The Arts and Dementia - the view from a trustee of Christians on Ageing
- debbiethrower0
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Engaging with older people living with dementia and those close to them is a bread-and- butter activity for Anna Chaplains, (writes Marion Shoard). But just how do those to whom Anna Chaplains minister already understand the nature of dementia and its impact?
It’s worth reminding ourselves that public perception about dementia and the way it affects individuals living with the condition is fashioned to some extent at least by the way dementia is depicted in novels, films and TV and radio dramas.
On Friday May 8, from 1.30 until about 3, I’ll be chairing a free online discussion, open to anyone, on the ways in which the arts have portrayed dementia and the extent to which this depiction has been useful. The meeting will be hosted by Christians on Ageing and if you’d like to join in, simply email CoA’s Honorary Secretary, Barbara Stephens, at secretary@christiansonageing.org.uk for the Zoom link.
I’m a trustee of CoA and have been writing and lecturing about older people’s issues for more than 20 years, having been pitched into this world when my mother developed dementia and concurrently lost her eyesight 25 years ago.
Maybe there are poems, fictional works, TV dramas, soap operas and /or films you’ve come across yourself which bear on our theme. If so, come along and draw them to our attention. Here are one or two works you may care to look at beforehand, but don’t worry if you don’t:
In the 2009 novel The Wilderness, short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction, novelist Samantha Harvey gets inside the head of successful architect Jake Jameson as he develops Alzheimer’s disease. Similarly, the multi-award-winning film starring Anthony Hopkins The Father (available on Channel 4’s streaming service) also focuses on the person developing dementia and their shifting realities.
The film Iris depicts the impact of dementia on an exceptional brain (that of Iris Murdoch) and on her relationship with husband, John Bayley. It was made in 2001 and is available on Apple TV.
On a lighter note, in the drama Grey Matter, Stephanie Beacham plays a woman with Alzheimer's whose errant granddaughter becomes her carer. Multigenerational hijinks – and tears – ensue. It’s available free of charge on Amazon Prime.
The 2014 film Still Alice explores the impact of dementia on a woman in her 50s; the film garnered many awards for actress Julianne Moore. As well as exploring the challenges to a close relationship dementia can bring, Still Alice has an interesting take on the assisted death debate. It’s available on several streaming services.
Finally, the 1986 film Clockwise is a Michael-Frayn-scripted farce starring John Cleese as a headmaster trying and constantly failing to get to a conference on time. See if you agree with me that, at a distance of 41 years, it offers a compassionate, realistic, generous and amusing depiction of three older women living with dementia. You can find it on Amazon Prime.
Hoping to see you on May 8!
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