Elderly in Mass Media

Last reviewed: February 2017

Abstract

By 2040, experts predict, one in every four Americans will be over the age of 65. In many societies, the aged are treated with great respect and are considered to have great wisdom. In most Western societies, however, the needs of the elderly may be shifted to the backburner since the emphasis is on youth, productivity, and affluence. The mass media has frequently been taken to task for failing to represent the realities of life for seniors, leading to negative images that may threaten the health, self-images, quality of life, and lifespans of the elderly.

Overview

Throughout the developed world, as life expectancies have expanded, baby boomers have moved into the ranks of the elderly, and individuals over the age of 60 are making up larger percentages of total populations than ever before. In the United States, individuals over the age of 55 made up 28.1 percent of the population in 2016. Despite their ubiquity, the elderly often claim that they have become invisible to the remaining population. Nowhere is this invisibility more obvious than in the mass media where the elderly are often represented as insignificant members of family groups. Many elderly are active users of new technologies and watch television more than any other age group. The elder population has more disposable income than any other age group, and they account for half of the total dollars spent by consumers. Yet, seniors are also largely ignored by advertisers who devote 90 percent of advertising dollars to the market under the age of 50. Media stereotypes of the elderly portray them as ill, frail, helpless, or befuddled, leading to the perpetuation of negative views on growing old. Among mass media, the elderly are more likely to be portrayed as grandparents than in any other role. While grandparenting is generally a positive image, it defines the elderly entirely in relationship to others rather than as individuals in their own right.

In the United States, individuals over the age of 50 hold some three-fourths of personal assets (Hilt & Lipschultz, 2004), and households composed of the elderly spend on average $36,800 per year on consumable products. Elderly females make up a large share of consumers of female beauty products designed to make women appear younger than they actually are by removing wrinkles, revitalizing the skin, or restoring graying hair. Haboush and Benuto (2012) note that in 2010, some $10.7 billion was expended on various cosmetic procedures.

Because elderly individuals are rarely seen in romantic situations in film and on television, it is worthwhile to note exceptions such as Ron Howard’s Cocoon (1985), which depicts a group of seniors who discover a swimming pool with rejuvenating abilities. Members of the group are ultimately faced with deciding whether to travel to another planet in order to retain their newly discovered youthful abilities or to remain on the earth where they will continue to age. That decision is particularly difficult for those who are grandparents, and the issue is readdressed in Cocoon: The Return (1988). Another example of romance among the elderly is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) in which a group of British seniors travels to India where they find romance and adventure. Portrayals of mature romance is more common among actors in their fifties, as with Mamma Mia in which actress Meryl Streep, 59, finds romance with a former lover played by Pierce Brosnan, 55.

Films that have realistically portrayed the lives of the elderly include On Golden Pond (1981), in which Katharine Hepburn plays an elderly wife caring for her husband (Henry Fonda) as he enters his final days, and The Whales of August (1987), in which two elderly sisters played by Lillian Gish and Bette Davis return to the beachfront home of their youth. One of the most poignant scenes in the film is one in which Sarah (Lillian Gish) celebrates the memory of her deceased husband.

Further Insights

Negative gender and racial images have been particularly harmful to the elderly. In the twenty-first century, the elderly control most wealth in developed nations. In the United States, African American elderly comprise less than one-third of the poor population, but media portrayals of African Americans often cast African Americans of all ages as predominately poor. Until the 1970s, that image was particularly persistent. The first notable exception was the nouveau riche dry cleaner tycoon featured in The Jeffersons (1975-1985), and even the Jeffersons had started out as poor, living next-door to the highly bigoted Archie Bunker in All in the Family (1971-1979). The 1980s introduced American audiences to a professional African American couple with The Cosby Show (1984-1992). Since that time, portrayals of African Americans as a group has been somewhat more evenly balanced, but elderly African Americans are still vastly underrepresented.

