Coming of Age in Films

Coming of Age in Films PDF Author: Mario Garrett
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527528367
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
The story of films is the story of human development. From the very first story that defined the birth of our civilization—the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, a story of immortality, aging and death—comes a tale of why we age. We are a species of storytellers. The stories we tell to each other define who we are. However, since we are living in a world marked by age apartheid, our interaction with people across different generations is becoming more limited. As a result, the information we gain about older people comes mostly from secondary sources. For the general public, films remain the most accessible form of information regarding getting older. From the early exposure of cartoons to more elaborate dramas, our knowledge of what it means to become old relies on our exposure to films. This volume provides insight into how accurate these representations are in line with current knowledge that we have about aging and older adults. Arguing that films present a simplified view of aging, this analysis relies on scientific evidence to explore why and how such stereotypes affect us. Stereotypes have the ability of being internalized and becoming prescriptive of our behavior. Numerous studies have attempted different ways of understanding the impact films have on aging. Theories as seemingly disparate as feminism and disability have contributed to our understanding of how stereotypes influence our aging process. This text builds upon this knowledge and provides new insights by applying current gerontological knowledge—the science of aging—to unpack and analyze the images of aging that films are providing. By readdressing this focus on gerontological theories—as diverse as biology and psychology—the book readdresses an overlooked approach.

Coming of Age in Films

Coming of Age in Films PDF Author: Mario Garrett
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527528367
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
The story of films is the story of human development. From the very first story that defined the birth of our civilization—the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, a story of immortality, aging and death—comes a tale of why we age. We are a species of storytellers. The stories we tell to each other define who we are. However, since we are living in a world marked by age apartheid, our interaction with people across different generations is becoming more limited. As a result, the information we gain about older people comes mostly from secondary sources. For the general public, films remain the most accessible form of information regarding getting older. From the early exposure of cartoons to more elaborate dramas, our knowledge of what it means to become old relies on our exposure to films. This volume provides insight into how accurate these representations are in line with current knowledge that we have about aging and older adults. Arguing that films present a simplified view of aging, this analysis relies on scientific evidence to explore why and how such stereotypes affect us. Stereotypes have the ability of being internalized and becoming prescriptive of our behavior. Numerous studies have attempted different ways of understanding the impact films have on aging. Theories as seemingly disparate as feminism and disability have contributed to our understanding of how stereotypes influence our aging process. This text builds upon this knowledge and provides new insights by applying current gerontological knowledge—the science of aging—to unpack and analyze the images of aging that films are providing. By readdressing this focus on gerontological theories—as diverse as biology and psychology—the book readdresses an overlooked approach.

The Silvering Screen

The Silvering Screen PDF Author: Sally Chivers
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442611049
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
Popular films have always included elderly characters, but until recently, old age only played a supporting role onscreen. Now, as the Baby Boomer population hits retirement, there has been an explosion of films, including Away From Her, The Straight Story, The Barbarian Invasions, and About Schmidt, where aging is a central theme. The first-ever sustained discussion of old age in cinema, The Silvering Screen brings together theories from disability studies, critical gerontology, and cultural studies, to examine how the film industry has linked old age with physical and mental disability. Sally Chivers further examines Hollywood's mixed messages - the applauding of actors who portray the debilitating side of aging, while promoting a culture of youth - as well as the gendering of old age on film. The Silvering Screen makes a timely attempt to counter the fear of aging implicit in these readings by proposing alternate ways to value getting older.

Aging Heroes

Aging Heroes PDF Author: Norma Jones
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442250070
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite the increasing number and variety of older characters appearing in film, television, comics, and other popular culture, much of the understanding of these figures has been limited to outdated stereotypes of aging. These include depictions of frailty, resistance to modern life, and mortality. More importantly, these stereotypes influence the daily lives of aging adults, as well as how younger generations perceive and interact with older individuals. In light of our graying population and the growing diversity of portrayals of older characters in popular culture, it is important to examine how we understand aging. In Aging Heroes: Growing Old in Popular Culture, Norma Jones and Bob Batchelor present a collection of essays that address the increasing presence of characters that simultaneously manifest and challenge the accepted stereotypes of aging. The contributors to this volume explore representations in television programs, comic books, theater, and other forms of media. The chapters include examinations of aging male and female actors who take on leading roles in such movies as Gran Torino, Grudge Match, Escape Plan, Space Cowboys, Taken,and The Big Lebowski as well as TheExpendables, Red,and X-Men franchises. Other chapters address perceptions of masculinity, sexuality, gender, and race as manifested by such cultural icons as Superman, Wonder Woman, Danny Trejo, Helen Mirren, Betty White, Liberace, and Tyler Perry’s Madea. With multi-disciplinary and accessible essays that encompass the expanding spectrum of aging and related stereotypes, this book offers a broader range of new ways to understand, perceive, and think about aging. Aging Heroes will be of interest to scholars of film, television, gender studies, women’s studies, sociology, aging studies, and media studies, as well as to general readers.

The Becoming of Age

The Becoming of Age PDF Author: Pamela H. Gravagne
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476603413
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Becoming of Age is an examination of the ways that aging and old age are represented in popular film. Arguing that the ideas behind cinematic depictions of aging are historical and open to revision, the author looks at how movies both promote negative portrayals of aging and challenge its persistent cultural devaluation. Movies are a site of struggle where the representation and the reality of aging intertwine, and they have the power not only to reflect but to reconstruct our understanding.

