Narrating the limits of narration. Alzheimer’s disease in contemporary literary texts

Krüger-Fürhoff, Irmela Marei

doi:10.14361/9783839427101-005

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Books and films about dementia almost all told a story of progressive decline and death, ending in institutionalisation [25,51,52,83], or the death of the person with dementia [28,29,34,35,41,43,44,51,53,54,58,80]. Many books and films depicted the progression of declining ability to comprehend the world, and conduct self-care.…”

Section: Depiction Of People With Dementiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative stereotypes, fear and social distance: a systematic review of depictions of dementia in popular culture in the context of stigma

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Purwaningrum

2020

BMC Geriatr

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Background Literature, film and news media reflect and shape social perceptions of dementia which in turn impact on dementia stigma. The aim of this paper is to systematically review papers on the depiction and frames for dementia in literature, film, mass media and social media in order to better understand cultural stigma related to dementia. Methods A systematic search of electronic databases was undertaken combining phrases relating to dementia, popular culture and representations, and phrases relating to dementia and stigma. We searched for scientific English language papers which included original analysis on the representation or depiction of dementia in popular culture (i.e. in film and television, literature, news, social media and language). Articles published between 1989–2018 were included. The search was conducted in December 2017 and updated in January 2019. Inductive thematic synthesis was undertaken. Results A total of 60 articles were included from an initial sample of 37022. Dementia was almost always depicted in conjunction with ageing, and often equated with Alzheimer’s disease. Common frames for dementia were biomedical - dementia involves the deterioration of the brain for which there is no current cure; natural disaster or epidemic - dementia is a force of nature which will overwhelm mankind; and living dead – people with dementia lose their brains, memories, minds and consequently their personhood and human rights. There were examples of more positive depictions of dementia including expressing love and individual agency and experiencing personal growth. Feelings commonly associated with dementia were fear, shame, compassion and guilt, and depictions often resulted in a sense of social distance. Conclusions Depictions of dementia in popular culture are associated with negative images and feelings, and social distance between people with dementia and those without. These correspond to dementia stigma in the public and as experienced by people with dementia. Further research is needed into the impact of literature, news and social media on dementia stigma and these cultural mediums might be used to reduce stigma.

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Section: Depiction Of People With Dementiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative stereotypes, fear and social distance: a systematic review of depictions of dementia in popular culture in the context of stigma

Low

Purwaningrum

2020

BMC Geriatr

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“…Narrative fiction has ethical and epistemological value in the ways it not only helps us to make sense of the world but in the ways in which it helps us to realize that the world, life, and all its associated experiences, events, and feelings cannot always be made sense of, that nonsense abounds, and that life does not conform to the structure of a good book. 7 Irmela Marei Krüger-Fürhoff (2015) has noted the differences that separate autobiographical writing on Alzheimer's disease from fictional writing, arguing that autobiographical writing, such as Thomas DeBaggio's (2000) Losing My Mind: An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer's, aims not at "exploring the breakdown of language but rather at documenting the survival of [a] coherent narrative self" (p. 96). For the one with the disease, autobiographical narrative presents a means of holding on to a sense of self, of resisting the self-effacing threat of becoming "de-storied" when we can no longer remember or articulate who we are (Eakin, 2004, p. 123).…”

Section: "An Experience Without Words": Narratives Of Non-sensementioning

confidence: 99%

Play and Possibility

Tynan

2021

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Cultural representations of Alzheimer’s disease typically focus on the social and emotional burdens felt by family and friends, diluting or excluding the experience of the sufferer. This article demonstrates how narrative fiction may help us to engage with the experiences of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease by imagining what it might be like to suffer from the disease ourselves. Demonstrating the humanized and subjective understanding of Alzheimer’s disease articulated in Olivia Rosenthal’s (2007) On n’est pas là pour disparaître [We’re Not Here to Disappear (2015)] this article also exposes the limitations of narrative fiction as a means of highlighting our own ignorance in the face of others’ experiences.

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“…Given this they ask how 'post narrative' selves can be narrated? (Kruger-Furhof 2015). The ethical implications of the ways that dementia is a characterised as attacking the 'self' has , as Swinnen and Schweda suggest, been a concern of dementia studies across the humanities and social sciences as they try to 'bring alternative philosophical models of personhood to the fore in order to stress that persons are more than their brain, that personal identity does not rest on mental continuity, and that the story of dementia exceeds that of tragic loss and decline ' (2015: 11).…”

Section: Age Dementia and Narration In British Crime Dramamentioning

confidence: 99%

Troubled Men: Ageing, Dementia and Masculinity in Contemporary British Crime Drama

Wearing¹

2017

Journal of British Cinema and Television

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Narrating the limits of narration. Alzheimer’s disease in contemporary literary texts

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Negative stereotypes, fear and social distance: a systematic review of depictions of dementia in popular culture in the context of stigma

Negative stereotypes, fear and social distance: a systematic review of depictions of dementia in popular culture in the context of stigma

Play and Possibility

Troubled Men: Ageing, Dementia and Masculinity in Contemporary British Crime Drama

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