Still Alice

The movie Still Alice is a story that reveals the bitter truth of life. Everyone is constantly trying to achieve a life of positivity and order. However, life is unpredictable and brings tragic experiences. What does one do when their path is interrupted and doesn’t go as planned? In Still Alice, Dr. Alice Howland experiences this chaos when she gets diagnosed with early on set Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers is known to deteriorate memory and other mental functions. As a successful linguistics teacher having words disappear from her memory, Alice uncontrollably watched her career fall apart. This movie not only portrayed the aftermath of Alice’s diagnosis but also how it affected her husband and children of three. In a marriage, a couple

Lydia was facing her own personal struggles of the expectation to go to college versus following her dream of being an actress. The movie shined light on both scenarios, where one of Alice’s daughter went to college and became successful while Lydia was still lost in her path. It raises the point that everyone has different focuses in life, ultimately that the definition of success is varied. As the movie continues, viewers see Alice’s diseases progressing and her ability to remember things slowly vanish. At the start of the movie, there is tension between Lydia and her Alice; Alice wants Lydia to pursue a more reliable job such as a lawyer or doctor, but Lydia wants to pursue acting. This again points to the common social patterns and expectations of parents for their children. As the movie progresses, we see Alice and Lydia becoming closer after all the years of resentment. Alice’s diagnoses was an eye opener for Lydia, a reminder that we cannot take for granted the important people in our lives when agreements aren’t made. I appreciate Lydia’s effort to create a stronger relationship with her mother, leaving their confrontation aside. Alice even acknowledges Lydia’s decisions in life by attending one of her acting performances. Ultimately, a nurturing mother and daughter bond was created despite difficulties in the

One major example is divorce. In the U.S, 40-50 percent of families divorce for a wide range of reasons. Alice and Alec never officially divorced but her diagnoses with Alzheimers caused a split in their family. Alec eventually had to make the decision and move, leaving Alice behind. In a larger context, many families in the U.S split when one parent or partner cannot meet the expectations of another, whether the expectations are good or bad. Another connection I made to real life from this film is the correlation between white individuals maintaining a higher level of health compared to minorities. Having Alzheimers results in a lot of medical attention which is expensive. Without health care coverage and having a stabilized income, Alice would not have been able to live for as long as she did, or have the opportunity to take off of work for so long. Luckily her husband was able to support her financially. In our society, whites have more of an advantage when it comes to having health care coverage and eating healthier compared to