Still Doing It

Still Doing It PDF Author: Deirdre Fishel
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781583333204
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Get Book Here

Book Description
Explores the lives of sensual and outspoken women from all walks of life who are still experiencing vibrant sex lives in their senior years, in a series of human profiles featuring women who defy conventions and make sex an essential part of their well-being. 17,500 first printing.

Contemporary Cinema and 'Old Age'

Contemporary Cinema and 'Old Age' PDF Author: Josephine Dolan
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137584025
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is the first to explore ‘old age’ in cinema at the intersection of gender, ageing, celebrity and genre studies. It takes its cue from the dual meanings of ‘silvering’ – economics and ageing – and explores shifting formulations of ‘old age’ and gender in contemporary cinema. Broad in its scope, the book establishes the importance of silver audiences to the survival of cinema exhibition while also forging connections between the pleasures of ‘old age’ films, consumer culture, the ‘economy of celebrity’ and the gendered silvering of stardom. The chapters examine gendered genres such as romantic comedies, action and heist movies, the prosthetics of costume, and CGI enabled age transformations. Through this analysis, Josephine Dolan teases out the different meanings of ageing masculinity and femininity offered in contemporary cinema. She identifies ageing femininity as the pathologised target of rejuvenation while masculine ageing is seen to enhance an enduring youthfulness. This book has interdisciplinary appeal and will engage scholars interested in ‘old age’ and gender representations in contemporary cinema.

Elder Horror

Elder Horror PDF Author: Cynthia J. Miller
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476675376
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
As baby boomers gray, cinematic depictions of aging and the aged are on the rise. In the horror genre, fears of growing old take on fantastic proportions. Elderly characters are portrayed as either eccentric harbingers of doom--the crone who stops at nothing to restore her youth, the ancient ancestor who haunts the living--or as frail victims. This collection of new essays explores how various filmic portrayals of aging, as an inescapable horror destined to overtake us all, reflect our complex attitudes toward growing old, along with its social, psychological and economic consequences.

You Don't Look Your Age...and Other Fairy Tales

You Don't Look Your Age...and Other Fairy Tales PDF Author: Sheila Nevins
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250111323
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book Here

Book Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Thank you to Sheila Nevins for putting all this down for posterity. Women need this kind of honest excavation of the process of living.” —Meryl Streep An astonishingly frank, funny, poignant book for any woman who wishes they had someone who would say to them, “This happened to me, learn from my mistakes and my successes. Because you don’t get smarter as you get older, you get braver.” Sheila Nevins is the best friend you never knew you had. She is your discreet confidante you can tell any secret to, your sage mentor at work who helps you navigate the often uneven playing field, your wise sister who has “been there, done that,” your hysterical girlfriend whose stories about men will make laugh until you cry. Sheila Nevins is the one person who always tells it like it is. In You Don’t Look Your Age, the famed documentary producer (as President of HBO Documentary Films for over 30 years, Nevins has rightfully been credited with creating the documentary rebirth) finally steps out from behind the camera and takes her place front and center. In these pages you will read about the real life challenges of being a woman in a man's world, what it means to be a working mother, what it’s like to be an older woman in a youth-obsessed culture, the sometimes changing, often sweet truth about marriages, what being a feminist really means, and that you are in good company if your adult children don’t return your phone calls. So come, sit down, make yourself comfortable, (and for some of you, don’t forget the damn reading glasses). You’re in for a treat.

Aging in America

Aging in America PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 262

Get Book Here

Book Description
Essays and interviews by Julie Winokur. It's estimated that by the middle of this century the senior citizen population of America will outnumber the population of young people for the first time in history. Chronicling this unprecedented OAP-boom, Aging in America looks at the changes confronting the States as old-age goes mainstream. Originating as an award-winning story in the New York Times Magazine, Kashi and Winokur's project soon took them all round America as they celebrated the diverse lives of the elderly.

Memory and Movies

Memory and Movies PDF Author: John Seamon
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262553295
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book Here

Book Description
How popular films from Memento to Slumdog Millionaire can help us understand how memory works. In the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the childhood memories of a young game show contestant trigger his correct answers. In Memento, the amnesiac hero uses tattoos as memory aids. In Away from Her, an older woman suffering from dementia no longer remembers who her husband is. These are compelling films that tell affecting stories about the human condition. But what can these movies teach us about memory? In this book, John Seamon shows how examining the treatment of memory in popular movies can shed new light on how human memory works. After explaining that memory is actually a diverse collection of independent systems, Seamon uses examples from movies to offer an accessible, nontechnical description of what science knows about memory function and dysfunction. In a series of lively encounters with numerous popular films, he draws on Life of Pi and Avatar, for example, to explain working memory, used for short-term retention. He describes the process of long-term memory with examples from such films as Cast Away and Groundhog Day; The Return of Martin Guerre, among other movies, informs his account of how we recognize people; the effect of emotion on autobiographical memory is illustrated by The Kite Runner, Titanic, and other films; movies including Born on the Fourth of July and Rachel Getting Married illustrate the complex pain of traumatic memories. Seamon shows us that movies rarely get amnesia right, often using strategically timed blows to the protagonist's head as a way to turn memory off and then on again (as in Desperately Seeking Susan). Finally, he uses movies including On Golden Pond and Amour to describe the memory loss that often accompanies aging, while highlighting effective ways to maintain memory function.