The representation of people of different ages has changed massively over the years. Up until the 1950s, there were really only two age groups shown in films and television (adult and child). This was because that most children left school at a young age and went straight to work and became adults. In the 1950’s more young people started staying in education and began leading very different lives from both children and adults and so developed the idea of the “teenager”
Having said that, there are still some stereotypes associated with different ages:
- Children – often shown as being young, innocent, naive, pure, sweet, helpless, powerless
- Teenagers – Often shown as being aggressive, moody, lazy, criminals, hate school,
- 20’s-30’s – Often shown as the ideal age for love, parties, fun, making money, being glamourous and attractive. In films the heroes are often this age group.
- Middle Aged – often shown as being past it, unattractive, not aware of popular culture, uncool, boring lives, powerful, dominant over others, no real connection to their kids, grumpy. In films the villains are often from this age group.
- Elderly – often shown as being unattractive, slow, weak, ill, confused, pathetic, powerless, not important, dependent on others.
- Can I identify what approximate age the characters are?
- Are people from different age groups shown as having different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours? If so, how?
- Is their age represented as being important in their life?
- Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
- Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?
- How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different age groups?
- What is the message the clip is trying to portray about age?
Here are some great clips featuring age that you can watch to practise for the exam:
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