A 1-2 page synopsis that includes: (1) your movie/book/song selection of choice; (2) rationale for why this was selected as your topic; (3) a bullet point outline of what you intend to discuss in your presentation answering the questions below. The purpose of this sub-assignment is to help organize your thoughts, obtain feedback from me prior to the final submission, and consider some of your thoughts. This can be an informal presentation of your original reflection with the hope to clarify some points prior to the final submission.
can choose a topic of your choice. The requirements include that the selection has to be about one of the modules we discussed in class. For example, the movie has to be about the death of children, death in the lives of older adults, themes surrounding medical aid in dying or hospice/palliative care, or suicide or traumatic death, or an intervention surrounding loss adaptation.
The questions in the final assignment will include the following:
Provide a synopsis of the film or book. Please do not provide an in-depth, scene by scene, description but rather concentrate on the plot points and context that is relevant to issues pertaining to death and dying. You want to draw on what is critically relevant and what will inform your analysis. What is the death/loss theme that is being portrayed, who is the population, and how is this connected to our classroom context.
What was the primary grieving style of each person? What are the reactions of each of the main characters? (e.g., the reaction of someone receiving a life-threatening illness, a family member of someone who has died by suicide, the healthy sibling, a parent dealing with the death of a child). Provide examples of behaviors, emotions, and other adaptive or maladaptive coping mechanisms. Do the main characters react differently and, if so, are their styles intuitive or instrumental?
Is there any conflict depicted throughout the film with respect to grief and loss adaptation? How is that conflict managed or addressed? If there is no conflict, how come? What are your observations?
What is the film’s ending as it connects to death/dying or grief and loss adaptation?
In thinking about your social work practice, how would you facilitate the grieving and loss process? Is there a specific intervention from our class that you would utilize or employ with the main characters?
Finally, how do you think about your selection in reference to your own social work practice? What is your overall takeaway or message from writing this critique?
