When I first heard this was a movie about dementia, I assumed it would be someone on their death bed because that’s always how it’s portrayed in media. However, in the beginning she outwardly seems to be very physically independent and only needing assistance because of the forgetfulness (ie, the kitchen fire). This is a very realistic portrayal of how early this can start, how long it takes, and how functional people seem at the beginning.
The beginning of the film has a discussion where the daughter, Sarah, explains Deborah’s mood swings and particular rules to the documentarians. They manage this as tactfully as possible, but they do smile and laugh a bit. It’s hard to tell whether this is out of nervousness or if they’re laughing at Deborah, but this behaviour shouldn’t have been there at all. Sarah would be quite used to having these discussions at that point, and Mia is doing an entire PhD on Alzheimer’s—she shouldn’t be awkward or embarrassed talking about this.
Later, Mia is talking to the camera and outlining what Alzheimer’s is. While none of this information would be new to most viewers, they include this because it’s an opportunity for them to make people with Alzheimer’s scary. They repeatedly use words and phrases like, “insidious disease,” “creeps,” and “assaults.” This spiel is almost entirely filled with photos and videos of sad, sick, old people. The last clip is of a woman in a hospital bed with a demonic expression.
One of the times that Deborah is taken to the hospital, the doctor even diagnoses her as having “split personality.” 1.) The condition is called DID. 2.) It develops in childhood and adolescence. 3.) They are—yet again, literally—demonising mental health issues. This part of the film was completely bizarre and unexpected. It’s clear that they didn’t do a single Google search about the condition because Deborah’s behaviour does not suggest DID in any way.
The film was clearly made to discuss how terrifying dementia can be, both for the patient and loved ones. However, like Old People, the film turns the patient into the monster. They did not separate dementia from the person with dementia, thus perpetuating the ableist and ageist fear, disgust, and hatred of people with this condition. The movie is solely about making Deborah scary, even though they think they made it about dementia being scary.
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