week4-'Still Alice
Updated 2:42 p.m.
In the weeks following the Academy
Awards, it’s not uncommon for little-known movies to get an “Oscars boost,”
especially when they are honored in high profile categories.
This
year, one movie that has received a great deal of post-Oscars interest is
“Still Alice,” thanks to Julianne Moore winning Best Actress for her work in
the film. Moore 2004’ s “The Notebook” can attest.
What
sets “Still Alice” apart is that the protagonist is among the estimated 200,000
Americans diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s – meaning, Alzheimer’s disease
that is diagnosed in people younger than 65.
According
to the Alzheimer’s Association, early onset affects only 5 percent of the more
than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s; the association states that many people
with early onset are in their 40s and 50s like Moore’s character in the film.
Because these are not people who fit the traditional profile of an Alzheimer’s
patient, it may be harder for their families to access the right intervention
and care options. That’s a problem that must be addressed.
People
in their 40s and 50s have careers, and some are still raising children; more
commonly, their children are young adults. As a staff member at a local memory
care community, Villagio at Capriana in Brea
However,
our residents are primarily over age 65; their careers are behind them and
their children are grown. Many were even able to get acquainted with their grandchildren
before their symptoms became severe. For the families of early onset
Alzheimer’s patients, the reality is very different.
Like
Alice Howland in the film, a person with early onset Alzheimer’s disease may be
forced to resign from employment years earlier than they had planned to. This
may cause an undue financial burden on the family.
The
career may be maintained for a time after the diagnosis, but that is certainly
not without its challenges. As for family life, children gradually become
caregivers at an age when they may have burgeoning careers of their own –
unless they are younger, in which case the stress of caring for a parent can
interfere with academic careers, social lives and extracurricular activities.
Clearly, the families of early onset Alzheimer’s patients are in need of more
resources, better advocacy and heightened awareness.
Think
about it: If a 45-year-old woman with a demanding career tells her physician
she is experiencing memory loss, having trouble concentrating and feels
depressed or isolated, there’s a chance she may not be taken seriously right
away. In one conversation that addressed the importance of the movie “Still
Alice,” a woman living with early onset Alzheimer’s stated it was likely she
had been suffering from the disease for seven years before it was diagnosed.
Structure of the
lead:
What- it’s not uncommon for little-known movies
to get an “Oscars boost
Where- not given
When- In the weeks following the Academy Awards
How-not given
Why- not given
Who- the movie,
still Alice
Keywords:
1. onset 開始 著手
2. protagonist 主角
