Jan 14
Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
TicketsDr. Michelle Putnam
Director of the Gerontology Institute and Professor in the Gerontology Department, University of Massachusetts-Boston
Logan's Run— When Age is Just a Number
Program Description
Logan’s Run was released in 1976, 2 years after the National Institute on Aging was established to support research that improves the health and well-being of older adults, just as the field of gerontology started to gain an identity. What we have learned over the last 50 years is that chronological age is just one indicator of health and wellness. What people do in later life, how they feel, what their experiences are—vary substantially. We have also learned that the experience of growing older is significantly influenced by social factors, many that we can change or modify through intentional actions. Gerontological science has demonstrated that age is often, just a number. If we foster an age-friendly society, then all of us, growing older, can remain active, engaged, and able to do the things we want to do—including going to the cinema.
Film Synopsis
A police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.
In the year 2274, young residents enjoy an idyllic, hedonistic lifestyle within the protective confines of a domed city. The general belief is that when each person turns 30, they are reincarnated for another blissful life cycle. Those who know the much darker truth become "runners" and flee to a hidden sanctuary. When law enforcement officer Logan (Michael York) goes undercover to locate the refuge, he winds up instead trying to initiate a revolution with runner Jessica (Jenny Agutter).
Photo credit: MGM
About the Speaker
Dr. Michelle Putnam is the Director of the Gerontology Institute and Professor in the Gerontology Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Gerontology is an interdisciplinary field, and Dr. Putnam’s academic training matches that. She holds a BA in History from the University of Michigan, an MGS (Masters in Gerontological Studies) from Miami University in Ohio, and a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California Los Angeles, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Public Health in Disabilities at Oregon Health & Sciences University. Prior to joining UMass Boston, she served as the Eckert Endowed Chair of Social Work at Simmons University.
Dr. Putnam’s scholarship focuses on the intersections of aging and disability including how growing older with lifelong and long-term disability is different than aging into disability for the first time in later life. Her research seeks to help build bridges across aging and disability research, policy, and practice. At the Gerontology Institute, Dr. Putnam works to support the translation of research, practice and education into positive outcomes for older adults and their communities. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Innovation in Aging, a journal of the Gerontological Society of America.