Age as a Token: Representation of Elderness and Youth in Paradise (2023)

Abstract

Just elderness cannot be thought of as a single factor, the body is also a concept that cannot be considered from a single perspective. The body, being a biological and sociological organism has been interpreted differently by thinkers and scientists; it has gained significance with phenomena such as Enlightenment, modernism etc. Thus, the body has become the locus of many phenomena that surround human life; illness, death, old age, physical disability, etc., becoming images that need correction, cessation, or prevention. The aim of the study is to examine the transformation of the concepts related to aging within the framework of the body through the film Paradise (Kunz, 2023)) and to examine the processes of body control, discipline, transformation into commodity, transhumanism/posthumanism in the context of the discussion of the right to life. As it is known, studies on old age/elderness and the body have also been of interest in cinema and this subject has been presented to the audience in many films with different messages. The science fiction film Paradise which shows that old age is an undesirable phenomenon and youth can be turned into a commodity that can be bought with money, is a German-made film that discusses the debates on change on the body, the problems of humanity related to aging and the decision of which bodies should live. In the research conducted, in film, it has been observed that the right to life is perceived as the privilege of wealthy individuals or scientists contributing to civilization.