Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Psychology and culture have been searching for answers to the question of how modern man adapts to the last stage of life. Experiencing crisis and developing through crisis is an inherent assumption of psychoanalysis and the approaches derived from it. The aim of the study was an answer to the question what crises of old age are presented by the contemporary cinematography and whether their interpretation is possible in the light of the psychoanalytic approach, the first school of psychology interested in this period of human life. The film material was selected based on two criteria: 1) the film was recognised and awarded as having a universal humanistic message, 2) the film was presented to a wide audience in Poland and abroad (being well-known).The images of old age presented in the films will be interpreted in the psychodynamic approach: Carl Gustav Jungʼs theory of archetypes, Erik Eriksonʼs theory of psychosocial development, Robert Peckʼs theory of conflicts in old age and Lars Tornstamʼs theory of gerotranscendence. The films that constitute the material for analysis were Polish movies: Time to Die, Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease and Three Colors: Red, and international movies: Love and The Intern. The Polish and international movies were used to illustrate interpersonal crises typical of old age (loss or illness of a spouse, change of attitude towards other people) and intrapersonal crises (retirement, summary of life, preparing for death). Analysis of the film material shows the universal nature of crises in old age. Interpreting difficult, often borderline situations based on psychodynamic proposals seems fruitful as it presents a vital period of human life.
Source: Psychologia Rozwojowa
Authors: Maria Obarska, Iwona Sikorska
Institutions: University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4415150454