2. Literature Review
2.1. Conceptualizing Ideal Worker Norms
The ideal worker norm suggests that complete dedication to one’s career is necessary, and those who demonstrate this commitment should receive high rewards
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
| [6] | Hatfield, E. (2017). “There’s a thousand invisible things I do around here”: Examining mother’s roles in the gendered division of labor on sitcoms. In E. F. Hatfield (Ed.), Communication and the work-life balancing act (pp. 145–162). Lexington Books. |
[3, 6]
. However, societal expectations often dictate that women conform to traditional gender roles, making it challenging to fit into the ideal worker norms
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
[3]
. The societal expectation of men, typically viewed as breadwinners, makes it easier for them to meet these ideal worker norms and standards than women. Women are assigned caregiving responsibilities
| [6] | Hatfield, E. (2017). “There’s a thousand invisible things I do around here”: Examining mother’s roles in the gendered division of labor on sitcoms. In E. F. Hatfield (Ed.), Communication and the work-life balancing act (pp. 145–162). Lexington Books. |
| [8] | Kirby, E. L. (2017). Work-life balance. In C. R. Scott & L. K. Lewis (Eds.), International encyclopedia of organizational communication. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118955567 |
[6, 8]
. Although there have been changes in societal norms regarding household and parenting responsibilities, women still bear the brunt of domestic labor and childcare.
Unfortunately, women who adhere to these norms may have to compromise their work-life balance and overall well-being because separating men and women into these traditional roles, while no longer dominant, still has a significant impact
| [6] | Hatfield, E. (2017). “There’s a thousand invisible things I do around here”: Examining mother’s roles in the gendered division of labor on sitcoms. In E. F. Hatfield (Ed.), Communication and the work-life balancing act (pp. 145–162). Lexington Books. |
[6]
. Hatfield’s research delved into the representation of gender roles and housework in television sitcoms. The results indicated that, despite increasing paternal participation in domestic duties and child-rearing, these shows consistently convey that women are primarily responsible for household chores
| [6] | Hatfield, E. (2017). “There’s a thousand invisible things I do around here”: Examining mother’s roles in the gendered division of labor on sitcoms. In E. F. Hatfield (Ed.), Communication and the work-life balancing act (pp. 145–162). Lexington Books. |
[6]
. This persistent confirmation of gender stereotypes places a considerable burden on women, who must successfully balance housework, employment, and family duties, making it difficult for women to be both good homemakers and ideal workers at the same time. Eventually, women are faced with the unnecessary decision of choosing between family duties (life) and work. Kirby expands upon the concept of an ideal worker by introducing the idea that “work should always come before life” (p. 7)
| [8] | Kirby, E. L. (2017). Work-life balance. In C. R. Scott & L. K. Lewis (Eds.), International encyclopedia of organizational communication. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118955567 |
[8]
. This makes it difficult to define work and life and calls for the constant negotiation of boundaries between these two. This resulted in the research question:
RQ1: How is the work/life of Jules Ostin portrayed in The Intern?
2.2. Conceptualizing Work, Life, and Boundaries
Drago states, “we view employment as work” (p. 25)
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
[3]
. Work encompasses any task that individuals undertake as part of their employment for which they receive some form of payment or compensation, such as salaries and wages. Consequently, employees are responsible for delivering specific results and are held accountable for their performance. Work typically adheres to a scheduled timetable, is time-limited, and is carried out within a designated area, all while affording financial rewards to workers. Historically, work environments have been designed to facilitate employees’ focus during standard work hours, with the expectation that they can work without distractions
| [6] | Hatfield, E. (2017). “There’s a thousand invisible things I do around here”: Examining mother’s roles in the gendered division of labor on sitcoms. In E. F. Hatfield (Ed.), Communication and the work-life balancing act (pp. 145–162). Lexington Books. |
[6]
. These are some of the characteristics of work that make it a significant part of life. It is essential to differentiate between paid and unpaid work
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
[3]
. This adds complexity to the definition of work, making it relative to each person.
