The document summarizes the movie Calendar Girls. It follows a group of middle-aged friends who pose nude for a calendar to raise money for cancer research after one of the woman's husband passes away from the disease. Although initially met with criticism, the calendar becomes a success and empowers the aging women to feel confident in their bodies. The proceeds go on to benefit cancer research in honor of their late friend.

1. Calendar Girls
Mallory Carney, Aubrey Quick, Caitlyn Wilson, Meredith Haltiwanger, Reagan Brown
Group 8

2. Summary of the movie
Calender Girls is a true story about a group of middle-aged best friends that are set on raising
money for cancer research to honor one of the women’s (Annie) late husband. Chris, Annie’s best
friend, proposes producing a calendar featuring the women of their Women’s Institute group doing
typical older women activities such as baking, painting, and knitting, but with one twist- being nude.
The group is met with criticism at first and despite several challenges, go on to sell out of calendars
and catch national and international attention by empowering aging women to feel beautiful.
Chris Annie John Ruth Celia Cora

3. Trailer
For captioning select “CC” in the bottom right corner once video plays!
Link: https://youtu.be/zmpYu4-Gk94

4. Ageism & Physical Appearance
In this film these two topics were portrayed together because the idea of older women
posing naked for a calendar is unheard for their age. Ageism is a prevalent issue that affects how
older adults may interact with society. Growing older often has negative connotations, as seen in
the film when their peers and colleagues think the calendar is not appropriate due to their age.
There is a large focus on being older and the changes in physical appearance that comes with age.
Many of the women complain of loose skin and greying hair. Luckily, the women still practice Tai
Chi to help their joint mobility and keep them active.
Although these two themes are addressed in the film, there are other theories that outweigh
the negative connotations that these two topics typically portray. The characters that were
involved in creating and participating in the calendar chose not to let ageism dictate how they
view themselves as older women and instead chose to stay active in their society to raise money
for a great cause.

5. “Annie, I am 55 years old. If I am not going to get them out now, when am I?”- Cora

6. Active or Disengaged from Society
● Activity Theory of Aging
○ This theory claims that an individual's life satisfaction is directly dependent on his or her
choice of social interaction or level of activity.
■ Older adults are usually better adjusted when they remain involved in their social roles.
■ Older adults deserve as many opportunities as the younger generations so that they can
stay engaged in their work, families, and community.
● Disengagement Theory of Aging
○ This theory is the normal course of life for older adults. to loosen their social ties
○ This theory is typically bound to happen as everyone gets older, and most have the desire for
retirement and isolation as he or she grows older.
■ It is the act of pulling away from society.

7. How is this portrayed in the movie
Activity theory:
● The middle-aged women stay socially active by attending their Women’s Institutes group meetings regularly,
which they later used as an endorsement to sell their nude calendars to raise money for cancer. The women
benefited from the friendships and opportunities gained from staying active in the group.
○ (Brenda Mooney) "We don't do nudity. But we do do charity. I assume that this is a local fundraiser
and you're not going to be making a big hoo-ha out of it?" (Helen Mirren) "Yes” (Mackie, Barton, &
Cole, 2003).
○ This quote shows how the women that were involved in making the calendar were bringing something
entirely new to table for the Women’s Institutes group. They chose to stay involved and active by
continuing their charity work and eventually getting the entire group on board.
● The friend group continues to be physically active by doing Tai Chi together on top of a large hill in the
mornings.
● The women gain a positive outlook about aging after reading the late John Clarke’s poem:
○ “The flowers of Yorkshire are like the women of Yorkshire. Every stage of their growth has its own
beauty, but the last phase is always the most glorious. Then very quickly they all go to seed” (Mackie
et. al., 2003).

8. Types of Aging
“ Normal aging is different from disease” (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2017).
● Primary Aging: Normal changes over time that occur due to universal, intrinsic, and progressive
alterations of the body
● Secondary Aging: Changes over time leading to impairment caused by disease
● Tertiary Aging: Rapid decline shortly before death
○ Rapid loss of function in many areas
● These types of aging accumulate over time to cause a person’s death
● However, aging can also involve gains to improve functioning.
○ Taking preventative measure in primary aging (eating well, exercising, strengthening
relationships)

9. How is this portrayed in the movie
● The women in the film exemplify primary aging.
○ Do not look as young as they once did
○ Experienced loss and changes in relationships/behaviors
○ Physically look older and may feel older
● Annie’s husband, John, experiences secondary aging as he battles with cancer
○ This disease affects his day to day life as well as his state of health.
● Right before John passes from cancer, he experiences tertiary aging
○ His symptoms due to treatment are worse he is weak and declining rapidly.

