Reading Film with Age Through Collaborative Autoethnography: Old Age and Care, Encounters with Amour (Haneke, 2012), Chronic (Franco, 2015) and A Woman's Tale (Cox, 1991)

• Published in: Life writing Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 69 - 95
• Main Authors: Ferris-Taylor, Rita, Grant, Jane, Grist, Hannah, Jennings, Ros, Rosselson, Rina, Wiseman, Sylvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02-01-2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Age; ageing; Autobiographies; Autoethnography; care; Ethnography; Motion pictures; Older people; Palliative care; research methods; Women
• ISSN: 1448-4528; 1751-2964
• DOI: 10.1080/14484528.2019.1521260

This paper is primarily a study in research methods, reflecting on the application of an autoethnographic method as means to engage with a co-created intergenerational research project that focussed on reading films about older age and end of life care. Methodologically rich and complex, this paper outlines the research process through which six women at different stages of the lifecourse (Katz, Stephen. 2005. Aging: Life Course, Lifestyle, and Senior Worlds. Peterborough: Broadview Press) came together to critically analyse Amour (Haneke 2012), Chronic (Franco 2015) and A Woman's Tale (Cox 1991). The autoethnographic approach privileges the voices of older women who use their own life stories and experiences to produce nuanced readings of care and old age as they are represented on screen. From this innovative approach to film through autoethnographic reflection, new concepts of "reading with care," and "reading with age" emerge as important to our understandings of what it means to care and be cared for.