Additionally, Schulte points out that societal expectations often place the responsibility of being the primary caregiver on women, even when they are employed outside the home. This can result in added pressures and challenges for women balancing work and family responsibilities
| [21] | Schulte, B. (2014). Overwhelmed: Work, love, and play when no one has the time. Sarah Crichton Books. |
[21]
. Drago also suggested that life involves engaging in enjoyable activities or leisure that bring happiness
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
[3]
. However, separating work from life can be difficult when considering the distinction between paid and unpaid work. Given the complexities of differentiating between work and personal life, some scholars argue that it is essential to establish and maintain boundaries to manage or minimize spillovers
| [1] | Clark, S. C. (2000). Work/family border theory: A new theory of work/family balance. Human Relations, 53(6), 747–770. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726700536001 |
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
| [9] | Kirby, E. L. & Krone, K. J. (2002). The policy exists but you can’t really use it: Communication and the structuration of work-family policies. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 30(1), 50–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909880216577 |
| [18] | Riforgiate, S. E., & Kramer, M. W. (2021). The nonprofit assimilation process and work-life balance. Sustainability, 13(11), 5993. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115993 |
[1, 3, 9, 18]
. Clark defines their work/family border theory as “how individuals manage and negotiate the work and family spheres and the borders between them to attain balance” (p. 750)
. Hence, separation and boundaries are still desired when creating workplace identity, often by differentiating between professional and private spheres
. Although expectations have shifted for women in the workforce, there is still a perception that family should come before the occupation, and clear boundaries should be set
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
| [8] | Kirby, E. L. (2017). Work-life balance. In C. R. Scott & L. K. Lewis (Eds.), International encyclopedia of organizational communication. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118955567 |
| [10] | Kirby, E. L., Riforgiate, S. E., Anderson, I. K., Lahman, M. P., & Lietzenmayer, A. M. (2016). Working mothers as “jugglers”: A critical look at popular work-family balance films. Journal of Family Communication, 16(1), 76–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2015.1111216 |
[3, 8, 10]
.
Furthermore, the understanding of work, life, and the boundaries amongst them has changed considerably in recent research, emphasizing the complex relationship between these areas and their outcome. Some researchers stress the importance of balancing work and life, arguing that this balance is crucial for improving employee job satisfaction
| [16] | Paudel, R., Kunwar, V., Ahmed, M. F., & A. Yedgarian, V. (2024). Work-life equilibrium: Key to enhancing employee job satisfaction. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i7.6956 |
[16]
. Their study highlights the necessity of establishing clear boundaries between work and personal life to mitigate stress and prevent burnout, fostering a sense of fulfillment in both domains. This equilibrium requires organizational policies that support flexibility and employees’ autonomy in managing their responsibilities.
Other researchers have acknowledged the spillover between work and life and advocate for an agentic approach to work-life balance, emphasizing individuals’ proactive role in shaping their experiences
. Their review emphasizes the importance of personal agency in setting work-life boundaries. It discusses how contextual factors—such as cultural norms and organizational practices—can support or hinder this agency. Similarly, Steffens and their colleagues explore the idea of “work-life blending,” which blurs the traditional lines between work and personal life
. While this blending can provide greater flexibility, it also poses a risk of spillover effects, where stress or demands from one area adversely affect the other.
Sahay and Wei focus on managing spillover effects during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, through effective communication
. They drew on nurses’ experiences to highlight how open communication within families and workplaces can help mitigate negative spillovers and foster a supportive environment.
This also resulted in the research question:
RQ2: How does the portrayal of work and life in The Intern shape conceptualizations of work and life in meaningful ways?
