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Aging beyond stereotypes: Shaping a new story for the third act

Posted in : Blog
Posted on : November 27, 2024

By Mitzi Murray

Aging - Everyone does it and if you aren’t doing it, you’re dead. But you aren’t dead, because you are reading this blog. Yay!! – on both counts!

On a more serious note though, there is no getting away from it. No matter how hard we try, we will all age; and yet, Western society is terrified of aging, and many implement terror management theory when thinking and dealing with it.

Terror management theory is just a nifty research term for the concept that large groups and even entire societies make decisions – or more importantly, put off making them – primarily to gain comfort by avoiding thinking about uncomfortable issues.

Funnily, there is research out of Yale University that shows that by embracing aging, conceptualizing what we want out of it, and seeing the positives in it, we can add up to seven years to our life. And since we are going to have a positive attitude about aging, those seven extra years will be welcomed.

So, it will pay off for seniors and future seniors to have conversations about what their third act of life will look like. For most in the Western world, their third act will start in their 60s – though is sadly not true for everyone.

Given this, the challenge we face is how to envision your best third act, if all you are fed is content and imaging that says aging is decay, decline and frailty.

The most influential and accessible mediums in our culture are film and film-based media and the sensory input they provide impacts how we build upon our existing knowledge base. For decades, film has played a major role in ageism, and seniors continue to face a double-whammy when it comes to the media: 

1. The first is symbolic annihilation – another nifty research concept that says if you DO NOT see people like you in the media you consume, it instills the belief that you must somehow be unimportant.

It is common knowledge that the film industry is incredibly ageist – especially against women, and it has been called to the mat to change that. However, to give you a sense of how unrepresented older people are: At the 2022 film market that is part of the Cannes International Film Festival, there were only 60 films out of over 2200 that had an older adult in a leading role where the story revolved substantially around the older. That is only 2.7% of all the films in the Cannes film market, whereas seniors comprise over 10% of the world’s population and over 19% of the Canadian population.

2. The second concept is that the more media you consume, the more likely it is to build up in our consciousness and subconsciousness, and the accumulated effect is to make you feel that what you ARE seeing is normal.

An American Association of Retired Persons study (2019) showed that those over 50 are 7 times more likely to be depicted negatively than those under 50. Canadian research is less comprehensive, but a 2023 research paper looked at films and TV shot in BC and found that older people: 

• were more than twice as likely to be portrayed as fat and having a disability.
• are more often portrayed as villains and antagonists
• are less likely to be shown as sexy, smart, and funny.

Let’s shift to another form of media: the news. University of Ottawa researchers undertook an analysis of how Canadian news media portrayed older adults and aging in five Canadian disasters (note: the pandemic was not one of them). They found that media coverage was very divergent: Media pieces were predominantly negative, accentuating the vulnerability and lack of resilience of seniors, or they presented the polar opposite, depicting older adults as “super seniors”.

So, for decades, older adults have barely seen themselves represented in film and media, and when they do, it depicts them predominantly as frail, isolated, incapable, in decline, fat, unsexy, not smart, not funny, and maybe as a villain. On the flip side, when they are showed in a positive light, it is as a ‘super senior’ – someone with whom most cannot relate.

You might be saying to yourself: “Wow! The future does not look bright!”

But now for some good news: The anti-ageism movement is growing, and mainstream media is changing.

Back in 2018, I started a film festival to try to make an age-positive culture shift – the first of its kind in Canada and one of only six in the world. Now, Canada boasts two film festivals that focus on changing attitudes towards aging, and new festivals are popping up in countries around the world.

As a niche film festival addressing a social justice issue that was in its nascent stage, we saw only 100 films submitted for consideration in 2018. This may seem like a lot, but another festival that started the same year that was focused just on film received over 800 films. I am happy to say that our submissions have tripled since then – partially because we are gaining a reputation in the Canadian film industry, but also because the anti-ageism movement is growing.

Canadian and international filmmakers are starting to take heed, creating films like Thelma, Ladies of Steel, Testament, and more. Additionally, famous actors are starting to speak up and advocate.

• Jane Fonda has been addressing this subject since before her 2010 TED talk about the third act of life.
• Maria Shriver had the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Rob Lowe, and Goldie Hawn talking at her Radically Redefining Aging conference in February 2022.
• And here in Canada, Mary Walsh, of CODCO and This Hour has 22 Minutes fame, has raised her voice about women and aging in her short film, Radical.

If you need more reasons to think positively about aging: We are living longer because we are living healthier. Also, back in 2008, Blanchflower & Oswald published research that demonstrated that our happiness follows a curve: It starts high in our youth when we are happiest, and then bottoms out in middle age as life becomes more stressful, and then it all uphill after that as our happiness surpasses the happiness of our youth.

This positivity and happiness are constantly being challenged. Media, especially film and advertising, strongly shapes our views on aging, often casting older adults in negative or limited roles that reinforce stereotypes. Aging, however, is not a disease but a natural part of life, offering unique opportunities for growth and purpose. Additionally, aging should never be used as a punchline or an excuse.

Here are some ways to reshape these views:

• Raise your voice – It is time to show the full spectrum of the possibilities of the third act of life, the ability of older persons to contribute, and the power and fulsomeness of intergenerational work and relationships.
• Adjust your attitude – Embrace aging and let your imagination run free with all its possibilities. You need to dream it before you can bring it to fruition. Actively envision what your best third act looks like.
• Challenge your own expectations - When consuming media, question if it feeds a negative stereotype or sets a realistic picture of what aging might be. I encourage everyone to occasionally pick apart how a film makes you feel and informs your opinions.
• Talk, talk, talk – Storytelling through film has the ability to trigger societal change. However, it is the discussions that really cement the shift in attitudes, so talk about it! A great way to stimulate the conversation is to attend a screening at either THIRD ACTion Film Festival or Ageless Film Festival. 

As we move forward into our third acts, let’s remember that aging is not a curse but an opportunity—a chance to live with purpose, creativity, and joy. By changing the way we think, speak, and engage with aging, we can shift the narrative from one of decline to one of potential. Let’s embrace the positive aspects of growing older, demand better representation in the media, and actively shape a world where aging is seen not as an end, but as a vibrant and fulfilling chapter. The power to change the story of aging is in our hands—let’s write it together.

References (click here to review the sources)

Tags CDNdiversity CCDI Diversity Inclusion Equity Accessibility DEI DEIA IDEA Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion Ageism