“Moments of Grace?” The “Dramatic” Representation and the Aesthetic of Ageing

Abstract

his paper will limit its focus to consideration of two ‘dramatic’ treatments of ageing, both of which involve an aged woman and both of which touch upon ageing and dementia. My focus is here as part of my proposition is that ‘dementia’ is on a spectrum of ‘cultural’ apperceptions of the ageing process associated as that process is with weakening and failing ‘powers’ both physical and mental. Dementia is also that which conjures up strong and complex emotions with apprehension and fear which I suggest additionally serves the ‘dramatic’ effects of representations of ageing. I want for the sake of economy to present some alternative commentaries upon the aged woman and dementia which refer to perhaps two ends of the spectrum for dramatization; the highly orchestrated ‘mainstream’ narrative film and the ‘close to home’ documentary , in this case made by the daughter of the aged person with diagnosed Alzheimer’s. I rely upon two papers which whilst referring to cultural productions were each placed in scientific journals. One is a paper by Megan. E. Graham presented in a journal Dementia in 2014 entitled “The voices of Iris: Cinematic representations of the aged woman and Alzheimer’s disease in Iris (2001)”1 The other is a paper by Aagje Swinnen in ‘The Gerontologist’ journal in 2012, entitled Dementia in Documentary Film: Mum by Adelheid Roosen (2009).2