Christians on Ageing’s Culture Club provides light relief from our core activities. It provides a venue for discussion of films, books, poems, TV and radio programmes which throw an interesting and provocative light on the depiction of older people in the arts.
Meetings, free of charge and open to anybody, whether a member of Christians on Ageing or not, take place via Zoom between 1.30pm and 3pm on Friday afternoons every two months. Each has a focus on a particular theme.
At the last meeting of Culture Club in May, we enjoyed a fascinating discussion about the ways in which the arts depict the carers of older people. A report of that meeting appears in the summer issue of plus.
At Culture Club’s meeting for the silly season, on August 8th, we’ll focus on just two works of art and talk about the many ways in which they depict the lives of older people – rather than, as is our usual approach, considering a range of works around a theme. The two are:
Conclave, the highly-acclaimed film released last November about the election of a Pope by a conclave of ageing cardinals and starring Ralph Fiennes. The film was based on a political thriller by Robert Harris.
Should we spend our final years continuing to tend our roses? In a remote part of India and completely out of their comfort zone? Seven older Brits manage to invent a new life for themselves in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film (2011) starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith, based on Deborah Moggach’s 2004 novel These Foolish Things. A sequel film, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, was released in 2015. (We shan’t consider the BBC TV series The Real Marigold Hotel, which was a documentary.)
Come along if you fancy a chat about these books and films and the questions they raise about the lives of older people. Culture Club meetings are open to anyone (CoA member or not), free of charge, and they take place on Zoom on Friday afternoons at 1.30pm until about 3pm, four times a year. Why not invite a group of friends to join you, each with their phone or laptop? Don’t worry if you haven’t read or watched the books or films in question.
If you would like to book a place for August 8th, please contact Barbara Stephens, CoA’s Honorary Secretary, at secretary@christiansonageing.org.uk. Also contact Barbara if you have any questions about Culture Club or would like to join in but need Barbara to facilitate access for you, as you don’t have a computer or smartphone.
