Narrating Illness, Degeneration, and Dignity: A Circuit of Culture Reading of Still Alice

Abstract: Representation of illness and disability in cinema is a highly debated and complex topic. Nuanced and respectful portrayals of illness in films can create awareness, empathy, and support for those affected, contributing to broader conversations and discourses about illness and disability in society. Stuart Hall’s Circuit of Culture is an important theoretical framework that enables analysing how representations in popular cultures like films, media, TV shows and literature shape and reflect societal understandings of issues like illness and disability. Hall’s theory comprises five interconnected components, such as representation, identity, production, consumption, and regulation, in analysing cultural artefacts like films and decoding their complex meanings. This research paper aims to analyse Richard Glatzer’s movie Still Alice, a poignant film that explores the life of Dr Alice Howland, a renowned linguistics professor diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease - using Hall’s Circuit of Culture. The paper also highlights how a film’s representation, production and reception can contribute to the destigmatization of a progressive and degenerative disease like Alzheimer’s and the disability connected to it and foster empathy within society.

Keywords: Illness, disability, Alzheimer’s, films, representation