From an End to the End: The Fourth Age in the Movie Amour
Keywords:
fourth age, old age, the body, movie, anthropologyAbstract
The paper aims to relate the movie narrative of a highly acclaimed film Amour (2012) by Michael Haneke and the concept of the fourth age which is constructed in relation to the third age concept, understood as its antithesis in the 20th century. The film illustrates a rapid and irreversible transformation of a retired piano teacher, who shifts from being an active and successful elderly person in control of her life plans to facing a sudden health crisis. This deterioration forces her into dependence on others for care, leaving her as a fourth-ager with little to no agency over her own life and its ending. Her reliance on her husband, coupled with his acceptance of responsibility, acts as a buffer against societal strategies for managing the rising elderly population. This relationship also forms the basis for analyzing the coping strategies available to those experiencing rapid health decline, as well as to those observing the suffering of their loved ones. The three-level analysis of the production, content and reception as an established methodological procedure attributable to anthropology of movie will serve as a path to the diegesis aimed at a better understanding of the issues marked in contemporary society.
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