3. Methodology
I employed Critical Thematic Analysis
to analyze the movie and followed Tracy’s iterative method to identify patterns and themes
| [25] | Tracy, S. J. (2020). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Wiley-Blackwell. |
[25]
. Drawing on Owen’s thematic analysis focusing on reoccurrences, repetition, and forcefulness
, this thematic analysis identified patterns, themes, and relationships within the data based on the generated transcript from the movie. Tracy’s constant (“iterative”) comparison method involves reading the transcripts multiple times, going back and forth between them for emerging similarities and then themes
| [25] | Tracy, S. J. (2020). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Wiley-Blackwell. |
[25]
. This process involves “focusing on specific aspects of the data that extend theory or address practical problems, and encourages reflection upon the active interests, current literature, granted priorities, and various theories the researcher brings to the data” (p. 209)
| [22] | Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. |
[22]
. More specifically, I generated codes, starting with initial in vivo codes and then a secondary round of descriptive codes
| [19] | Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed). Sage. |
[19]
, then categorized and finally arrived at themes (manual coding) with essential examples as evidence. According to Spradley, “thematic analysis involves a search for the relationships among domains and how they linked to the culture as a whole” (p. 94)
| [22] | Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. |
[22]
. The primary objective of this analysis was to investigate the behaviors and actions of the characters Ben and Jules and to gain a comprehensive understanding of their roles in reinforcing or challenging the work-life discourse portrayed in the film.
3.1. Data Collection
The first step in the data collection involved choosing the film and watching it multiple times. I choose the Intern for this project because it explores contemporary work-life discourse, intergenerational mentorship, and gender dynamics in leadership. The film provides a compelling narrative that challenges traditional workplace roles and expectations, making it an ideal text for thematic analysis. Next, I generated a transcript with time stamps of the movie’s dialogue between the two main characters under review (Ben and Jules), including detailed annotations of nonverbal behaviors such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures. These annotations captured the nuances of the interactions between the characters, providing comprehensive data for analysis.
3.2. Analysis
Next, I began coding with initial in vivo codes
| [19] | Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed). Sage. |
[19]
, extracted directly from the transcripts using the character’s exact words and phrases to preserve the contextual significance. For example, Jules’ repeated use of terms like balance and sacrifice served as in vivo codes that highlighted her work-life-issue perspective. A second coding round grouped the in vivo codes into broader descriptive categories. For instance, phrases reflecting Jule’s challenges as a leader were categorized under workplace responsibilities, while Ben’s consistent actions to help and guide Jules were categorized as mentorship and support. The iterative method
| [25] | Tracy, S. J. (2020). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Wiley-Blackwell. |
[25]
, through multiple transcript readings and repeated constant comparison of codes, was used to refine both in vivo and descriptive codes to identify emerging patterns and themes. For example, categories such as mentorship, advising, and supportive actions were treated as distinct initially, but through iterative comparison, significant overlaps were identified and regrouped.Finally, patterns were grouped into two themes based on reoccurrences, repetition, and forcefulness. For example, reoccurrences reflect patterns of dialogue and behaviors reflecting similar sentiments or actions, such as Ben repeatedly stepping in to assist Jules during pivotal moments. Repetitions reflect frequent references to key concepts, including Jules’ ongoing discussions about the importance of work-life balance with other characters. Lastly, forcefulness reflects emphasis conveyed through tone, nonverbal cues, or narrative significance. For example, there were a few emotionally charged scenes where Jules had to confront her feelings about motherhood, highlighting the tension central to the work-life balance discourse.
4. Findings
Two themes emerge from the analysis – Normalized Work and The Ideal Worker Norm and Reverse Power Dynamics with Gender and Age. The first theme is consistent with existing literature, which suggests that working women and mothers are “jugglers” and must be constantly navigating between work and love, with the constant portrayals of a lack of boundaries and the need to set and negotiate some boundaries
| [1] | Clark, S. C. (2000). Work/family border theory: A new theory of work/family balance. Human Relations, 53(6), 747–770. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726700536001 |
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
| [10] | Kirby, E. L., Riforgiate, S. E., Anderson, I. K., Lahman, M. P., & Lietzenmayer, A. M. (2016). Working mothers as “jugglers”: A critical look at popular work-family balance films. Journal of Family Communication, 16(1), 76–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2015.1111216 |
| [21] | Schulte, B. (2014). Overwhelmed: Work, love, and play when no one has the time. Sarah Crichton Books. |
[1, 3, 10, 21]
. The second theme talks about the power dynamics at play because the woman is in what may be seen as a role reversal (young female in an older male-dominated leadership role, older male intern in a young female-dominated starter role). The film calls into question what we know about women regarding work and life.
