Film Review: Alive Inside

Abstract

Alive Inside is a documentary film promoting the use of music, specifically the creation of playlists of preferred music on a digital media player such as an iPod, among elders living in long-term care. In the United States, 5.4 million individuals are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers anticipate that number to increase 30 % by 2025. Viewers of Alive Inside can empathically climb inside the experience of an elder living with memory loss who is hearing his or her favorite song and feel overwhelmed with joy, sadness, memory, and sensation. In this way, music awakens the most profound sense of connection to ourselves and to one another. As dance/movement therapists, we know that rhythm unites, creating a sense of solidarity. The film tackles the question, “can a pair of headphones change the lives of millions of Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia?” It also highlights an opportunity to address scope of practice and professionalization along the arts and health continuum from arts and health practitioners to creative arts therapists.