Older Adults in Films: The Invisible Older Woman

According to the Nielsen Company’s market research, Americans increased their television viewing in 2010 to an astounding average of 34 hours per person per week. In addition, that same year, more than three out of four Americans went to the movies at least once. Latinos, followed by Blacks, went more often than Whites.

But how much does our fascination with media shape our views of reality?  The content of the tv shows and films we love provides a distorted representation of our society. The impression we receive is that older adults are the exception. Although prime time television portrays many young adults (20–34 years old), significantly fewer older adults appear on screen. Older adults make up about 3% of television characters, but comprise almost 15% of the total population. This finding is consistent throughout the short history of television.  The same pattern emerges when we examine television advertising, game shows and cartoons. Fewer than one in 20 of all characters is aged 55 years and older. Even in soap operas—typically replete with older-looking actors—older adults are still under-represented, although appearances go up to 8%. The same is true for magazine advertisements, where older adults comprise only about 6% of the images. It seems that the pictorial media is shunning older adults.

And women fair much worse than men. Older men appear as much as ten times as frequently as older women, with a similar pattern among characters in children’s television cartoons. Approximately 77% of older characters on those shows are male. As for ethnicity, a 2002 study that examined 835 television characters found only four African American characters over the age of 60, and other ethnic groups were almost totally absent from the 60+ age group. They are have become invisible in television and film.

In America, advertising that portrays older adults overwhelmingly associates them with health-related products. Interestingly, seniors appear even if these products are for ailments that are not particularly age-related (e.g., allergy medications). In advertisements related to Alzheimer’s disease, long-term institutionalization, and loss of bladder control, older adults are invariably shown as being happy, smiling and generally being amiable.

Television and film executives argue that older adults do not comprise their primary target audiences. They argue that older clients stick with the same products. But do not tell that to Lexus. By providing an excellent quality product and customer support, older people did switch brands. Perhaps older adults are waiting for the right quality product. Moreover, one look at television will tell you that perhaps that product is not out yet. Nevertheless, perhaps there is a possibility with film.

The Coming of Age film festival—which première’s its second year on January 12, 2012 at Balboa Park’s Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA)—will highlight how some films can represent older adults realistically. The champion of older adults, Florida Senator Claude Pepper once lamented: “Are the elderly the lepers of television, ostracized from public view?” 

Not yet.  The Coming of Age festival is addressing that imbalance, one film at a time. To book free seats, call MOPA at  619-238-7559 or visit their website at www.mopa.org.

Mario Garrett, Ph.D., is a professor of gerontology at San Diego State University and is currently on sabbatical at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He can be reached at mariusgarrett@yahoo.com