Media Representations of Dementia

People living with dementia and the syndrome itself are represented in the media in two paradoxical ways, Peel (2014) argues. One portrays dementia as a catastrophe, as dying while still alive, as a ticking time bomb. Another paints dementia as something that can be warded off or its symptoms as something able to be minimized. The researcher argues that these ways of viewing dementia and those diagnosed with one of its forms are problematic and require changing. Additionally, this article shows that caregivers of those with dementia do not use the same rhetoric to describe the person or their medical situation. Attention to different narratives of the journey with dementia is necessary for a better picture of the lives of those it affects, and would promote more positive social regard and change for those in this particular population.

Access this article to read more: ‘The living death of Alzheimer's’ versus ‘Take a walk to keep dementia at bay’: representations of dementia in print media and carer discourse.