Inspired by films like What We Do In The Shadows, Four Lions and various other ‘mockumentaries’, I wanted to explore comedy as a way to express different social quirks specifically in relation to the elderly.
I picked a few elements from the interviews I conducted:
- Elderly and Change
I decided ‘change’ should be the main focus of the film because it’s really the change, and rapid change at that, that affects the elderly the most. Almost everything is a product of change. And the struggle with most things is really just about struggling to effectively deal with entropy. I found it interesting that the elderly, at least through the interviews, should have such positive mindset on change? During one of the interviews which I reflected on, I highlighted how as young people we tend to apply our own biases in our perceptions of the elderly. We fail to recognize that there’s more to situations than simply ‘accepting and adapting’. The elderly have their own demographically-specific problems as well that hinder their ability to adapt quickly. Not that they refuse to accept the new, but they are simply bound by their aged selves. - Elderly and Technology
Once again, I was surprised by the responses given by the elderly about technology. Despite the pervasive sentiment online that the elderly are resistant to change, I was taken aback by how positive some of them are about the various technological tools at their disposal to better their lives like finding jobs in the form of Uber/Grab to connecting with loved ones using smartphones. - Elderly and Family
It seems like a common thread between each interview is the fact that the elderly is left very much on their own. I’m not sure this sticks out so much if we weren’t conditioned to think that the elderly should be taken care of. It warms my heart to hear how dearly the elderly hold their family, children, grandchildren, spouses.
