Author: Rose Capp
Capp, Rose, 2020 Depicting dementia: An analysis of the affirmative contribution made by mainstream film and television representations of dementia in improving understanding of the condition in the broader community and the residential aged care workforce, Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
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Dementia is an urgent global health imperative but a condition that continues to attract stigma and misunderstanding, including within the health profession. There is a clear need to educate the broader community and health professionals about the complexities of the condition and how best to support someone to live well with dementia.
Popular culture can play a critical role in shaping opinion and knowledge about health-related issues in the public domain. This thesis argues that affirmative depictions of dementia in contemporary mainstream film and television texts can make a significant contribution to informing general audiences about the complexity of dementia and its consequences. Equally, these texts can be employed as valuable resources in educating the residential aged care workforce in relation to key principles of best practice dementia care.
A thematic, discursive analysis of selected mainstream films and television series from 1990 – 2018 developed three typologies. The analysis differed from extant scholarship by differentiating how each typology could contribute to improving dementia literacy in different ways. The analysis draws on a diverse range of texts from the feature films Billy Elliot, Friends with Benefits, Robot and Frank and Head Full of Honey to the TV series Mother and Son, Absolutely Fabulous, The West Wing and Exile.
Particular emphasis was given to the influence of first person accounts and depictions of the lived experience of dementia in educating aged staff about the importance of a person-centred approach to care.
In arguing for the clear and compelling educative worth of these texts, this thesis points to the potential synergies of the proposed typologies with extant and emerging educational resources including virtual technologies and experiential approaches to dementia care training. The analysis undertaken in this thesis also makes recommendations for collaborative partnerships between the health sector, individuals living with dementia, dementia advocacy organizations and film and television industries in Australia and internationally. This kind of approach could work towards future productions of affirmative portrayals of people living with dementia that, as with the impact of the texts that have been the focus of this analysis, could contribute to improved knowledge and understanding of the condition.
Keywords: Dementia, dementia awareness, dementia media representations, film, television, aged care, aged care dementia education
Subject: Ageing Studies thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2020
School: College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Supervisor: Dr Sam Davis