The Intern
If you had a business, would you prefer to
hire a newly graduated person who knows how to use technology such as
computers, or someone who is older and has experience but does not know how to
use some technology? And what kind of people do companies prefer to hire? The
movie called The Intern is a comedy that talks about these issues.
It focuses on the story of a senior whose wife has died;, and he is retired,
and he has a lot of free time, but he's feeling there's still a hole he wants
to fill. So, he gets an internship with a modern online company. This movie
shows us that if you can achieve discipline, continuity, and success in work,
then age is not important; the important thing is ability that a person
has.
The
film was shot in New York, written and produced by Nancy Meyers. It begins with
Ben, played by Robert De Niro, the main character, an old man with gray hair
and wrinkles; he wears a suit, glasses, a watch, and he has a classic
briefcase, he looks like a businessman. While leaving the market, he saw an
advertisement about a senior internship program that required a person over
65 who was interested in ecommerce and has organizational skills. This
was a challenge he needed in his life. Ben got into the internship senior
program; he became personal intern working with AFT founder Jules, played by
Ann Hathaway. She is a young mom and busy with her work. She wears elegant
clothes with high heels, she has dark hair, and she puts some makeup on, and
with lipstick, which makes her more attractive, she looks like a model and she
often sterilize her hands. The writer Vanden Bosch reminds us here that Jules didn’t want
Ben in the beginning, he said about Jules, “who has been persuaded, against her wishes, to try the
new senior intern program. Initially she sets Ben aside, assuming that he is
out of place and not up to the fast paced work environment. Ben, however,
calmly finds ways to help others, and soon becomes a valued part of the
workplace.”
AFT
is an online clothing company. In ATF, the offices of the employees are next to
each other, the meeting rooms are made of glass, the walls and columns are
painted white, and there are very large windows through which sunlight enters,
all employees work on one floor which communication and teamwork; even the CEO
Jules rides her bike through the office as exercise. In the workplace,
employees seem to be busy, most of the employees wear casual clothes.
Coincidentally, Ben useduse to work in the same building that was a factory for
phonebooks for about 40 years; he was in charge of printing.
When Ben began at AFT, he went to meet assistant Becky,
and she was surprised about his age of 70, while she is 24. Ben, a humble
person, asked Becky for some tips on how he should deal with his boss; she told
him to talk fast, don't dawdle in any way, just keep it moving, and don't
forget to blink. In THE GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA article
“Playing with ageism” the writer Jim Vanden Bosch, talked about generational
interaction, usually younger interning and receive mentorship from more
experienced elders people, and argues that this film corrects misconceptions
about older people in the workplace. Such as work will be difficult for
elderly, or they are not productive as younger employees. Jules
was also surprised that the intern was senior, so she wasn't giving Ben work to
do. She told him he can wear casual clothes, so he doesn't have to wear a suit.
He told her he's comfortable with it. Ben was waiting to receive any email
because he was excited. As a worker with a lot of experience, Ben showed that
he was ready for work and organized; While he was waiting to receive any work, he
was learning new things, showing he was willing to help coworkers, and
arranging the place. For example, there was a table on top of which was a
mountain of things that Ben came early and cleaned up by himself, which made
Jules happy. There was a bell the staff would ring the bell when there
was good news, and they rang the bell to appreciate and thank Ben for what he
did.
Ben was gracious and liked to work and help
his colleagues, and this helped to make him successful at AFT, despite his age.
When Ben noticed that driver Julie was drinking, he went to talk to driver Mike
and told him that he could take the day off and that he would be driving
instead of him. And that showed how Ben cares about colleagues; he feels
responsible and likes to collaborate with them. For example, Davis was
consulting Ben in finding a place to rent, and Ben told him he could live with
him for a few weeks until he could find another place, and this is generous of
him. The writer said about Ben “ he brings an openness to learning and an
easy adaptation to the fluid and tech-driven work style of the company. The
film then takes this a step further. Ben soon becomes regarded as a mentor—on
everything from personal relationships to business strategies. And on a deeper
level, his stability of character and his lifetime of experience enable him to
gently and unobtrusively “mentor” Jules as she struggles with a major decision”.
And I agree with him.
Ben is a kind and supportive person. He made
Becky feel better when he gave her some advice and helped her with work to
relieve the stress. When Jules was leaving a
meeting and was frustrated, Ben lifted her spirits and reminded her that she
was the one who started working on her own and started the company only a year
ago, and now she has 220 employees and reminds her that she can succeed in
anything she wants. When Jules apologized to Ben for transferring him,
he accepted her apology and made her feel at ease; he is an understanding person, and it made her feel as if nothing had
happened. Ben paid attention to the details, and he noticed that Jules was
looking tired and forgot to eat all day and was feeling nauseous so he brought
her some soup.
Because Ben's work experience in sales and
advertising made him flexible in understanding the work and finding appropriate
solutions, it was easy for him to make plans for ATF . Jules became confident
in Ben and shared the work, for example, she made him look at the data on
customer purchase patterns before her. Usually, Jules didn’t share this data
with her assistant. While Jules and 4 of her young employees were around
her watching sales, Ben came with the purchase data he had seen with the help
of Becky. Ben noticed that the most expensive place they advertised brought in
customers who spent less, Jules was impressed with Ben's speed at finding a
work problem, and she trusted and asked him to plan for. There is an article
written by LISA TAYLOR entitled De Niro comes of age in The Intern: How
older employees are re-inventing themselves, she said “Individuals in their
50s, 60s and beyond have known that they desire new meaningful ways to engage
and contribute. The Intern takes this individual perspective and provides a
corporate context. At a time when ageism and outdated career paths dominate, we
are reminded that the future for older workers doesn't have to turn out to be a
tragedy.”
The film shows that this internship was a
good opportunity for Ben to prove that he is capable of achievement and success
in his work, so age does not matter and was not an obstacle; the important
thing is that he wants to work, and he has the ability to work. Older employees
have the flexibility to find solutions and deal with problems and work
pressure. But they may face discrimination. Those around them may think that it
will be difficult for them to do the work, or they may not be given tasks to
do. An example of discrimination in my country is that some of companies they
prefer to employ single women more than married women, because they think that
married women have extra things to do and children may get sick at any time,
while single women will have more time to work. I think it is better for
companies to have a diversity of employees because this will help all of them
with success and development. Also, TAYLOR said,“There are countless stories of
individuals seeking their own "what's next." Some have great success.
For others, it is a long, hard journey. What this movie highlights in a fresh,
unique way is that the real story is not about older workers seeking new jobs.
It is a smart, funny depiction about the power of inter-generational
relationships in today's workplace and the untapped innovation of the boomer
generation.”
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