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Self-directed learning is something that adult learners engage in, but sometimes don't even identify as learning! One of the ways that we engage in self-directed learning is through popular media - like books, movies, and tv shows.
I am always on the lookout for portrayals of LTC in popular media - even the ones that are not necessarily favourable. Below are some recent examples of books, movies, and tv shows that have long-term care environments.
A Funny Kind of Paradise
Written by Jo Owens
This is the most realistic fictional portrayal of the LTC environment that I have read. Jo, who herself works in LTC, transported me to an environment that felt so familiar it was astounding. She writes this story from the perspective of a person-receiving care (PRC) who can understand what is going on around her but cannot speak due to a devastating stroke. Her portrayal of the staff interactions, care of the PRCs, and complicated family dynamics is so (for better or for worse) accurate and that I had a hard time separating it from reality. She is able to show the staff as overburdened with care-associated tasks, as not perfect, mistake-making, human beings. But conversely she shows them also as truly caring, compassionate, loving, and connected to the PRCs despite the challenges of the work. Those of us that work in LTC know that these connections to the PRCs and their families are real, and despite the professional and ethical boundaries that we must keep in place we create family-like bonds.
I would recommend A Funny Kind of Paradise to anyone wanting to learn more about the realities of LTC, and the experiences of the staff, as well as the PRCs.
I Care A Lot
Directed by J Blakeson
Available to view on Amazon Prime
The title certainly a misnomer, I Care A Lot tells the story of an unethical public guardian who targets vulnerable older adults, placing them in LTC and taking control of their financial assets. Adult guardianship laws in Canada are in place to protect older adults who are not able to make decisions related to their care and finances but this movie, with an exaggerated premise, shows how the workings of the system can erase personhood and should be navigated with caution. It is a cautionary tale of what can happen when the wrong person is in a position of power over those with less power. The portrayals of LTC are accurate in some ways, but do pander to the trope of facility living being the worst possible outcome at the end of life.
Recommended for the sake of entertainment, and to raise awareness of the possible dangers of the legal system's treatment of older adults.
Derek
Available to view on Netflix
While I have some qualms about Ricky Gervais portrayal of the title character with "child-like naiveté", which seems like a thinly veiled side-stepping of the more-problematic inevitable controversy of portraying someone with intellectual disabilities, Derek, is notable in this list because of the setting. Derek is one of a group of "carers" in an LTC facility in the UK. The portrayal of the care facility is a but caricature-like, but the dedication of the staff to the facility and the PRCs who live there is commendable.
Recommended to watch with a grain of salt!
Check back for more fulsome reviews as I dig deeper, or explore more of the following titles:
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