4.1. Normalized Work and the Ideal Worker Norm
This theme reflects how work seems to be normalized through both the characters of Ben and Jules as they navigate the ideal worker norms. The film starts with the phrase “work and love; love and work, that’s all there is” (00:01:12 – 00:01:18); “keep moving; get up, get out of the house, and go somewhere, anywhere” (00:01:49 – 00:01:55). This was Ben describing his day as the film started. Schulte (2014) also said that no matter how you feel, dress up, show up, and never give up. She used this to describe the ideal worker. With this mindset, he found the flier advertising the senior intern position. Ben eventually is among the few interns that the company hires and goes back to work, even though he said from the beginning that his life during retirement is unhappy (00:02:46 – 00:02:57). The depiction provided highlights the idea that work holds significant importance and is a crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked or underestimated. Ben finishes his description with the phrase, “I still have some music in me” (00:05:42 – (00:05:48), which, in addition to the way Ben dressed throughout the movie, reinforces the ideal worker norms and normalizes work.
Drago’s concept of the “motherhood norm” sheds light on the expectations placed on women by society to fulfill traditional gender roles, including motherhood, providing unpaid family care, and offering low-paid care for those in need
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
[3]
. This expectation often leads to women being unfairly burdened with caregiving responsibilities, limiting their ability to pursue other personal or professional goals. This was the reverse case for Jules. Jules was portrayed as a young, dynamic CEO with immense love and passion for work. She described herself as happy with all aspects of her life. Ku (2021) suggests some individuals find happiness in balancing their work and personal lives while still meeting the ideal worker standards, a phenomenon known as eudaimonic happiness. Alternatively, some research suggests that pursuing non-traditional career paths for women may lead to greater fulfillment
| [17] | Pink, K. J., Coker, M. C., & Godager, E. A. (2023). “we’re dirtbags and proud of it”: Discursively constructing identity as an adventure worker. Communication Studies, 75(2), 170–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2023.2271204 |
[17]
.
Jules’ husband was a stay-at-home dad, while Jules ran her growing business. According to Dempsey and Sanders’ analysis, entrepreneurs tend to prioritize their company over their personal life, leading to a lack of work-life balance
| [2] | Dempsey, S. E., & Sanders, M. L. (2010). Meaningful work? Nonprofit marketization and work/life imbalance in popular autobiographies of social entrepreneurship. Organization, 17(4), 437-459. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508410364198 |
[2]
. This often results in them spending long hours at work, taking on additional responsibilities, and neglecting their well-being. Dempsey and Sanders argue that entrepreneurs have the tendency to get buried in their business, and they may end up doing almost everything. But if people do everything by way of multitasking, it makes them less productive
.
Also, some researchers argue that the “ideal worker” is expected to prioritize work above all else, often at the expense of their personal life and well-being
| [3] | Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, and life. Dollars & Sense. |
| [6] | Hatfield, E. (2017). “There’s a thousand invisible things I do around here”: Examining mother’s roles in the gendered division of labor on sitcoms. In E. F. Hatfield (Ed.), Communication and the work-life balancing act (pp. 145–162). Lexington Books. |
| [10] | Kirby, E. L., Riforgiate, S. E., Anderson, I. K., Lahman, M. P., & Lietzenmayer, A. M. (2016). Working mothers as “jugglers”: A critical look at popular work-family balance films. Journal of Family Communication, 16(1), 76–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2015.1111216 |
[3, 6, 10]
. This includes arriving at work early, staying late, and failing to take advantage of vacation days. This expectation can lead to burnout and negatively impact the worker’s mental and physical health. Despite shifts in family structure, Jules embodies the ideal worker with her ambition and low commitments outside of work. For example, Jules takes a customer service call, and below is the conversation with her assistant (PA) afterward:
Jules: Oh my God, how did that happen?
PA: (Walks in calling her) Jules?
Jules: I know, I know! I’m late for something.
