The Different Types of Messages and Representations Television Media Communicates about Older Adulthood

Now, I’m going to analyze the way aging characters are portrayed in TV shows, more specifically in “Modern Family.” In the show, Ed O’Neil is around 65-70 years old. He has wrinkles, grey hair, and he is a millionaire. Nice house with a swimming pool, nice cars, and the wife has everything she needs and wants. He also, has two kids. Both kids are older and had children on their own. He has a son and a daughter. Both kids were from the previous wife he had. His wife is played

In “Life According to T.V.” written by Harry Waters and published in Newsweek in 1991, Waters examines the effect that television has on everyday lives. He says that TV has given Americans an unrealistic view of how life works. From jobs to minorities to how women are portrayed to crime rates nearly all aspects of TV are unrealistic or exaggerated. George Gerbner was used to back up Water’s theory on how television impacts people. Water states that heavy viewers of TV are more unrealistic in their view of the world than light viewers because they are exposed to more of the unrealistic ideas portrayed in TV shows than light viewers. The jobs on TV are often expressed as high ranking jobs like lawyers, doctors and athletes rather than blue collar or service jobs such as small businessman or teacher. According Waters the elderly are depicted as being sick and weak when they are actually the opposite. Women are also portrayed as mothers and lovers more often than successful working women.

Some myths and/or stereotypes about older adults in this movie are: old adult have money, they are last seen for professional health support, and lastly they are too old to do anything. People would view older adults as loaded with money and to think about their inheritance of their money. Even if it isn’t family like the movie gave an example of a personal assistant asking to set up his will and suggesting to give the money to him. It is easy to try to take advantage of the older community because they are trusting people and it does happen a lot. The movie also does a good job showing the other side of the spectrum of not all older adult has loads of inheritance to pass

The truth about how sex among older adults is portrayed in the media and popular culture is simply that it is not portrayed very often in these mediums. Preadolescents and adolescents tend to receive much of the sexualization that is used in these mediums while the elderly tend to never get portrayed doing these types of activities. This can be attributed to the media's presentation of the perfect human specimen, man or woman; of which most elderly people do not satisfy as they have wrinkles, sagging skin, more skin marks (moles, freckles) and overall are not attractive by the media's standards. Older people have the life experience and intelligence to ignore such impositions and therefore, it does not affect their sexual lifestyle. To the

In most modern society, emphasis and value are placed on youth, with advertising geared toward and glamorizing the young. In the entertainment industry which has a big influence on culture aging is seen as a shameful thing when in reality it’s a natural process. Aging gracefully is a thing of the past when there is pressure to stay young with technological advances by performing invasive cosmetic surgeries to fight the aging process and different types of ageing products. Aging in today’s society is seen more as a disease than a natural process. The elderly are victims of mistaken beliefs and irrational attitudes

The show that I decided to watch and analyze about the elderly was Everybody Loves Raymond. I choose Everybody Loves Raymond because it is very relatable and understanding. The show is based on an Italian family living in Long Island New York dealing with everyday life situations. the main character Raymond must deal with his everyday life while dealing with his elderly parents who live right across the street as well. today we see that there are many stereotypes when it comes to the elderly, stereotypes such as the elderly can’t remember things, they’re nosey, or that they know it all. In the show, we see that Raymond’s parents do fall into some of these stereotypes, but also, they do things that make us think that not all elderly people fall into these known stereotypes. We are so accustomed to leaving the elderly in places such as nursing homes whenever we feel like we have no need to take care of them anymore, or if they can’t seem to do things on their own. Raymond’s parents Marie and Frank are still able to do things on their own they still joke around and make fun of their kids. Even after retirement, and helping Raymond raise his kids, they still have Rob who lives with them. Even though their kids essentially make fun of their age, Marie and Frank somehow make the best out of situations.

As people continue to live life and grow older, it is inevitable that they will age. Aging has many effects on an individual’s physical health, emotional well-being, and cognition. Key developmental changes occur in vision and hearing; both begin declining as people age (Weiten, 2014). The deterioration of these senses can be seen in Young@Heart during the scene where a few members are joking around in a car. The driver was Lenny, an ex-World War II pilot, because he was the only one out of the group who could still see properly (Walker, 2008). The vision of every other member in the car had worsened to a point where it impacted their functioning in daily life by limiting their ways of transportation.

We know that this is an issue in every time period and is addressed by many writers. Growing old does not change, but each age has its own way of dealing with the old. This paper

In chapter two, Wattenberg discusses television broadcasting and its impact with news networks such as NBC, CBS, and ABC. He quotes a 1972 study by Patterson and McClure in which they believed that although broadcasting allowed for Americans to see the campaign, it did not help teach voters anything of importance (32). TV news has become increasingly directed towards the elderly, with young people elsewhere or watching something else when politics are broadcasted (33). He illustrates this point with an example of the types of commercials aired for medications that while are suited for any age group, they are remedies for maladies or health concerns that older generations experience more than younger ones. Today, there are multitudes of television channels available for specific topics such as sports and music rather than the general topics the original major networks broadcasted, making it easier for young people to avoid the political events that once captivated the attention of Americans in previous generations. One study found that 21% of respondents under 30 years of age learned about the Presidential campaign or candidates from a comedy show instead of from newscasts (40). Although some find information indirectly through entertainment TV, a 2004 survey proved that 7% of respondents who followed the campaign closely enjoyed it and were familiar with facts heavily relied on cable news channels as a source of information, proving that if

Older characters in movies are depicted as wise people who guide others along the correct paths. These adults play an important role by supporting the major characters so that they may continue after they make a mistake or stray from their goal. Elders are depicted as having great compassion and understanding or having more worldly knowledge than the other characters in the film. Though many older characters are commonly portrayed as understanding they do not always follow the archetype. Each race has their own type of elder that go about helping characters in different ways. Asian elders tend to be very strict when dealing with younger characters were as asian elders tend to be cryptic or non-exist as they want younger people to find their

One can’t help but to draw links to the aging process when watching the three times Oscar winning movie On Golden Pond. In Mark Rydell's On Golden Pond, we encounter a couple in the middle of dealing with the anxieties and hardship of moving through the latter part of their life cycle. The older actors played by Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn demonstrates different levels of activity, age stratification, continuity, and disengagement theory in their lives.

Ninety six percent of people sixty-five and older are nonmovers (Quadagno, 2014, p.203) yet the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) follows seven individuals who are seeking a place that can accommodate their elderly needs. Despite this being a fictional film, the text Aging and the Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology (Quadagno, 201) can support the ways in which the film accurately depicts various obstacles associated with aging. Each of the characters in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel overcome ageist social constructions present within western culture but represent that there can still be hope in old age.

Nothing makes you feel as old as looking at actors from television shows that you used to watch when you were younger and realizing that they’re incredibly old now. Their aging just reminds you that you’re not getting any younger. Check out these seven aging TV stars who will make you feel as old AF.

the negative representation of the elderly in film, they do serve a purpose. On the big screen we

Stereotypes have an overwhelming effect especially on the people they are directed towards. Studying stereotypes helps in understanding the factors leading to discrimination of certain people and not others. This is because stereotypes are depictive of opinions that are often passed from one generation to another within a particular culture. Mass media such as television and newspapers form a common source of opinions in the contemporary society (Kotter & Hess, 2012). The media presents messages in steady, repetitive, and compelling manner, making them believable to almost everybody. Stereotyping opinion and depictions from the media can thus have detrimental effects on the