The Genius of Marian in the Washington Post
September 18, 2014
The Genius of Marian was recently featured in an article in the Washington Post, “PBS shows Alzheimer’s toll through filmmaker’s mother.” The piece talks about the documentary in-depth, as well as mentioning Banker’s recent interview with Creative Capital.
The Washington Post points out the timeliness of The Genius of Marian’s release, stating that “[t]he documentary comes at a time of growing awareness of the heavy impact Alzheimer’s has on women.” Recent research indicates that, not only are women more likely to get Alzheimer’s because they live longer, but there may also be some gender-specific biological causes. Although studies such as these present that hard facts and numbers, projects like The Genius of Marian and the Genius of Caring interactive story sharing experience help people attach faces to the abstract threat. As stated in the Post piece, we are trying to “speak to the deep human bonds that give people the strength to care for their loved ones.”
This is why we feel The Genius of Marian is so important; not only does it tell the White family’s story, but it shows explicitly how a family can be affected by this ever-present and ever-growing problem. Alzheimer’s isn’t a quiet, nameless disease that people can ignore, and with The Genius of Marian, people can see exactly what diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia mean to the people the affect.
Above all else, The Genius of Marian seeks to humanize Alzheimer’s disease. This is epitomized in one memorable quote from Pam:
I live for my family and my children, and one little glitch is that I have developed Alzheimer’s. Initially, I was quite distressed and upset about it, but it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t really change anything, so I don’t feel sad and I don’t feel regret. I feel blessed that I have this wonderful family and a husband who is extraordinarily wonderful. I just feel like, maybe the way my mother did before she was dying. It just was the way it was. And remembering, keeping, cherishing all the times I had with friends and family. So it’s all good. No regrets.