PA: Yeah, everything
Jules: You see why I take customer service calls? I mean it’s so good. You learn so much. Okay, what’s up? What am I doing?
(00:07:14 – 00:08:00)
Jules gets on her bicycle while her PA follows her around, reading out the rest of the meeting itinerary to her. This portrayal makes Jules embody the idea of working mothers as jugglers
| [10] | Kirby, E. L., Riforgiate, S. E., Anderson, I. K., Lahman, M. P., & Lietzenmayer, A. M. (2016). Working mothers as “jugglers”: A critical look at popular work-family balance films. Journal of Family Communication, 16(1), 76–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2015.1111216 |
| [13] | Mark, G. (2023, May 4). Multitasking is the enemy of academic productivity: Faculty members pay a price for all that juggling of research, teaching, and service. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/multitasking-is-the-enemy-of-academic-productivity Links to an external site. |
[10, 13]
, only in Jules’ case, she is juggling between so many office work commitments with little family obligations as her husband is a stay-at-home dad, who did most of the traditional roles that are assigned to women. Jules’ boundary issues mostly had to do with having too many work commitments, especially with her desire to be hands-on with everything from taking customer service calls to teaching people how to fold clothes at the warehouse.
4.2. Reverse Power Dynamics with Gender and Age
There appears to be reversing power dynamics based on age and gender. The film does a good job trying to portray a young woman playing the role of CEO and an older man being assigned to her as an intern. However, the presence of an older male assigned to Jules perpetuates the stereotype that the middle-aged man is the leader and has a young, active woman as an assistant in a reversed form. When Jules was informed that Ben was going to be her senior intern, she vehemently pushed back against it with the excuse that she did do well with old people, using her relationship with her parents as a reference, with an extraordinary prejudice for older women (00:11:16 – 00:12:36). This representation fits the stereotype that older people can be troublesome
| [24] | Tinker, A. (2014). Older people in modern society. Routledge. |
[24]
. Jules and Ben’s relationship starts rather rough but progresses to some form of reverse mentoring. In several instances, Ben’s experience as a senior came to the fore as he gave advice (both solicited and unsolicited) and provided good guidelines for Jules and most people in the workplace. There were big moments that fit into the societal expectational role of a senior male playing the role of a role model or mentor to younger people and raised the question of whether the reverse power structure portrayed in the film was a subtle way of perpetuating stereotypical power dynamics in organizations or challenging that traditional organizational setup. Some big moments and the transformational mentoring processes occur in these two separate conversations below.
First, after the conversation about finding a seasoned CEO, Jules sets out to meet one of the guys on the search list. Ben offered to drive Jules after he saw her assigned driver go missing in action after Ben caught him drinking alcohol on the job, and he had to leave. When Ben finally dropped Jules off at her house, this conversation transpired:
Jules: I just wanted to say thank you for helping out with Mike today and for getting me chicken soup. Oh! And for cleaning that mess, that was awesome, seriously.
Ben: you’re very welcome. (He hesitates as if he wanted to say something else)
Jules: It’s okay, I really won’t bite.
Ben: You started this business all by yourself a year and a half ago and now you have a staff of 220 people. remember who did that…and I hate to say it but try to get some sleep.
(00:35:33 – 00:36:05)
In the traditional stereotypical organizational setup, where a middle-aged or older male was the boss, it would be normal for a character like Ben to offer such advice. With the reverse power dynamics portrayed in the film, Jules accepted the advice and showed a great deal of appreciation. In another scene, Jules is working late as usual, but this is the first time for Ben as her intern/ driver. Jules looked over and saw Ben behind his computer and walked over to his desk with her pizza box and drinks:
Jules: I hate eating alone.
Ben: (standing up at this point and trying to button up his suit) Absolutely!
Jules: You know, you don’t have to keep doing that (referring to his standing ovation) …
Ben: (as they eat together) I noticed that a couple of hours ago you had a meeting with another possible CEO. I saw him arrive. How did it go?
Jules: It was going well until he called this place, the term he used was a chick-sake, and I didn’t hear anything he said after that. Apparently, selling clothes makes us a chick-sake. I mean really? How is this not legit?
