Well-known gerontologist Dr. James Birren once told me that in the late 1940s, all of the gerontologists in the United States could fit comfortably in one modest size hotel meeting room. He should know; he was there. Thanks to the leadership of Birren and so many others, modern gerontology has advanced vigorously since those days. Since its foundi.. read more

An adult developmentalist recently told me that the main reason he enjoyed studying older adults is because “their bodies contain so many interesting variables” that are easily extracted with quantitative measures. To be sure, variable-oriented developmental science has contributed significantly to our understanding of the aging process. Man.. read more

This film opens on an interview with 82 year-old George (“Jack”) William Hall. Twenty-one years ago, his son—hooked on drugs as a teenager—“finally hanged himself.” Jack explains: “One day this dope dealer was bragging about how he made his money. He didn’t make no more. I stopped him.” Jack was convicted of murder and sentenced .. read more

The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne is a stylish, engrossing, and ultimately sad film about an 84-year-old Black American woman who achieved fame and notoriety as a world-class jewel thief in a career that spans 64 years. In the opening and closing scenes of the video, Doris, then 80 years old, is accused of stealing an $8,000 diamond ring from a .. read more

Perhaps the greatest power of documentary film is its ability to reveal to us experiences, feelings, and events that might have otherwise remained beyond our awareness and our imagination. Two years ago in this space ( Scheidt, 2013 ), I reviewed a brief version of “Alive Inside,” a video by Michael Rossato-Bennett. That remarkable film demo.. read more

From Nine to Ninety deals with a common family situation in the United States—providing care for older adults within a multigenerational household setting. It focuses on a single family that shares the common challenges faced by many other families that currently struggle with adult caregiving. The primary caregivers, for example, are middle-ag.. read more

The premise of this interesting and multilayered film is revealed at the outset: Videographer Linda Brown created You See Me (http://youseememovie.com/) in hopes of achieving a better understanding of her father, Stanley Brown, a man she loved but “wonder if I ever really knew.” This is not a fresh journey for Linda; she admits that despite .. read more

Videographer Jacob Bricca created Finding Tatanka to gain greater understanding of his father, Kit Bricca. He hoped to fill in blank spots that have remained in their relationship across the years and, hopefully, to reach a resolution that might enrich it. The result is a video case study of this father–son relationship and more largely, of a .. read more

At the outset of The Age of Love , an elderly man shows videographer Steven Loring a snapshot of his wife and himself taken at night: “We were right in the woods and it was great. We could sit in the creek with a case of beer in the water. You love each other and you have a good time, no matter what you do—whether it’s drinking or walk.. read more

I Remember Better When I Paint is perhaps the most important documentary to date dealing with our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and the nearly 47 million persons worldwide currently afflicted with dementia ( https://www.alz.co.uk/research/statistics ; Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2016 ). It should be required viewing of .. read more

There Is a Place is a brief video about the salutary impact that active and shared musical experience has on elders with dementia. It is a film that should come with a warning label for viewers, especially those already who know that music has the potential to reveal the essential sense of self presumed lost to the ravages of Alzheimer’s dise.. read more

Coming of Age in Aging America is perhaps the most important film to emerge to date within The New Gerontology paradigm. In contrast to the historically dour 4-D perspective on aging (decline, deterioration, dependency, depression), it is refreshingly optimistic and celebratory. Developed in collaboration with the MacArthur Network on Aging and S.. read more

There is a magnetic attraction in the stories of elders, who by choice or happenstance, face unique, and extreme life scenarios that exceed the imaginations of those of us who live securely under the thicker part of the normal curve. The Babushkas of Chernobyl is a riveting watershed for gerontologists. It illustrates a rare, dangerous environme.. read more

Cyber Seniors documents an important program that illustrates the combined efforts of younger and older adults to bridge the “digital divide.” In a light-hearted and humorous fashion, the film introduces us to an intergenerational program designed to increase internet and social media use among elders who continue to observe computer technolo.. read more

Oli Truss is a single older housebound woman in her nineties who lives alone in her rural home somewhere in Britain. As a child, videographer Georgina Hurcombe was her neighbor. She recalls the animals running around on Oli’s property and how “she used to teach me math after school.” That was 15 years ago. Georgina decides “to pay her anot.. read more

The opening moments of Edith + Eddie lead us to believe we are entering a story about the nature of love shared between newly-weds Edith, age 96, and Eddie, age 95. Videographer Laura Checkoway was attracted by the growing internet attention received by “America’s oldest interracial newly-weds.” Edith is black; Eddie is white. Off-film, sh.. read more

Tracing Roots is a thoughtful, revelatory, beautifully-photographed artistic mystery involving a close association between two journeys separated by hundreds of years. The first journey was taken in the Pacific Northwest sometime between 1720 and 1853 AD by an 18-year-old indigenous male on an overland walking trip (Hebda, Greer, & Mackie, 20.. read more

Emmy-nominated Forever, Chinatown is the most enchanting and salutary documentary film I have ever viewed. Director James Chan explores the remarkable psychological and physical embodiment of “sense of place” exuded by the artistic creations of 81-year-old artist Frank Wong. His art consists of several miniature 3D dioramas constructed to de.. read more

At one point in this remarkable film, 89-year-old Dr. Peter Reimann, accompanied on piano by daughter Hannah Reimann, sings this brief German art song from Schubert’s Die Winterreise No. 15. The Raven (Die Krähe). A crow was with me from out of town even up to this moment. It flies around my head. A native German, Dr. Reimann explains that the .. read more

Introductory training on elder abuse often begins with a brief definition like this one: “Elder abuse, also known as elder mistreatment, generally refers to any knowing, negligent act that causes harm or creates a serious risk of harm to an older person by a family member, caregiver, or other person in a trust relationship (Office of Justice Pro.. read more