While computers were readily available in the United States in the 1980s, they were not common among households until the following decade. In the mid-1990s when Windows 95 made home computing more accessible, the oldest baby boomers were nearing their fifties, and many of them felt overwhelmed by the new technology. However, as technologies expanded and new electronic devices were introduced, many elderly became technologically savvy. Large numbers of seniors have desktop and/or laptop computers, smartphones, e-readers and tablets, and gaming consoles. Americans over the age of 50 also make up the majority of Facebook users. Michael Hilt and Jeremy Lipschultz (2004) report that the elderly regularly search the Internet to find information about the weather, health concerns, games, jokes, and general entertainment. The mass media rarely depicts the elderly as being technologically aware.

Some companies are beginning to realize that the elderly population is virtually an untapped advertising market. Toyota, for example, advertised its Venza as being easy to get in and out of. Most grocery stores now have senior discount days in which seniors are given a small discount, and some grocery stores and fast food restaurants in retirement communities have begun catering to the needs of the elderly population. To eradicate the stereotype of the helpless elderly, AARP has refused to accept “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up” ads from LifeCall in their publications. Though Hatch (2005) contends that since the early days of television in the 1950s, advertising has become increasingly more positive toward the elderly, the mass media has failed to reject stereotypes. Most companies, in fact, continue to insist that advertising dollars are wasted on the elderly, who tend to be set in their ways and who are extremely loyal to specific brands.

Gender and Aging. As a group, women often have a more difficult time with aging since the social worth of females is often based on being young, thin, and beautiful. In the 2016 presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was 68, and Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, was 70. The media did not generally consider Trump’s age a handicap, but Barbara Raynor maintains that in 2015, there were 110 billion references by the media about Hillary Clinton’s age being a factor in her ability to become president. Because mass media constantly informs women that aging is essentially equal to being undesirable, many women have internalized that standard.

In 2012, Haboush and Benuto attempted to measure cultural differences in female internalization of beauty standards, finding that white women tended to be more negative about themselves than other groups because the media standard for European American beauty was depicted as being thin with long legs and no skin blemishes or wrinkles. African Americans were less likely than European Americans to have media-influenced negative body images because the African American culture is more accepting of larger body types. Among Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and African Americans, images of the elderly were more likely to be associated with characteristics such as respect and wisdom. Fisher (1992) identified a number of common stereotypes about the elderly by asking college students to describe the elderly, receiving replies that varied from frail, dependent, and senile to grandparents, wise, and storytellers.

In 2013, Dove soap launched an advertising campaign designed to deal with the issue of negative images among women, which are likely to profoundly affect elderly women. An artist asked women to describe themselves, and images were drawn using only those descriptions. Subsequently, participants were asked to describe other women, and new images were drawn based on those descriptions. When two images of the same woman were placed side by side, the images produced from the descriptions by others was significantly more flattering than images drawn from individuals’ descriptions of themselves, which tended to be largely negative.

Dallas-based lifestyle advertising photographer Tom Hussey was particularly stuck with how the elderly view themselves after speaking with a World War II veteran nearing his 80s. Hussey photographed the vet looking at himself in a mirror, seeing himself not as gray-haired, aging, and frail but as an adult in his prime. The pharmaceutical company Novartis hired Hussey to put together a campaign for an anti-Alzheimer’s drug, resulting in a series of photographs of elderly individuals looking at themselves in mirrors and seeing themselves as young and attractive rather than as aged and worn.

Discourse

Television. Because of the impact of visual media, television is still considered to be the most influential socialization and resocialization tool of all media forms. Families generally spend around seven hours each day watching television. Signorielli (2004) suggests that in television shows airing between 1993 and 2002, women in their 50s and 60s were generally depicted as being elderly whiles males in the same age groups were described as being middle-aged. They also found that television children generally had little contact with the elderly.

Researchers began studying the link between the elderly and television in the 1970s, and studies have continued to document the underrepresentation of the group. In the mid-1970s, only around 5 percent of the television primetime population was elderly. That population was three times more likely to be male than female, and Signorielli (2004) discovered that an elderly male was likely to appear on television every 22 minutes, but it might take from three to four hours before an older female appeared on primetime television. In both television and the movies, younger actresses regularly appear opposite older males. In Punchline (1988), 42-year-old Sally Field played opposite Tom Hanks, then 32. Six years later, Field was featured in Forrest Gump as her former co-star’s mother.

