allowed Lee (2003) to put on paper what an individual going though Alzheimer’s disease thinks and feels. This book has been written in order to better inform individuals that have Alzheimer’s, as well as the non-suffers who have been touched by Alzheimer’s in friends and family. It follows Lee (2003) though her struggles with early onset Alzheimer’s, describing her experiences before being diagnosed as well as how her disease progresses. It also examined the difficulties in diagnosing a disease that is not yet well understood. Lee (2003) talks about her everyday struggles as the disease worsens and she begins to lose her occupations and the person she use to be.

The main antagonist in the book is Alice’s youngest daughter Lydia Howland. She defies the family’s educational tradition and chooses to take acting classes in Los Angeles in hopes of becoming an actor. Lydia’s decision causes a lot of conflict between her parents. She’s the only one that refuses to participate in the Alzheimer’s genetic testing. However, as Alice’s condition deteriorates, Lydia becomes the most valuable player of the family; she becomes Alice’s number one advocate. She doesn’t try to “test” Alice’s memory but is there for her when she needs her (p. 162). The relationship between Alice and Lydia improves. Lydia eventually listens to her mother’s advice and enrolls at Brandies University to study theater (p. 258).

“I want to tell you how much I miss my mother. Bits of her are still there. I miss her most when I sit across from her” was said by Candy Crawley. This quote is displaying how Alzheimer's disease can affect an individual and that person’s family and friends. Everyone in the world desires to keep the ones closest to that individual safe. Many people do not understand how traumatizing Alzheimer's disease is or can be. No one knows for sure what causes the disease. It could have a huge, dramatic alternation on any person’s life in an instant. It can be traumatizing because Alzheimer’s has many side effects, physical or emotional, to the individual. There are several reasons to why people in the world should know more about Alzheimer's disease,

Living with an insidious cognitive declining illness, individuals diagnosed with early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease often fear losing their sense of self (Borrello et al. 2495). This theme is carried out in the film through the character of Alice, a 50 year old linguistics professor at Columbia University. The inevitable decline in memory, communication, and eventually independence strike those with the disease (Borrello et al. 2494), which will quickly affect not only themselves, but also relationships with others. In this essay, I will discuss the level of accuracy in the film, Still Alice, directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, by analyzing its display of knowledge on neurological and psychological

This screenplay follows the protagonist Alice Howland, who is a professor of linguistics at Columbia University. Alice Howland is later diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, which turns her world completely upside down; especially given her career and ambitious nature. She becomes unable to perform normal everyday activities, and struggles with the loss of her independence. Alice’s husband, John, who is a physician, attempts to act as a guide for her through this time, but it ultimately puts a strain on their relationship. John’s job offer to move to Boston does not help matters either, and it quickly becomes the last straw for the two of them. He soon moves to New York to take the job after Alice’s memory starts to decay at a faster rate. John and Alice have 3 children, Lydia, Anna, and Tom as well as a son-in-law, Charlie. They are introduced at the beginning of the screenplay, as they all gather to celebrate Alice’s 50th birthday at a restaurant. This is also the time in which the audience notices her decline in normal conversation as she is unable to follow smoothly. Alice could be considered the catalytic hero of this screenplay, and the disease being the antagonist. Alice wants to hold on to as much of her memory that she can, and slow the regression by writing down everything. By Act 3, Alice loses her ability to do activities that she had been doing for many years; such as going out for her morning run without getting lost, remembering words, phrases, and

Think about the behaviors of the individuals living with Alzheimer’s portrayed in the film. What similarities and differences

This is an evaluative essay comparing the short story, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”, by Alice Munro and the movie Away from Her (inspired by the book). The short story provides a history of the relationship between Grant and Fiona. Fiona is the wife and main character of this story with the focus on her Alzheimer’s. Grant is her husband of 44 years. The story begins with their playful young love and their time at the university. The story quickly transitions from past to present. Fiona is placed in a nursing home and their relationship changes. This essay will identify the challenges Fiona and Grant endure while dealing with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease slowly steals a person’s dignity and erases precious memories. The “Alzheimer’s Disease Guide”, found on WebMD explains that tasks become more difficult to do often leading to confusion and behavior changes. The article further explains the progression of the disease also brings hardship to family and friends (1). To best cope with Alzheimer’s we must better understand the disease.

“Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception.” (Howard Crystal) In Health 1000 we were asked to read the book Still Alice. I have never dealt with or have done any study on Alzheimer’s disease before reading this book. After finishing this book it has really opened my eyes to how bad of a disease and how it cripples the mind. I never imagined the effect of this disease on a patient and the patient family. This book is about a upper middle aged lady named Alice who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and how she and her family learn how to deal with disease. One of the things this book

Socioeconomic status is a defining factor in nearly every society around the world. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the issues of class and stratification are manifest in many types of media, including films. Like many nations, the United States operates under the class system. The sociologist Dalton Conley defined the class system as, “an economically based hierarchical system characterized by cohesive, oppositional groups and somewhat loose social mobility” (Conley 249). Still Alice and The Notebook depict social stratification and the struggles between different socioeconomic classes. Still Alice follows the life of Alice Howland, a linguistics professor at Columbia University, as she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and fights to retain her memories and relationships. The film is set in modern day America, in which there is a stigma associated with dementia, there is a large degree of gender inequality, and some careers are viewed as prestigious (e.g. doctors and lawyers) while others are condemned by society (e.g. starving artists). The Notebook shares the story of Noah Calhoun as he tries to revive the memories of his wife Allie, who suffers from dementia, by reading her the story of their undying love. While Noah reads to Allie, the movie displays their life in the 1940s. During this time, America was facing World War II, segregation, and a highly stratified society (U.S. Timeline, 1940-1949). When the movie shows elderly Noah and Allie, it takes place in

A major influence on Alice's identity was when she was a young child and her grandmother would tell her stories about events that occurred in Cambodia. In Alice's teenage years, her beloved grandmother has a stroke, developed disabilities and eventually had passed away. It is around this time where serious psychological problems occur for Alice. This almost forces her into a mental state in which she knows she does not fit in with the Australian culture. She believed she had to do everything she could to change that otherwise Alice knew she would break down mentally. Alice was forced to attempt to fit the social standards of Australia.

Seeing this film has helped me to learn to be more alert regarding what early cognitive decline might look like in someone, and therefore, enable me to come alongside them and get some help for them and their family. It also showed the stress involved in early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, especially in regards to job loss, loss of social life, and the fear that comes with living with someone with cognitive loss. However, it also showed the opportunities to show deep compassion and love. The compassion that was shown by the nursing home “tour guide” was amazing. I was impressed by her concern for social engagement in the residents.

As the film unfolded, Alice became open with her family regarding her recent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, fears and struggles. John who was physician, Anna who was a lawyer, Tom who was a medical student and Lydia an aspiring