10. Ego vs. Despair
● Erikson’s theory is eight stages of live (from infancy to late adulthood) where at each stage
there is a task has to be resolved to move to the next phase. It focuses on the biological,
psychological, and social changes that influence an individual’s personality (Whitbourne, &
Whitbourne, 2017).
○ The epigenetic principle specifies that each stage flows from one to the other in a
predetermined order
● According to Erikson’s Psychosocial theory, Ego Integrity vs. Despair is focusing on reflection
of one’s life.
○ If someone “succeeds” they feel fulfilment and satisfaction
■ They feel they are filled with wisdom and accept that mortality is just the end of life
○ If someone “fails” they feel despair and regret about the life they lived
○ It involves the individual reflecting on both the positive and negative aspects of their lives
and accepting the mistakes, even if that is hard to do

11. How is this portrayed in the movie
Ego Integrity
● Chris and Annie find fulfillment in their lives through the success of the Knapley Women’s
Institute calendar.
● John talks to Chris about his happy moments and how he enjoyed his life, showing he has
reflected and his satisfied with his life.
Despair
● At first, The Knapley Women’s Institute wouldn’t approve the idea of the calendar in fear of the
image it would portray over their members. Chris and Annie felt hopeless that the group they
were a part of weren’t being supportive of their idea for a good cause.
● Chris becomes so involved working on the calendar that it causes tension between her husband
and her son. Her son begins to misbehave/ act out. Chris feels as if she has been an unsuccessful
mother and regrets not spending more time with her son.

12. What did you think?
I really did enjoy the movie. I had a little trouble understanding the environment in the beginning, however, it was cleared up pretty quickly. I really enjoyed the
portrayal of being an older women and not wanting to slow down. Even though they are retired, they still socialize often with each other and make an effort to find
entertain or show they are not as old as people think, which is illustrates that older people are capable of the same activities as younger people. - Reagan Brown
This was such a good movie that highlighted various aspects of aging, beauty standards and change all while being comical and engaging. It was so fun to watch
Chris encourage all these older women to pose nude even when they felt as if they were too old. These women increased their involvement within their Women’s
Institution to bring enjoyment back to the club and to the people of Knapley. - Mallory Carney
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I am so glad that this is the film our group chose! It was very inspiring and uplifting to see older women stay true to their
friends by supporting them even though at first some were hesitant with the idea of the calendar. The way they that all agreed to help support their friend in hard
times shows that relationships only grow stronger with time if you care about each other and would do anything for each other. I agree with Mallory when she said
it was fun to watch Chris and all of her friends pose nude for the calendar, because it showed true friends and the idea that you are never too old for anything. -
Meredith Haltiwanger
Overall, I really enjoyed watching this movie and the way it positively portrayed the beauty of women at an older age. I will admit, it was difficult to follow along
with the movie at first. However, the story tied together beautifully. It’s inspiring to see a group of women supporting a friend during a difficult time and being
vulnerable with each other (physically and mentally) to help a dear friend. Their togetherness encouraged more women of the Women’s Institute to be proud of
who they are and their age does not limit their potential to achieve their dreams. - Aubrey Quick
I thought Calendar Girls was very inspiring. The movie did a great job at showing how truly silly ageism is. Ageism in our society leads people to believe that once
they reach a certain age you can only partake in activities that are for your age group, that you can’t do crazy things, come up with ideas, make differences, or feel
as beautiful as younger women. The friends in the movie show that not only can they do things that people their age typically don’t, they can be successful at it
while also empowering other women their age to feel important, confident, and beautiful. - Caitlyn Wilson

13. Reference Page
Bryant, C.(2020). Nature vs. Nurture [Powerpoint] Retrieved from lecture notes.
Bryant, C.(2020b). Physical Changes [Powerpoint] Retrieved from lecture notes.
Bryant, C. (2020c). Psychological and Sociocultural Models of Development [Powerpoint]
Retrieved from lecture notes
Nelson, T.D. (2016). The Age of Ageism. Journal of Social Issues, 72(1), 191-198. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12162
Mackie, S., Barton, N (Producer) & Cole,N. (Director) (2003). Calendar Girls [Motion Picture]. UK/USA:
Touchstone Pictures
The Trailer Archives. (April 3, 2013). Calendar Girls- Trailer [Video].
Youtube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpYu4-Gk94&feature=youtu.be
Whitbourne, S.K. & Whitbourne, S.B. (2017). Adult development & aging: Biopsychosocial
perspectives.SixthEdition.John Wiley & Sons
World Health Organization (2019). Ageing and Life-course: Ageism. https://www.who.int/ageing/ageism/en/