Of all television programs, the most negative of all elderly stereotypes is found on situation comedies where the elderly become the butt of jokes. On Designing Women (1986-1993), the family friend Bernice Clifton, played by comic actress Alice Ghostly, was often unable to function without the help of her younger friends. Likewise, on Bewitched (1964-1972), Marian Lorne portrayed the aging witch Aunt Clara, who had lost her ability to do magic correctly. On the other hand, The Golden Girls (1985-1992) offered up a quartet of retired women who were both productive and active, and the characters, particularly Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanaham), were likely to become romantically, or at least sexually, involved with guest stars. Contrarily, on Murder She Wrote (1984-1996), widowed writer and crime solver Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) generally avoided romantic entanglements.

Older males are more likely than females to be depicted in positions of power. In 1976 when Charlie’s Angels debuted starring three young and beautiful actresses, actor John Forsythe (Charlie) was 58. In the mid-1980s, elderly males experienced a heyday on television. Popular shows of the period included Andy Griffith’s Matlock (1986-1995), Dick Van Dyke’s Diagnosis Murder (1986-1995), and Carroll O’Connor’s In the Heat of the Night (1988-1995). Overall, male actors continue to be portrayed as handsome and virile long after female actress have been delegated to the backburner. In 2016, 60-year-old actor Tom Hanks played Chesley Sullenberger, the Hero of the Hudson, in Sully, produced by 86-year-old Clint Eastwood. Two of People’s Sexiest Men Alive have been actors in their 50s: Sean Connery at the age of 59 in 1989 and Harrison Ford at the age of 56 in 1998. By contrast, the magazine’s Most Beautiful People list, which is predominately female, included its oldest-ever celebrity, Sandra Bullock at 50, in 2015.

Studies of the 1990s reveal that elderly women were somewhat surprisingly more likely than elderly men to appear on television, and elderly females made up 4 percent of the primetime population in 1997. That number declined to only 1 percent in 2002 (Signorielli, 2004).

Between 1993 and 2002, Signorielli found that elderly white males made up 3.2 percent of the primetime population, but elderly white females made only 2.6 percent of television appearances. Among minorities, males accounted for 1.7 percent, whereas females accounted for 2.3 percent.

Motion Pictures. The elderly have generally fared better in the movies. In 2001, Richard Harris, 71, and Maggie Smith, 77, starred as Professors Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall in the first of the Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. When Harris died near the end of filming for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second film in the series, he was replaced with 64-year-old Michael Gambon. Also in 2001, Peter Jackson’s debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring featured Ian McKellen, 62, as Gandalf and Christopher Lee, 79, as Saruman.

In 2015, 11 percent of actors in the top-grossing films of the day were aged 60 or older, appearing in fifty-seven different films. Almost half of those films featured ageist language when referring to the elderly. The term ageism was coined in 1968 by Robert Butler, one of the founders of the National Institute on Ageing, to describe the growing problem with discrimination of the elderly. Since, that time, numerous scholars have devoted significant attention to ageism, and researchers have discovered that views on aging may have a major impact on the overall health and quality of life for the elderly. Those with negative views tend to see the elderly years as a time of falling apart as health problems increase and functioning levels decrease. In a number of studies, negative views of aging have been associated with higher incidences of heart problems, high blood pressure, and memory loss. Seniors with more positive views see growing old as a time to meet new people and take on new experiences. The latter may add 7.5 years to their lifespans with this positive viewpoint. Some research (Levy et al, 2016) has also linked negative images of aging to diseases such Alzheimer’s.

