Counterintuitive Fall 2024

Alzheimer’s Awareness

0:00. The ad starts at the ground level. There are hardwood floors and wooden legs of furniture. The floor is clean but the legs of the furniture are worn and the paint is peeling. In the background there is a free standing cabinet with multiple drawers. The piece is in line with the other legs of furniture, nice but lived in. This leads me to the conclusion the ad takes place in a house. there are bowls on the lower level of the closer piece of furniture so most likely the ad starts in the kitchen or dining room. The quality and wear of the furniture suggests that this is a middle class family, probably in a residential area near a city. That means that the adults in the family probably work significant hours in a possibly physically strenuous position.

In the room there are two sets of feet. They are dancing, more or less in synch. The feet are far enough apart that we know it isn’t a couples dance like the waltz. The speed of their feet also tells us this is an uptempo song that they are dancing to. One of the sets of feet has modern colorful socks on. Their pants match this with a modern fabric, perhaps denim. The pants are stiffer and have a couple wrinkles. The size of this persons feet tells us it is most likely a child around 10 years old. The other set of feet are wearing crochet socks that are light beige. The pants attached to those feet are older in style, possibly wool. The size of this person is that of a fully grown adult. The older style of the clothing leads the viewer to believe that they are older, possibly elderly. The age difference is most likely that of a grandmother and grand daughter. Females are most likely due to the styling of clothing and the fact that they are dancing. Both seem to be average weight and the activity suggests decent physical wellbeing.

0:01. The camera moves to approximately waist height in the next clip. It also moves from the original room to a neighboring room. While we cant tell what this new room is it confirms that the original room was the kitchen. The back wall of the kitchen has two large multi-paned windows letting in lots of light. The room the camera is now in has significantly less light, in the dim to dark range. The style of window is older telling us the house is not fancy or a new build. It also helps support the theory that we are in a residential area outside a city. Outside the window is what appears to be a large tree which suggests that the kitchen is at the back of the house and that they fave a small backyard. The size of the yard is in relation to how far away the tree is from the window. The cabinets are relatively recently painted blue. The piece of furniture that we could see the legs of at first is now revealed to be a central island in the kitchen. It is not a permanent island, only a piece of furniture. On top there is wood for food prep with two shelves below holding a variety of bowls, plates, and vases. On the other side of the island is a countertop with the freshly painted cabinets below. The sink is set into this countertop and there are a few clean dishes air drying around it. The lack of a dishwasher once again adds to the older timeframe in which this house was built. The fresh paint and newish island suggest that the kitchen was renovated but not completely overhauled between 6 months and 5 years ago. The floors are still old so the renovations were not huge but could have been moderately significant.

Because of the new camera angle we can now see the two people from the first clip in their entirety. It is a girl around 10-14 and an older woman in the right age range to be her grandmother. The older woman is of retirement age and the kitchen renovations could have been to prepare for her moving in. In the new room with the camera is the hip of a new person. The pants of this new person appear to be dark blue jeans and the shirt is a light pink. This outfit leads the viewer to believe that this is a woman. The size of this woman implies an adult and in the context of the other two people she is most likely the girls mother and the daughter of the older woman. She is watching the girl and her grandmother dance. The dance is modern in style and could be a social media dance. A phone is not visible but the style is reminiscent of a TikTok dance.

0:02. The camera remains in the new room and adjusts more to the lower lighting of this room. As more details of the new room become visible a bookcase comes into view. There are a couple photos, framed, on the shelf. One is larger and looks to be a portrait in the style of the mid 20th century. The photo depicts a young man and given the time period it appears the photo was taken in it is most likely the husband of the grandma. Next to that photo is one that we can’t quite make out but is probably the husband of the middle aged lady.

The camera is refocussing on the mother as she walks into the kitchen. As she approaches, the dance turns the grandma and girl around to face her.

