Growing Old In A New Age

Set to premiere on television in October, the latest series from the Annenberg/CPB Project offers an in-depth look at the aging process--debunking popular myths, providing up-to-date information on the benefits of modern technology and medicine, and examining the psychology of the elderly and their relationships with family and friends. We looked at two episodes in the series, Learning, Memory and Speed of Behavior and Social Roles and Relationships in Old Age. The first program visits with people like Jane Potter, a woman who graduated from Harvard in her late 50s, while experts such as Gene Cohen, of the National Institute on Aging, point out the truths and falsehoods about learning and the elderly. Often slower, the elderly are not necessarily any less sharper, and many consider themselves to be more alert and better thinkers in their golden years. While there is a lot of positive talk and information presented, there are also some sad stories: one understandably angry woman, an avid reader, has difficulty remembering from one page to the next what she's read. Overall, however, the prognosis is very good and getting better all the time, and some of the absolutes (such as guaranteed memory loss) are overturned. The second program, again mixing interview footage with both the late middle-aged and professionals from the health and social sciences, investigates the shifting roles in society for the aging. One of the more somber observations is that the elderly no longer hold the position of political leadership they formerly held, and our current emphasis on the young (and often immature) has often blocked out the opinions and ideas of people who know better, our elders. Still, as the baby boomers (around whom the universe revolves) enter middle age, there should be a commensurate growth in attention to aging issues. And with life expectancy rates on the rise, we now have a whole new frontier to explore: being a great-grandparent (author alert: major self-help book opportunity here). Other titles in the series include: Myths and Realities of Aging; How the Body Ages; Love, Intimacy and Sexuality; Work, Retirement and Economic Status; Illness and Disability; Dying, Death and Bereavement; and The Future of Aging. A welcome addition to the available video resources on aging. Highly recommended. (Available from: Annenberg/CPB Project, P.O. Box 2345, South Burlington, VT 05407-2345; 1-800-LEARNER.)