Theorist Bromley stated that disengaging was adapted to meet the needs of the society and the declining biological and psychological capacities of the individual (Powell, 21). However, it can be argued that this process benefits the society more because the death of an individual does not stop society from functioning. The theory claims that aging individuals should disengage to prevent any social disruption that may arise when they pass on (Powell, 20). Another act of disengagement can be retiring for something, allowing the individual to re-align with a life outside work or family (Hochschild, 562). This act could be preparation for death and the possibility of an afterlife. The individual will disengage themselves from society psychologically …show more content…
This scene could possibly foreshadow his quick acceptance of his eventual demise. The audience soon witnesses a very lonely, unhygienic and disheveled looking protagonist. There is a scene in the film where Schmidt’s daughter is making him a sandwich and he is ordering her around on how to do it. He tells her that he needs her to stay with him to make his sandwiches because his wife is not there to do it and that time is short and he needs to make up for lost time. He looks for refuge with his daughter because he emphasizes a need for having to be taken care of now, since his wife is no longer there. However, the audience can see that he is quite capable of looking after himself. He starts acting the part of the helpless old man in the jaws of death, who needs care and company because he will not be around much longer and will not be able to fend for himself. This is the image that Western society imposes on aging individuals. In a letter he writes to his sponsor child, he tells him that life is short and he cannot afford to waste another minute. He also mentions that he is able to calculate when someone will die, and his estimated time left is nine