Bob CollinsI’m trying to make up for Friday’s lack of posts about the human condition in its flowering form, but the news cycle did not allow it; it was all horrible and depressing.
The thing about Mondays is the news cycle is — for the most part — glacial and not at all interesting, so let’s bathe in alternatives while we can.
AdWeek today focuses on a six minute commercial — six minutes! — from Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (C.P. Group) focusing on gratitude, which it contends has always been a particlar part of Thai culture.
The 6-minute film tells the emotional story of a teacher who takes his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, to school every day with him so he can look after her.
As one can imagine, his decision to bring his ailing mom to school provokes some curious looks from his students–and causes parents to worry that their children are becoming distracted by her presence. One dad even becomes so concerned that he considers transferring his child to a different school.
As parents increasingly begin to grumble and gossip about the situation, the principal decides to have a talk with the teacher to let him know he’s willing to help him find a caretaker for his mother during school hours. While their conversation unfolds, his mother wanders out of the classroom and becomes lost, leading to a tense search aided by the students.
Of course, this isn’t reality. In the real world — at least in the U.S. real world — people taking care of elderly parents with Alzheimer’s are pretty much on their own, and workplaces aren’t in a rush to make things easier.
