Exploring married audience’ imagination about retirement marriage life from the movies

• Main Authors: Chang, Chun-Fang, 張純芳
• Other Authors: Dr. Chang, Te-Chuan
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/47483423630272885294

碩士 === 文藻外語大學 === 創意藝術產業研究所 === 102 === This study aims to explore the life of seniors after retirement through textual analysis in order to understand the perspectives of married audiences on the Elderly role in the movies and their positions in reality via in-depth interviews. Based on qualitative research the films About Schmidt and Empties are analyzed. In addition to textual analysis, the researcher uses in-depth interviews to collect the opinions of married audiences who have seen these films. According to the fundamental of role reversal theory, “role reversal interpretation” was conducted; the audiences were asked to imagine themselves within the media and to comprehend how they would react when encountering problems if they were characters in the films. The films portray two distinctive retirement lifestyles: the former examines the problems in retirement marked by a lack of planning, as revealed through the death of the protagonist's wife, while the latter discusses retirement not as a closure of life but as an expansion of possibilities through the protagonist’s change of work attitude. Audience analysis indicates gender difference in revealing the interpretation variation between male and female viewers. Female viewers dwell on the psychological and emotional readings of the protagonists while male audiences show a deeper understanding in imagining being in the protagonists’ shoes. Work background and belief both have a substantial influence over film interpretation and retirement planning. “Role reversal interpretation” allows audiences to immerse themselves in the plots and approach the protagonists from their own perspectives. The process can serve as a reference for married life after retirement by stimulating reflections and understandings through imagining the position of retired senior protagonists and their married life.