[Webinar Recording] March 2024 Living With Parkinson’s Meetup

March Living with Parkinson's Meetup Panelists

During our March Living with Parkinson’s Meetup, the panelists discussed the way media depictions and coverage of Parkinson’s affect their efforts to live well with Parkinson’s. Along with the audience, they also produced a playlist of songs related to Parkinson’s.

Read on for a summary of the conversation, and to watch or listen to a recording of the meetup below. If you haven’t attended our meetups live, register to receive the link to do so. 

Download the audio version of this webinar.

MEETUP NOTES   

Much of this month’s meetup conversation focused on discussion of films and television shows the panelists find interesting for the way the content depicts Parkinson’s.

Here is a list of some of what the panelists recommended:

A Late Quartet: Kevin observed that Christopher Walken’s performance in this movie was nuanced and that the film shows the way Parkinson’s can have rippling effects through communities.

Capturing Grace: Kevin recommended this documentary centered on the power of Dance for PD.

Curb Your Enthusiasm episode featuring Michael J. Fox: The panelists had differing opinions about this one. There was a sense that some of the ways Fox’s performance was “over the top” were funny, but Sree cautioned that for some, this could be a difficult watch.

Love and Other Drugs: The consensus amongst the panelists was Anne Hathaway’s performance as a person living with Parkinson’s was strong, as it conveyed multiple interesting aspects of young onset Parkinson’s, including impulse control disorders.

Move: Robynn recommended the Netflix series Move. While it isn’t directly related to Parkinson’s, Robynn observed that episode five, featuring Akram Khan, called to mind how Parkinson’s changes your abilities over time.

Ray Donovan: Multiple panelists observed that the depiction of Parkinson’s was clearly well-researched, but Robynn offered that some details about the way deep brain stimulation systems worked were wrong.

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind: Chris said this documentary shined an interesting light on Robin Williams’s comedy and how his career addressed the ways our brains worked even before his experience with Lewy body dementia was known.

Robin’s Wish: Kevin noted that this documentary seemed to aim to clarify some parts of Robin Williams’s experience and thoughts about life with a neurological condition.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie: The panelists talked about this important documentary at some length. Some found this film important insofar as it showed a different side of Michael J. Fox’s experience with advancing Parkinson’s.

The Zone: Doug found this short documentary about a climber who lives with Parkinson’s uplifting and great for nature lovers.

Shifting Gears: This short film features Davis and Taylor Phinney discussing transitions in life. This is a tender meditation on adapting to changes and the love between a father and son who are both creative and have had to navigate significant change in their lives.

“What Parkinson’s Has Taught Me”: Doug finds this TED Talk from Emma Lawton to be interesting and inspiring.

Other Observations about Parkinson’s in the News and other Media

The panelists raised concerns about the way news stories about research developments can create a splash. They observed that some coverage misrepresents the meaning of research studies–some of which are not necessarily high quality insofar as they may have been in animals only or to have involved few people.

Suggestions for navigating this issue included tracking down the original source material, talking about what you read with other people with Parkinson’s, talking about what you read with friends and family who have scientific literacy, and reaching out to [email protected] with questions.

We also covered this topic in a webinar with Dr. Benzi Kluger.

NEXT MEETUP 

Join us for our next meetup on April 18, 2024. The panelists always welcome your questions! Please send them using this form or by emailing [email protected].

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

Parkinson’s in Film and TV: Davis Phinney Foundation Blog Post

Eddie Marsen Interview Discussing Parkinson’s and Ray Donovan

Clip from Curb Your Enthusiasm, Featuring Michael J. Fox

A Playlist of Songs that Call Parkinson’s to Mind for the Panelists and Audience

“Slim Shakey,” Featuring Heather Kennedy

News Article about High Intensity Exercise from Yale

Original Research Article Associated With Yale News Article

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Thank you to our 2024 Gold Partner, AbbVie, and our Silver Partner, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, for their ongoing support of these must-have manuals. Additionally, we’d like to thank Barbara and Dale Ankenman, Abby and Ken Dawkins, Bonnie Gibbons, Irwin Narter, Lorraine and J Wilson, and Gail Gitin in loving memory of Gene Gitin for their generous donations that allow us to make these resources available and accessible to all. 

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