Aging and Death in The Bucket List and Cocoon

Introduction

Aging and its natural consequence — death — are subjects that raise diverse emotions among those involved in these processes. Some embrace these pivotal moments in life; others attempt to avoid them. The two films The Bucket List and Cocoon offer examples of how different people deal with aging and death. This paper examines these films from the perspective of the characters' physical and mental health, their family and social issues, their economic status and social service usage, and cultural diversity.

The Bucket List is a 2007 comedy-drama about two strangers who meet in a hospital. Carter is an African-American blue-collar worker, a family man and an amateur historian who works as a mechanic by trade. Edward is a white billionaire healthcare tycoon who is estranged from his daughter. Forced to share a hospital room, the two befriend one another over the course of their treatments. Carter, realizing he has less than a year to live, writes a bucket list of things he would like to do before he dies. Edward finds the list and encourages him to follow through — going so far as to insist they do it together and promising to fund the entire venture. The two then set off on a journey to experience thrills (such as skydiving), exotic sights, fine dining, and genuine friendship. Along the way, they learn something deeper about themselves: Carter discovers that his sense of boredom with his wife was simply the result of his inability to appreciate how to love her — a weakness he overcomes by the end of the film; Edward realizes that his estrangement from his daughter stems from his compulsive need to control everything, and ultimately they find forgiveness and reconciliation. The film is a touching tribute to the power of friendship, family, and the truths that the prospect of death can force a person to confront.

Cocoon is a 1985 science-fiction comedy-drama about a group of aliens attempting to retrieve their friends — beings living in cocoons on the ocean floor — by revitalizing them in a pool at their rented Florida condominium. The condo's neighboring residents are a group of retirees who stumble upon the pool's secret life force and eagerly embrace its effects: they begin to feel younger, their ailments fade, and they climb trees, go dancing, and drive cars with renewed energy. Some residents, however, refuse to participate and consequently face the natural effects of aging — ultimately, death. When the retirees drain all of the life force intended for the cocoons, the aliens are forced to bar them from the pool, as the beings inside can no longer survive the journey home. The film conveys a message that life must be shared rather than consumed selfishly, cutting others off from its precious vitality. In the end, the aliens offer the retirees the chance to live on their planet forever — an offer of immortality. Most agree to go, but Bernie, whose wife has died, chooses to remain on Earth and face death the way she did.

The Bucket List: Physical, Mental, and Family Dimensions

The physical and mental health issues in The Bucket List center on Carter's terminal cancer and Edward's cancer, which is in remission by the film's end. The mental health dimensions are equally significant. Carter suffers from depression upon learning he has less than a year to live — a despondency compounded by his sense that he will never fulfill his long-held dreams. He also experiences a kind of emotional numbness toward his wife, which he works through by the end of the film, ultimately feeling deep gratitude for her love and for his family. Edward's mental health is characterized by a compulsive need to control and a chronic difficulty getting along with others — he has been divorced four times, is estranged from his daughter, and inevitably clashes with Carter. By the film's conclusion, however, he too has resolved his core issues, learning to forgive and to humble himself. These struggles are rooted in both the aging process and long-standing lifestyle choices: Carter feels he has missed opportunities to pursue the things he always wanted, while Edward's drive for control has alienated the very people who wanted to love him.

Family dynamics shape the potential for caregiving throughout the film. Carter's family is distrustful of Edward's plan, viewing the bucket-list journey as reckless and dangerous. Edward, however, recognizes that Carter needs to do something for himself — to break free from depression — and views the trip as an act of reaching out to another human being, and by extension, of becoming more fully human himself. Because Edward has no real family to raise objections, the arrangement suits both men well. The primary social barriers they encounter are the cultural norms that treat activities like skydiving as pleasures reserved for the young. Together, Carter and Edward challenge this age-related taboo and reclaim the experience of living.

The Bucket List: Economic Status and Cultural Diversity

The economic circumstances of Carter and Edward could hardly be more different: Carter is a blue-collar worker while Edward is a white-collar billionaire. They are worlds apart, yet as opposites they attract. It is Edward's wealth that enables Carter to fulfill his dreams and pull himself out of depression — without this gift, the aging process would likely be far more painful and isolating for Carter. Yet wealth is also a burden for Edward, as it has constructed a wall of luxury between himself and genuine human connection. The two achieve a kind of happy medium: Carter gains access to experiences he could never have afforded, while Edward discovers the meaning of giving. The medical services both men use — the cancer ward of the hospital — are not what ultimately transforms their quality of life (QOL). Rather, their QOL is elevated by the friendship they forge and the self-understanding it produces. It is also rooted in their ability to escape their respective environments and engage with the wider world and with nature, which research suggests can offer real refreshment and rejuvenation for older adults (Van Hoof et al., 2010). It is this reconnection with the natural world and with a trusted companion that most powerfully boosts their QOL and deepens their relationships with the people they love.

The cultural diversity themes in the film are, at one level, straightforward: Edward and Carter are of different races and classes, yet they bond over a shared appreciation for intellectual discussion, ideas, and the world at large. They tap into a universal sense of brotherhood that transcends race, ethnicity, and background. More meaningfully, each man's culture genuinely enriches the other — the breadth of Edward's lifestyle opens Carter's world, while the grounded humility of Carter's lifestyle softens Edward's. Both men grow as a result of this exchange. This dynamic is consistent with the view of Morgan and Kunkel (2011) that the experience of aging and decline is substantially shaped by an individual's lifestyle choices and cultural context (p. 2).

References

Howard, R. (Director). (1985). Cocoon. 20th Century Fox.

Morgan, L., & Kunkel, S. (2011). Aging, society and the life course. Springer.

Reiner, R. (Director). (2007). The Bucket List. Warner Bros.

Van Hoof, J., Kort, H., Van Waarde, H., & Blom, M. (2010). Environmental interventions and the design of homes for older adults with dementia: An overview. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, 25(3), 202–232.