The Character

Hello! Let me introduce the main character of my film opening. I will be describing her look, personality, moods, and living style. This is just an idea of my character , it is not 100% how that character will look.

I plan to create my character as a older person. It will be a female in their late 70's. She is a serious and complicated single woman. My character doesn't care about her appearance, so her style will be very simplistic. She would typically wear a long dress, a men's jacket with long socks and flats. This character is typically in her apartment most of the times because she doesn't like the presence of others. She never had kids and a family, so life for her was always lonely and boring. 

Her isolation is decaying her mental health. She is forgetful, easily irritated and in constant pain because of her arthritis. Her name will be Edith. I chose that name because it was a common name in the 40's. She will look similar to the picture on the left. Her hair is white, doesn't like the concept of wearing makeup. She immigrated in her late 40's from a different country, so it has been difficult for her to assimilate the American culture. 

Research:

I made some research on lonely elders in the United States. Some research I found was a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated. Also, according to the U.S. Census Bureau close to 14 million seniors age alone. 

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. 

• Social isolation has been associated with a significantly increased risk of premature mortality from all causes;
• Social isolation has been associated with an approximately 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia;
• Loneliness among heart failure patients has been associated with a nearly four times increased risk of death, 68 percent increased risk of hospitalization, and 57 percent increased risk of emergency department visits; and
• Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) have been associated with a 29 percent increased risk of incident coronary heart disease and a 32 percent increased risk of stroke.

                       

                                                   Old woman staring watching the outside

I am excited to keep going on this journey and to keep learning new things. This character has showed me that many seniors are usually lonely.

References:

National Library of Medicine (Unknown). Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System. Website link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557972/

CDC (Unknown). Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions. 

Website Link: https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/lonely-older-adults.html#:~:text=A%20report%20from%20the%20National,considered%20to%20be%20socially%20isolated.