Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory

Let me start by saying that I do not doubt that some people have extraordinary reactions to being played music - especially when they have been deprived of it for many years.

There is certainly a magic to music that we all feel, but that is impossible to describe.

However, this film is extremely simplistic. First, it would have you believe that this man made some never-before-made discovery about how music can affect people, including the elderly who suffer from dementia. Of course that's not true in the least. We - as humankind - have always known this. Perhaps some people never consciously paid attention to it, or perhaps just the aspect of how it affects the elderly is something that they hadn't considered before.

Then this film seems to imply that music will work wonders on everyone. At one point it even suggests that you won't need medication if you've just got music. Heck, one woman was able to stay at home instead of having to go into long term care thanks to music therapy. I'm sorry, but these are not just crazy, but very careless and damaging claims to be making. Again, I do not doubt that music might be helping THIS ONE, SPECIFIC person. But that's not something that can be extrapolated onto all other people. By making outlandish claims like this, one diminishes the hardships that caregivers go through, because clearly they're just not playing their loved ones the right music. Or enough of it. Right? If music is a magic pill, then it must be the caregivers fault that the person they are caring for isn't dancing with joy all day long. Caregiving is hard enough, and this film just gives outsiders one more excuse to judge and blame them. One more thing to ask "have you tried music therapy? I saw a film about it, and it works like magic!". As if caregivers aren't already inundated with enough unsolicited "helpful advice".

Also, medication absolutely has its place in the management of dementia symptoms. No, they cannot cure dementia, but they can help ameliorate symptoms such as agitation and aggression, which often come with dementia.

My mother lived for music. She wanted to become a professional singer, but that wasn't a realistic dream for her. Still, she would play the piano and sing her heart out at home, as well as singing in a choir that toured the country. When she developed dementia, she stopped caring about music (the same way she stopped caring about her family and friends, the family pets...). At some point it was just noise to her, and she would get angry if we put music on, even if it was her favourite songs. She became agitated and even aggressive at times. Thankfully, we found a medication that helped calm her down, without really sedating her. I'm not saying everything in the film is a lie, and my mother's experience is the truth. I'm just saying that everyone's experience is different, and showing only the most extremely positive cases is misleading and disingenuous.

My mother lived in a long term care facility for the last months of her life. We visited every single day. Sometimes twice a day. We spent time not just with her, but also with the other residents. I still volunteer there. They have various music programs, both for individuals, and in a group setting. Yes, there are a few that will immediately start tapping their feet, or humming along. One lady loves singing at the top of her voice. But they are in the minority. The majority don't react at all. And it's not because they're overmedicated, either, because this facility will try to take residents off medications rather than putting them on then.

Don't take my word for it, either. Volunteer at a long term care facility and find out for yourself. It will be a blessing to those residents to get some additional attention. But most likely, it will be an even bigger blessing to you.

I saw the trailer for the film on YouTube. As I'm just beginning a new career in aged care, I've been inspired to use music with residents - recorded music, singing to them*, and involving them in community singalongs. While my experience has been brief so far, I have seen in some residents the transformation which music gives (though nowhere near as dramatic as Henry in the clip).

*I'm not much of a singer, but that doesn't make a difference if I can find the right songs.

Inspired by the clip, I bought the DVD.

It was one of the most positive films I've seen for a long time. It brought tears to the eyes seeing some of the transformation brought about by music. It was wonderful, seeing a way that some joy can be brought back to some people.

I know that a film like that will only show the most positive stories, and I've seen first hand that many more people will not have the reactions shown.

But there has been enough of a transformation in some of the stories shown to continue to inspire me to look for opportunities to give just a little bit of joy to some people.

Thank you so much to the filmmakers and storymakers for showing the possibilities.

"Alive Inside" is the work of director/writer Michael Rossato-Bennett and Dan Cohen, who is the founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory. Cohen goes into nursing homes and sets patients up with ipods and earphones, and plays the patient's favorite music. This is sometimes learned from the family, sometimes from the patient, sometimes it's an educated guess.

The transformation in these patients is, I guarantee you, one of the most remarkable things you will ever see. It is pointed out that there is no medicine that can do this for these people, that they are overmedicated, and that the U.S. can save literally billions and billions of dollars by introducing this program into nursing homes. And it keeps elders out of those same nursing homes and with their families.

The music awakens memories in the person, it socializes them in a way they haven't been before, it calms them, it brings a smile to their faces. People who were sitting slumped over in a wheelchair not only begin to sing but dance. Truly remarkable.

The film shows one woman who has been cared by her husband for ten years without medication by playing her music for her.

I have never seen anything like this documentary, and it has really caught on with the public. A youtube video of one patient, Henry, went completely viral; the states of Wisconsin and Utah are adopting the program into all of their nursing homes, and the list of nursing homes incorporating Cohen's program is growing daily.

What Music & Memory needs now are donations, headphones, and ipods. These are always a need, though I suspect once this documentary is released he will have much more support -- but he will also have a lot more interested nursing homes and people.

The idea is to not throw away our elderly, but to involve the younger generation so that they can receive the gifts these wonderful people have to offer.

Alive Inside is opening nationwide but only in some major cities. Hopefully this will be on demand on cable, and the DVD itself is going to become available. I urge you not to miss this incredible documentary. It will be a life-changing experience not only for you but for your loved ones.

We need music. That's the message you are going to get from this documentary. And very few are as eye opening as "Alive inside" which takes us into the world of nursing homes in the US. It's easy to forget that there are millions of people living alone with no relatives to pay them a visit. We go on with our daily lives and spend more time talking to strangers on social medias than actually doing something for real people who are there and need us. The scary thing, it's that it might very likely be the way we end up ourselves: sat on a chair in a nursing home while contemplating yet again a plain wall for hours.

What Dan (the protagonist of this documentary) sets to do is to show the power of alternative therapies for people with Dementia, or simply people who have forgotten all about their lives. And his soothing therapy couldn't be simpler: Music! That's right! nothing else. We see the residents of these nursing homes with broken spirits, unable to articulate a sentence, incapable of remember any details from the past. Surprisingly, the moment they are exposed to music, memories come back to them. A spark lightens up in their eyes, they even dance, and start talking more than they ever did. Music makes them cry, laugh, jump. As one of them says: "It makes me feel like I have a girl and I can hug her".

How can music be so powerful? some bits are explained in the documentary, so I hope you will find the time to watch it. While it might not be the best edited piece of film making around, for the sake of its content, you should definitely give it go!

I had the privilege to see this at the Sundance Film Festival. It was the most memorable film experience of my life.

It will change the way you view the elderly and those with dementia. In shows that in the midst of what seems to be the overwhelming burden of the memory loss of dementia, there is still the hidden spark of who the person was and is. This spark is revealed as these elders hear the music of their lives. It is truly amazing to see people re-enlivened and joyful.

As a part of the Sundance experience we were able to have a question and answer with the director. It was evident that this film was made because he discovered something amazing and had to share it. This has the potential to change the lives of millions of elders. Truly the best of what indie films are about!