The movie that is going to be reviewed within the framework of the current paper is called The Intern. This is a rather meaningful motion picture because it dwells on the life of an elderly man who tries to find his place within society and remain useful despite age and an overall decline in his functions. This is an emotional movie that brings out the best in the viewers and helps them understand the value that older people bring to the lives of those around them. Even though the director seems to romanticize the main characters of the story, the outcomes that are being shown at the end of the movie resonate with the audience and provide them with a deeper understanding of why we should pay more attention to the elderly population and their aspirations. It may not be easy for them to interact with the younger generations, but they will always possess that wisdom necessary to go through a variety of real-life situations undamaged and positively-minded. The Intern teaches us the lesson that no one should underestimate the elderly, even if they do not seem too fit for the modern age activities.
Brief Synopsis
The main characters in the movie are Ben and Jules. Ben is a retired elderly man who has recently lost his wife. He rarely communicates with his son in order not to become a burden for his family and not draw all the attention to himself. Jules is the CEO of a quickly developing startup that organizes apparel delivery across the United States. She is married and has a daughter. Occasionally, Ben becomes a part of Jules’ company and gets the internship position as the CEO’s assistant. Even though Jules is not really happy with an elderly man becoming her Intern at first, she quickly becomes drawn to Ben due to his chivalrous behaviors, innate sense of humor, and positive attitude toward life. Together, Jules and Ben go through numerous challenges, and the CEO finally claims that her assistant is more than just an intern because Ben is her friend. Ben’s wisdom and understanding of life help Jules retain her position as the CEO of the company that she founded and even protect her marriage from a collapse.
Aging-Related Concepts
The first concept that should be reviewed when analyzing the contents of The Intern is the presence of cognitive changes that Ben experiences, as he becomes a lone elderly man going through the challenges of retirement. Even though his attitude toward life does not change a bit, it is evident that life is not the same without his life partner. Ben does not have problems with memory or car driving, but his behavior shows that he became slower with time and did not multi-task in ways similar to his younger colleagues (Anderson & Craik, 2017). Overall, the main character of the story is a perfect representation of how an elderly person should be because Ben never quit searching for his true value regardless of how hard it was for him to move away from a close relationship with his son in order to let him leave without obstruction (Hartley et al., 2018). The movie portrays Ben as a slower individual in order to underline his age and draw the line between borderline compulsive lifestyle typical of the younger generation and a lenient approach that Ben takes in order to eradicate any kind of haste.
The second concept that has to be introduced when discussing Ben’s character in The Intern is his unique wisdom. Even though he has a lot of experience and could become a verbal source of multiple pieces of advice addressed to his younger colleagues, he generously chooses to teach them by example (Ardelt & Edwards, 2016). It happens so naturally that it may be claimed that Ben does not even exert any effort when affecting the ones around him. The concept of wisdom, in this case, refers to the fact that Ben never imposes his opinions on the younger coworkers and influences them with his kindness and humility. With a great deal of confidence, it may be concluded that Ben did not only become a friend to Jules but to other members of the team as well. Ben knows that his time may be limited, especially with health issues getting to him, so he does not waste time giving out verbal directions. Ben’s actions speak for themselves when it comes to bringing out the best in other people because he definitely knows how challenging it may be to find the true self and commit to it.
One of the key theories that may be applied to The Intern is the activity theory. It perfectly describes Ben because he is glad to complete any assignment and is never bothered by the fact that a task could be too easy, for example. It does not matter to him whether he is going to be the CEO’s assistant or a person bringing coffee to every other team member. As long as he feels that he is valued, he is going to continue to interact with colleagues and the remaining world (Woll & Bratteteig, 2018). The best part about this theory is that often such activities come back to the elderly person in the form of gratitude and warmness that an older person could receive in response to their willingness to remain an essential part of the society. Ben does not mean to interfere with the intraorganizational relationships and objectives, as his key task is to show others that he is still very much alive and is not going to give up easily despite numerous negative events that created a huge hole inside his soul.
Ben’s willingness to become an intern with a company that is located right where he worked for more than 20 years may also be associated with the continuity theory. Judging by his attitude toward everything around him, Ben does not want to disengage because he still has many internal resources to keep going and does not shy away from his chivalric behaviors. The fact that Ben is so old-school shows that he wants to maintain the integrity and is not going to replace his long-standing values with their modern alternatives. The inability of his younger colleagues to communicate surprises Ben because he never thought that digital communication would replace face-to-face talks. On the other hand, no one sees him as a real-life relic of the past because Ben commits to his integrity and never hesitates to learn something new despite knowing so much already. Ben’s continuity is in his willingness to help and remain a source of assistance because he knows that it might mean a lot for those who still have trouble recognizing their value (Woll & Bratteteig, 2018). The team loves Ben due to his integrity and a wholesome attitude that differentiates him from the other people who do not know how to communicate and make friends.