Ben: I couldn’t agree more. I find that surprising.
The conversation continued, and Jules ended up helping Ben create a Facebook profile. As they got to the question “who inspires you?” Ben’s answer was Jules Ostin, and this was his explanation: “I’m not trying to brown-nose you, but I have been in business for a long time, and I have never run across anyone quite kindda like you.” Ben added that his favorite quote is “you are never wrong to do the right things.” They realize they have some similar interest in the kind of music and books they like. As they wrap up the night:
Ben: this was great, Jules
Jules: Yeah! (smiling from chin to chin) it was nice having an adult conversation with an adult man. You know what I mean? Not about work, …
Ben: I know what you mean.
(00:51:00 – 00:56:06)
Another significant mentoring event occurred when Jules and Ben went to San Francisco to meet another possible CEO. They start to have a conversation about marriage in Jules’ room, and she opens up about her failing marriage and how she found out her husband was cheating on her with a mom from her daughter’s school.
Jules: It's a classic though, isn’t it? A successful wife, a husband feels like his manhood is threatened, so he acts out? A girlfriend, I guess makes him feel like a man. You know what I mean? I’m not sure I know how to deal with that.
Ben: Hold on, hold on…you are not actually taking the wrought for any of this, are you?
Jules: No, no,..he is the one doing something wrong. I get that. Monogamish is not what I am after. I’m taking this up as an awful act of misjudgment, not love. And once we move through this, we will eventually be okay again. What do you think about that?
Jules continues to rant about how she knows things would work out between her and her husband if somebody else were calling the shots because she would have enough time for her family. Ben’s response was this: “That’s it. I hate to be the feminist here between the two of us. Still, you should be able to have a huge career and be who you are without having to accept that your husband having an affair is some payback” (01:35:00 – 01:40:08). Jules constantly asking for Ben’s opinion all the time shows how she believes that because he is an older man, he has the experience to deal with most of the issues life throws at her. She goes back to Ben at his house for one last piece of advice before hiring the CEO, and this is Ben’s response: “No one else is ever going to have that kind of commitment to your company, Jules. To me, it’s pretty simple, About the Fit needs you, and if you don’t mind me saying, you need it” (01:49:20 – 01:49:33). Ben’s role help put a lot of things into perspective for Jules.
Again, when Ben walked into the office, his age was questioned. For example, one of the associates who interviewed Ben said “this is the first time we are hiring a senior intern. So, some of your questions may not exactly fit your profile, but we will go for it anyway.” She went on to ask what college Ben attended and what his major was but added “do you remember?” as if being a senior means you become irrelevant in the workplace. (00:09: 45 – 00:10:08). Another instance is when Ben was asked the question, “where do you see yourself in the next ten years?” (00:10:40 – 00:10:46). Right after the interviewer asked the question, he retracted, realizing that the question was out of place for a senior who 70 years was already. The interviewer, by way of compliment, added, “you look great, I mean, you still look great, and you are way overqualified” (00:11:00 – 00:11:14). Finally, when Ben reports for the meeting with Jules that her PA set up, this conversation transpires between them:
PA: (Casually looking up from her computer) Hello
Ben: Hi, I’m Ben Whittaker, I have a 3:55 appointment with Miss Ostin
PA: (looking at her computer for confirmation) 3:55? I thought she was meeting with her new intern…
Ben: Yes, that’s me. How are you doing?
PA: (chuckles and looks up from her computer surprised) I’m sorry but how are you an intern?
Ben: (very composed) There’s a new senior intern program starting today.
PA: Oh my God! (whispering) how old are you?
Ben: 70. And you?
PA: I’m 24. I know I look older. It’s a job that ages you. Which would be great in your case. (realizing what she just said) sorry!
Ben: I actually thought you looked younger
PA: You bet
(00:16:47 – 00:17:24)
The whole expression during this conversation portrayed Ben as being in the wrong place. The latter part of the conversation presented age as some competition or older age as some abstract thing that is unpleasant to look forward to.
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