The Essence of Seniors Depicted in the Movie 'The Intern'

It is said that 'The Devil Wears Prada 2,' starring Anne Hathaway, has recorded a massive hit, surpassing the box office revenue of the previous film in just six days.
Although it is a sequel 20 years in the making, it seems it was a work that was highly anticipated.

Watching that news, I was reminded of a movie. It is the 2015 film 'The Intern,' which also starred Anne Hathaway.

Robert De Niro plays the protagonist, Ben. The fact that he had such surprisingly great chemistry with Anne might be one of the reasons this film was so beloved.

Ben is 70 years old. He retired from a company where he worked for 40 years, but after his wife passed away, he was spending his days in boredom.
He then saw an opening for a senior intern position at a fashion company and was hired.

The initial reactions from the young employees around him were like this:
An old-fashioned grandfather who seems to have low IT literacy—
Even the CEO, Jules (Anne Hathaway), viewed him as just a hire for a welfare program.

But Ben does not argue back.
He does not even try to prove himself.
He simply does his work carefully.
Eventually, those who experienced Ben's character began to accept him.

There are words I sometimes see on social media.
'The bubble generation can't use computers.'
'Women in their 50s are useless.'

People cannot be defined by labels. This film subtly depicts the danger of judging people uniformly by their age.

When I started working in nursing care, I faced opposition from everyone around me. They said, 'Humans aren't computers.' Since I had been someone who only read books and used computers since I was a child, I could understand why they would want to say that.

However, unexpectedly, I became hooked on the joy of nursing care and became a care manager.
The reason I have worked in the industry for over 20 years is simple.
I found talking to the elderly to be very enjoyable.

The elderly are living dictionaries and living witnesses of history.
They are people who have lived through the history I have only read about in books.

For example, people like the late Akio Sampei, who taught agriculture to TOKIO for many years on the DASH Village segment of 'Tetsuwan DASH,' are everywhere.
Thanks to them, I became able to make everything from Osechi dishes to miso. I was also taught many household know-hows and tricks.
For the elderly, these are not special things, but ordinary daily life.

I think that is the essence of being a senior. It is the reason why Ben shines and is trusted in the movie.

It is not just about experience.
It is about natural behavior that does not require recognition from others.
Doing it because you enjoy it yourself.
That alone allows a person to quietly become authentic.

You could call that self-affirmation.

The quietness of not trying to prove oneself or be recognized by those around you is not a weakness, but the strength of a person who knows themselves best.
I see words that measure people by their age or attributes, but the weight of what that person has built up cannot be measured by others.

And there is one more fact.

That everyone, without exception, will become a senior.
What kind of senior you become is created by who you are today.

Self-affirmation is directly linked to love and human relationships. I also write a paid magazine that delves into the structure of the psychology behind 'I don't want to be disliked' and 'I want that person to change.'