MGordon_MD
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Apr 21, 2008, 9:18 AM
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By Dr. Michael Gordon
The scene opened with old faces, withered and lined. Then the scene opened to rural Alabama and multi-colored quilts filled the screen as they were hung on rope lines. These were the creations of Arlonzia Pettway now 84 along with her friends and neighbors – a group of quilt makers from Gee’s Bend, Alabama. It was at the end of the first full day at the annual conference of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, held this year in Calgary. The film Do Not Go Gently (from the Welsh Poet Dylan Thomas) by Melissa Godoy and Eileen Littig (her mother) was being premiered to participants of the conference.
Moving effortlessly from Arlonzia, whose creations started when she was a small child in Alabama to Frederic Franklin a 90 year old ballet instructor whose illustrious career in classical ballet spanned decades, to Leo Ornstein, a 109 year old classical pianist whose musical journey spanned continents and almost a century of playing, composing and commenting on the world of music, the film extols the creative forces that exist in all of us. The segments highlighting the main” stars” of the film are interspersed with portions showing creative programs in long-term care facilities and senior centres where poetry, dance, music and art are produced by and integrated into the lives of individuals in the later years of life, many of whom suffer from complex medical conditions including cognitive impairment.
Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. co-founded the Creativity Discovery Corps, the mission of which is to identify and preserve the creative accomplishments of under-recognized talented older adults. He is the first Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University, and a renowned scholar and researcher in the field of aging whose most recent focus has been on the creative spirit in seniors. His narration of the film helped focus not just on the accomplishments of the unusually creative “stars” of the film but the marvelous and often un-tapped potential of seniors at all stages of life and in all living situations.
The message of the film was moving and uplifting. For those involved in eldercare the plight of many in institutional settings is often a major challenge and cause for concern. One of the motivations expressed by Melissa Godoy for producing the film was her experience during another project that took her to nursing homes where she observed the severely limited interactions of the residents and lack of emotional, verbal or creative stimulation or programs.
In organizations and jurisdictions that recognize the intrinsic quest, desire and responsiveness of seniors, including those with severe disabilities, to music, dance, art and words, programs are developed to seek out and promote the creative spirit often locked up in those frail elderly individuals. Over the years I have observed and personally experienced remarkable expressions of talent by individuals and groups who have been given the opportunity and the means to express themselves. I have observed rhythm groups of elders with substantial cognitive impairment playing drums and tambourines and xylophones create unadulterated joyous and compelling beat-filled music. Choirs made up of seniors of all ages entertain others. I have had patients undertake memoirs in their late years, in their quest to preserve their past and leave a legacy for their families.
The movie, Do Not Go Gently is an eloquent reminder of the power of artistic creativity, which can and should be tapped from those elders that we care for as family members and professionals so that their talents can enrich their lives, the lives of others and the world.
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Dr. Michael Gordon is Medical Program Director, Palliative Care Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System in Toronto, Canada and Professor of Medicine, at the University of Toronto. He is co-author with Bart Mindszenthy of Parenting Your Parents.
Parenting Your Parents is available in bookstores and online at: Indigo-Chapters, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is available in a US edition: Parenting Your Parents: Support Strategies for Meeting the Challenge of Aging in America.
For bulk orders email info@dundurn.com. Call: 416-214-5544 or Fax: 416-214-5556
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