In the first half of this paper, one is presented with the theoretical background of Alzheimer’s disease. The different stages of Alzheimer’s disease, its connection between language and the brain and the specific language impairments specifically connected to Alzheimer’s disease, are examined, and portrayed.
Firstly, it is important to briefly outline what Alzheimer’s disease is and how it can be diagnosed and treated.
After this, the second step is establishing the different stages of the disease, as this helps linking certain symptoms to the progress and status of the illness and analyzing whether the representation is accurate or not.
Then, language and the Alzheimer’s brain are closer investigated and portrayed, as this is crucial to understanding how linguistic impairment is even linked to Alzheimer’s and how the symptoms arise over the course of the illness.
Lastly, the different language impairments will be outlined, and their symptoms will be examined further.
All the chapter of the first part of the paper form the theoretical basis that is not only necessary for the ability to recognize linguistic representations of Alzheimer’s disease in the film in the first place, but also for the ability to analyze and draw conclusions about those representations in a broader, theoretical context. They build the framework for the analysis and the conclusions drawn later on in this paper and therefore are crucial as they are continuously referred to later on.
The second part of this paper then specifically uses the previously attained knowledge and analyzes in how far and in what way it is represented in the film “Still Alice”.
Firstly, the movie and its plot are briefly explained and displayed, so that the following chapters are not left without context and to give more context on the setting and circumstances of the subject of analysis.
After this, data is collected by watching the film, reading the script and parallel to this examining the prevalence of the represented linguistic symptoms in each of the three parts of the film “Still Alice”. This is a qualitative approach to data collection and is based on a certain list of symptoms that are counted throughout this process.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Alzheimer’s Disease
2.1 Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
2.2 Language and the Alzheimer’s Brain
2.3 Language Impairments
2.3.1 Word- Finding and Lexical Processing Problems
2.3.2 Understanding and Producing Language
2.3.3 Syntax
2.3.4 Discourse
3. Analysis of linguistic symptoms of PWA in the film “Still Alice”
3.1 The film “Still Alice”
3.2 Data Collection and Analysis
3.2.1 Part One
3.2.2 Part Two
3.2.3 Part Three
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
Objectives and Research Focus
This paper examines the accuracy of the linguistic representation of Alzheimer's disease in the film "Still Alice," specifically investigating how the character’s language ability declines in correlation with the three recognized stages of the illness.
- Theoretical overview of Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on the brain.
- Comprehensive analysis of language-related impairments in dementia patients.
- Qualitative assessment of linguistic symptoms in the film "Still Alice."
- Validation of the film's portrayal against established neurolinguistic findings.
Excerpt from the Book
2.3.1 Word- Finding and Lexical Processing Problems
As previously mentioned, difficulties with finding the right words, so called anomia, is the earliest and most common symptom of Alzheimer’s disease concerning language. People who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease are faced with a high frequency and occurrence of word- finding problems, which noticeably impacts their communication with others on a daily basis.
The “knowledge of a particular word encompasses its meaning, pronunciation, its relationship to other words, and its role in sentence structure” (Kempler and Zelinski 1994: 323). Therefore, the comprehension and production of words is a very complex task with many aspects to it. According to Kempler and Zelinski (ibid., 332), a word is comprehended by the auditory or visual perception and recognition as such, followed by mapping of the sensory perception to the internal lexicon of words, and then accessing knowledge of the concepts that the word represents and that relate to that specific word.
It becomes evident that this is a multi- facetted process to just understand a word properly and problems with producing or understanding a word can happen at any point in these processes. Furthermore, “naming an object requires visual perception, object recognition, a search for the name among others in a network of objects names and concepts, selection of the name, and organization of speech mechanisms for production” (ibid.).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the relevance of Alzheimer’s disease in modern society and introduces the film "Still Alice" as the subject for analyzing realistic linguistic representations of the illness.
2. Alzheimer’s Disease: Provides a theoretical foundation covering disease stages, neurobiological impacts, and specific language impairments like anomia, syntax breakdown, and discourse difficulties.
3. Analysis of linguistic symptoms of PWA in the film “Still Alice”: Detailed analysis of the protagonist's language decline across three distinct phases of the film, comparing observed behaviors against established symptoms.
4. Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, confirming that the film serves as a highly accurate linguistic representation of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
5. Bibliography: Lists the academic literature and sources used for the neurolinguistic framework and the film analysis.
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, Still Alice, linguistic impairment, anomia, lexical processing, pragmatics, discourse analysis, neurolinguistics, dementia, syntax, language pathology, cognitive decline, speech production, communication disorders, neurodegenerative disease.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper explores how accurately the film "Still Alice" depicts the linguistic deterioration associated with Alzheimer's disease.
What are the central thematic fields?
The core fields include neurolinguistics, specifically the intersection of neurodegenerative brain damage and its manifestation in language performance, word-finding, and discourse.
What is the main research goal?
To determine if the portrayal of the protagonist's speech decline corresponds to medical reality and established academic findings regarding Alzheimer’s disease.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author employs a qualitative approach, collecting data through a structured list of linguistic symptoms while observing the film and its script, then comparing these observations to established linguistic disease patterns.
What is covered in the main body?
The body explains the theoretical medical background of language impairments in dementia, followed by a comparative analysis of the film divided into three chronological stages.
What characterises this paper?
The work is characterized by its bridge between film studies, qualitative data analysis, and diagnostic linguistics in the field of dementia research.
Why is Alice’s background as a linguistics professor relevant to the movie?
It adds an ironic depth to the narrative, as she is exceptionally well-equipped to notice and label her own cognitive and linguistic failures, making her self-reflection particularly notable.
How does the film represent the final stage of the disease?
The film shows a significant decrease in observable symptomatic behaviors not because of recovery, but because the language capacity has almost entirely vanished along with the patient’s ability to communicate meaningfully.
What does the author conclude about the film's accuracy?
The author concludes that "Still Alice" is a highly accurate representation, validated by the consistent alignment between the protagonist’s evolving speech difficulties and the documented progression of linguistic symptoms in Alzheimer’s patients.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Julia Niehaus (Autor:in), 2020, Linguistic representations of PWA and Alzheimer's disease in the film "Still Alice", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1389439