Scene Selection
The scene that stands out the most for me is the closing scene of the movie, where Jules cannot find Ben while she also wants to tell him that she is not going to give up on her CEO position. Finally, she experiences a sense of relief when she sees him in the park practicing yoga with numerous other people of different races, genders, and ages. Jules wants to talk to Ben to break down the big news, but he invites her to the pitch and asks her to join him and practice yoga together. He even tells Jules that he does not want to know the news instantly, as he wants to enjoy his free time and relax, distancing himself from the everyday worries and challenges. The latter recurrently averted him from closing the inner gap that had opened wide when he lost his wife and distanced himself from his son’s family in order not to become too intrusive. Even though Jules definitely has not done anything like that in her lifetime (judging by her clumsy moves), she happily joins Ben and continues practicing yoga with her assistant as the credits start rolling.
This is a perfect ending for this movie because it shows how the wisdom of the elderly wins over the impulsiveness of the younger population. Older individuals are never in a hurry because they know that they will always have the time to think about what interests them the most and complete all the tasks they believe are relevant to them. The idea of elderly wisdom being an essential asset for humans is the red thread running through the niveous canvas of the movie plot. Even though Ben became rather sentimental over time (and he openly shares the truth with Jules), it does not make him less strong because he found himself in a position where he is everyone’s go-to uncle because he knows much more about life than his younger colleagues. Nevertheless, Ben displays his wisdom in this case as well because he never turns his back on the questions others ask and is always ready to help with whatever he can. The team was not ready for a retired person to come in and drive more sales and improve the company, but they embraced Ben’s wisdom and became able to generate positivity and overcome their personal challenges.
It would also be logical to associate the chosen scene with the concept of socio-emotional selectivity. In relation to the movie, it means that Ben became used to his role in society changing due to his age. He does not do everything as he could have been doing in the past due to the decline in physical capabilities, but his attitude toward the surroundings is what matters most (Woll & Bratteteig, 2018). Regardless of what he does for the company, he always comes out on top despite the fact that the CEO of the company and all other employees are much younger. Ben is not going to withdraw from such activities because they bring joy and make him feel useful again, especially given the fact that he became an intern for the company that is located within the same building as the business that he worked for when he was younger. All these emotional ties keep Ben together and make it easier for him to display his wisdom because he knows that these younger employees (and even the CEO) need him even if they do not express that verbally.
Conclusion
After watching The Intern, I have learned much more about why one should not be afraid to become old, as it also comes with numerous benefits that cannot be understood unless you become an elderly person. The application of different principles related to gerontology to this movie allowed me to realize that Ben is a perfect representation of how an elderly person should be: an individual who is not afraid to face challenges of any kind and help those in need, even if it is going to take time. The knowledge that the elderly possess cannot be ignored because it turns into wisdom with time, allowing them to look at a single situation from multiple perspectives. The Intern is a perfect example of a movie that does not only provide the audience with a chance to giggle, but it also touches upon the question of how truly important it is to embrace older persons and give them a chance to remain valuable even when they retire. Becoming friends with an elderly person is an opportunity to gain more insight into years of experience that transformed into wisdom and spiritual tranquility.
References
Anderson, N. D., & Craik, F. I. (2017). 50 years of cognitive aging theory. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 72(1), 1-6.
Ardelt, M., & Edwards, C. A. (2016). Wisdom at the end of life: An analysis of mediating and moderating relations between wisdom and subjective well-being. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 71(3), 502-513.
Breheny, M., & Griffiths, Z. (2017). “I had a good time when I was young”: Interpreting descriptions of continuity among older people. Journal of Aging Studies, 41, 36-43.
Hartley, A., Angel, L., Castel, A., Didierjean, A., Geraci, L., Hartley, J.,… & Taconnat, L. (2018). Successful aging: The role of cognitive gerontology. Experimental aging research, 44(1), 82-93.
Woll, A., & Bratteteig, T. (2018). Activity theory as a framework to analyze technology-mediated elderly care. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 25(1), 6-21.