Representation of Elderly People in the Media

 My favourite film genre is Coming-of-Age films, however, I found them very ageist. The strong majority of them showcase stories of characters around 16-24, perpetuating this idea that these years are the best of our life. The genre focuses around growing, which is something that can happen to a person at any age. This is why I really wanted my story to focus on elderly characters and represent a fun story for someone over this age. 

When researching films elderly characters were featured in, I found I had not seen many. Some of the ones I had seen included:

• King Lear (2018), a story of King that goes mad 
• Coco (2017), a fun story but still about death 
• Up (2009), a quite atypical representation of elderly people
• Esio Trot (2015), another positive representation of elderly people

I studied King Lear at English Literature A Level and we discussed the King's madness and insanity frequently. We considered illnesses such as dementia as well. The representation of elderly characters as mad or unstable is not uncommon. 

I really enjoyed the film Up and the presentation of the characters. Following this, I wanted my story to have a similar Pixar/comedy feel to it. 

We live in a very ageist society, frequently we are advertised products to reduce ageing and are force-fed images of young and 'perfect' bodies. Any ageing marks or spots are photoshopped away and ageing is seen as something to fear. This is all down to our capitalistic society, by fearing something, money can be made. This is something I became particularly aware of during the pandemic, worrying that I was losing the 'best' years of my life. 

I strongly believe the media requires more representation for elderly people that are not just stories about loss and sadness. We should not fear our later years but be excited for them. This belief inspired my story and the characters within it. Although they do conform to some conventional tropes e.g. hearing difficulties, I wanted the story to show that fun and exciting things can happen at any age.