How are the elderly represented in media?
Cultivation Theory coined by George Gerbner (1993)
“mass media has impact on people and it is merely wholesalers of social roles
in industrial societies. “They present a steady, repetitive, and compelling
system of images and messages”.
After gender and ethnicity, age is the
most obvious category under which we file people. Often age can withstand as a
factor of television and film drama that allows a broader audience to view the
drama. By having a range of ages in a TV
programme or film, there is a wider appeal. For example in EastEnders there is
a huge array of ages so a very broad appeal…there is characters like Lauren
Branning appealing to the rebellious teenage nature that many young teens and
young adults adopt and then other, older characters like Dot Branning with her
heavy religion and righteous, strong manner than can appeal to many older
people alike. I think age of characters hints a lot about the intended
audience…the majority of the characters in a drama like Hollyoaks for example
are young, youthful adults and therefore it is targeted at a younger, fresher
audience whereas a TV programme like the vicar of Dibley or Downtown Abbey
reaches an older audience with the old-fashioned themes and subtle satire and
comedy that only an older age range will understand. There is often a large
emphasis in media towards youthfulness. There are many reasons why this is the
case- and firstly because of the beauty youthfulness offers. Huge audiences can
be drawn into a media creation merely by the appearance of it…so effective
mise-en-scene with attractive youthful and new actors creates an automatic
allure. Although my view is probably biased- I feel that females in particular
enjoy having some form of attraction and youth in a programme… after all why
would a girl watch batman if not for the expected young, attractive love
interest teased in the trailer and film poster? Why would a girl watch fast and
furious if not for the enduring physical attraction of Paul Walker and the
expected plot b love path in the film? Why would a girl watch fast paced action
drama Game of thrones if not for the young, enthralling presence of Jon snow?
So, with all of these reasons to enjoy watching young, attractive and youthful
actors...why are the elderly even included? I believe that the purpose of
ageing actors creating a representation in TV and film is predominantly to
create a contrast. A contrast between the young and the elderly, the old and
the new, the modern and the historical. Without the elderly- TV and film have
almost no context, no fictional history, no background. Comparing the young and
the old is an important contrast relevant to everyday life. In addition I
believe the elderly are represented and included to be people of knowledge,
importance and intellect. They have lived long lives and are wise and
informative. Many old people in media are portrayed as grandparents- loving and
frail yet warm…without these sorts of characters how could an audience really
relate to family and relationships. We often see old people represented as very
nostalgic and almost ‘cute’ however the elderly often are used for the purpose
of bringing out caring, selfless and dedicational qualities in others...the
ones who look after or are related to them. The elderly can often be portrayed as
mentally and physically tiered- so they’re presence alone is tiring however
their nostalgic, thoughtful and vulnerable nature brings out all sorts of
important purposes. And lastly evil…I believe that many old people can actually
represent bitterness and an evil…possibly because they bring up key morals and
beliefs from the past or even because this evil is just an exaggeration of
social stereotypes of people holding stereotypes and prejudices that all old
people are shallow, solemn, bitter and crippled. Finally, in my opinion An
effective role of old people in media productions is to use the elderly in
contrast with technological developments. Technology nowadays dominates our
wold and often out smarts the elderly. Technology is often used as a battle force
for the elderly- almost as if it’s the power of technology versus the power of
history and nostalgic knowledge.
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