0:03. The camera moves back to the kitchen but this time it is at eye level. The camera is facing the dancers and shows the mother approaching. Behind the camera is the window and sink. The kitchen has now been shown from three different angles and it can be reliably assumed that it is relatively small. We can now see a few more cabinets that also look to be recently painted. The older photos and some older furniture lead the viewer to assume that the family has not just moved in though.

The grandmother and girl look to be filled with joy as they dance. The mother looks surprised and tired. From this new angle we can now see the phone either recording or showing a reference video.

0:04. The camera angle is maintained and the mother continues approaching as the other two dance.

0:05. The camera moves to a close up of the girl and we can see pure joy in her face. She continues dancing.

0:05-0:08. The camera swaps to a close up of the grandmother and we can see her happiness. It then goes back just slightly so we can see both of the dancers faces. The camera musty be right in front of the mothers face as we look upon the dancers with the kitchen window in the background once again.

0:09-0:10. The camera turns 180 degrees so that we have a close view of the mothers face. She looks surprised but happy. The room she was just in is now more visible. We can see the other side of the room. Opposite the bookcase with photos is a bookshelf filled with books. We can now see what appears to be the edge of the dining table as well. The second room is now clearly the dining room although it is also a pass through room.

0:11-0:12. The scene changes completely. It is now dinner time. We can see almost the whole dining room now. There are newly painted, built in bookshelves lining the room. They are filled with books. The dining room table and chairs are dated and not very expensive looking. The room adds to the middle class feel of this family. They do not have anything overtly expensive but they live comfortably.

The girl is still happy and on her phone while sat at the dining room table. This tells us that the new scene is not long after the previous one. In stark contrast to the girl her grandmother looks very unhappy as she sets the table. The light is dimming throughout the ad so this meal is probably dinner.

0:13-0:18. The camera angle stays the same. The grandmother stops setting the table and looks confused as if she knows she is forgetting something but can not remember what it is. She then sits down and the camera focuses on just her. She still looks confused and unsure of whats happening. When she sat down it was an unsure action. She gently lowered herself down as if at any moment someone could tell her not to sit.

0:19-0:20. The camera moves around her face as she is sat looking confused. The background is now blurred and it is very clear that she is confused. This shot is similar to the moving shot without sound that is used in action movies after someone is caught in or near an explosion. The person is clearly confused and the blurred background helps show that the person is not taking in their environment like they should be.

0:21-0:22. The mother walks in and says something to the grandmother. Whatever response is given is unusual and leads to the mother being confused. It looks like the mother is disappointed and like her guard might be coming back up.

0:23-0:24. Back to the original angle in 0:11-0:18. The grandmother says something forcefully. The girl is visibly confused and looks to her mother for support. Her mother seems to console the girl and her grandmother. The scene from earlier is clearly shattered by this outburst.

0:25-0:30. The scene changes again. The camera is now in a top corner of the living room. The mother is seemingly explaining something to the grandmother. Text appears on screen describing early signs of Alzheimers. The scene fades into a neutral background as the symptoms continue to appear. The ad finishes.

Overview. The scene opens up happy because many people with Alzheimers are lucid part of the time or early on they can be lucid almost all the time. The family is an average one. This is one of millions of similar American families. Middle class, hard working American families. There is probably only one income stream because a father or second mother is never shown. The house has a backyard but not a large one showing once again that these are average people. When the pleasant scene is shattered it shows that anyone can get Alzheimers. Not just the rich, not just the poor, not just men, anyone can get Alzheimers. The grandma looks like she’s in good physical shape. This family is the epitome of people who are doing well but aren’t rich. This also shows the struggle people who can not afford a home can be put through. Taking care of an aging parent with Alzheimers is hard and this ad shows that it can happen to anyone. Without a parent with memory issues this would be a beautiful family as shown early in the ad. This helps spur people who might not have this issue currently to donate to research so that they never have to deal with a parent going through a battle with Alzheimers.