The invisibility of the elderly in the mass media and elsewhere may have serious consequences for seniors and their families if their needs are also being ignored by political decision-makers and health care professionals. Individuals who are both elderly and poor, for example, have particular needs. Income tends to decline as elder individuals reach retirement age, and overall the elderly take in only 60 percent of the median household income. Those without private fortunes or large retirement incomes may be forced to live entirely on Social Security benefits. Since females live longer than males, and females earn lower incomes than males throughout their lives, the financial picture may be particularly dire for elderly divorced women. Widows and divorced women who were married more than 10 years may draw benefits from a deceased spouse or ex-spouse.

Terms & Concepts

Ageism: Discrimination of the elderly, which is predicated on the assumption that the elderly are not productive members of society and which feeds into what has been identified as the invisibility of the elderly.

Alzheimer’s Disease: While early onset Alzheimer’s may strike younger individuals, the disease is generally associated with aging. One in nine individuals over the age of 65 has the disease. As the disease advances, confusion and memory loss increase and eventually an individual is generally unable to function without help.

Baby Boomers: People born after 1946 during the post-World War II population explosion. Demographers differ on when the “boom” ended, putting the end of the range between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s. Benefitting from health and technological advances, baby boomers are redefining what it means to grow old.

LifeCall Ad: Commercial that began airing in 1989 depicting an elderly woman who had fallen while alone and was unable to get up on her own. While the product being advertised was a viable product for seniors since it could summon help when needed, the phrase “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up” soon became a catchphrase that contributed to negative stereotyping of the elderly as helpless.

National Institute on Aging: Evolving from the Laboratory of Hygiene (1887), the National Institute on Aging was officially established under the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1974.

Senior Discount: Small deduction taken off the total price of an item by stores, fast food chains, restaurants, movie theaters, hotels, and other facilities. The age at which an individual classifies as “senior” may be as low as 50 or as high as 60. The discount may be offered only one day a week, or it may be a permanent fixture.

Bibliography

Fisher, B. J. (1992). Exploring ageist stereotypes through commercial motion pictures. Teaching Sociology, 20(4), 280–285. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=12826928&site=ehost-live

Haboush, A., Warren, C., & Benuto, L. (2012). Beauty, ethnicity, and age: Does internalization of mainstream media ideals influence attitudes toward older adults? Sex Roles, 66(9–10), 668–676. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=73928622&site=ehost-live

Harrington, C. L. (2014). Aging, media, and culture. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Hatch, L. R. (2005). Gender and ageism. Generations, 29(3), 19–24. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=19399878&site=ehost-live

Hilt, M., & Lipschultz, J. (2004). Elderly Americans and the internet: Email, tv news, information and entertainment websites. Educational Gerontology, 30(1), 57–72.

Levy, B. R., Ferrucci, L., Zonderman, A. B., Slade, M. D., Troncoso, J., & Resnick, S. M. (2016). A culture-brain link: negative age stereotypes predict alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. Psychology of Aging, 31(1), 82–88.

Mercado, T., & Thornton, R. (2015). Speaking an elderly body into a visible space: Defining moments. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(1), 66–76. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=99684869&site=ehost-live

Raynor, B. (2015). Ageism in action? Ageism inaction. Generations, 39(3), 58–63. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=112207266&site=ehost-live

Signorielli, N. (2004) Aging on television: Messages relating to gender, race, and occupation in prime time. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 48(2), 279–301. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=15961587&site=ehost-live

Steinem, G. (2014). Doing sixty and seventy. New York, NY: Open Road Integrated Media.

Suggested Reading

Kaushik, A. (2014). Gender differentiation in the portrayal of the elderly in Indian media. Indian Journal of Social Work, 75(2), 301–320. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=102423287&site=ehost-live

Mair, C., Wade, G., & Tamburic, D. (2015). Older women want to look good despite media pressure to look young. International Journal of Aging & Society, 5(1), 1–10. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=101726192&site=ehost-live

Spedale, S., Coupland, C., & Tempest, S. (2014). Gendered ageism and organizational routines at work: The case of day-parting in television broadcasting. Organization Studies, 35(11), 1585–1604. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=99233710&site=ehost-live

Teubal, R. (2000). Women and elderly women in the mass media: Some preliminary notes. Ageing International 25(4), 101–116. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=4773901&site=ehost-live