MOVIE NIGHT

By Dr. Marion Somers, Ph. D., Ask Dr. Marion

QUESTION: How can I help my neighbor of over 60 years enjoy his life now that he's confined to his apartment? Jimmy in Illinois, 77

ANSWER: With today's entertainment technology, video and DVD movies can easily be brought to your neighbor, and that could improve his quality of life. Movies enhance and expand a person's visual and emotional acuity. Your neighbor may have a favorite actor or actress or genre such as love stories or westerns or mysteries. Bring old favorites to him. I recently had a ball watching a few Chaplin movies with a client of mine. Newer movies can also expand your neighbor's emotional landscape and teach him about the world at large. Quality movies can reconnect him with the past and the present, and that will make him feel much more involved with life.