Introduction: Popular Culture’s ‘Silver Tsunami’

Whelehan, Imelda; Gwynne, Joel

doi:10.1057/9781137376534_1

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…It is clear that older people are not part of popular media representations; however, some scholars (Whelehan and Gwynne 2014) argue that the media industry has recently begun targeting seniors and thus elderly people are being portrayed more often. Nonetheless, ageing either is not represented or is depicted in a very narrow and stereotypical way.…”

Section: Representing Ageing and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sex and the City can be viewed as television content constructing a representation around the notion of agelessness (for example, in the way the characters are cast and represented), but at the same time it also complicates this notion in some episodes. The shame of ageing or the denial of ageing is questioned in some episodes and seen as part of the celebration of youth in our contemporary consumer culture (Woodward 2006;Whelehan and Gwynne 2014). This masking of ageing is often signified by a discourse around "girls. "…”

Section: Masking Ageingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, Imelda Whelehan and Joel Gwynne (2014) stress the "silver Tsunami" in advertising and popular discourses in film. However, as Whelehan and Gwynne (2014) point out, while some of these representations are celebrations of ageing (e.g., Grace and Frankie), most are representations of decline and deterioration as, for example, the character of Kitty Forman in That '70s Show (1998, who embodied the loss of youth, beauty, and therefore life itself, or the older women in the series Orange Is the New Black (2013-, Netflix), who are represented as being in decline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, are these discourses represented by the portrayal of ageing bodies? Although discourses on the shame of ageing, successful ageing, the denial of ageing, body modifications, and anti-ageing have been articulated in popular television fiction (Kathleen Woodward 2006;Whelehan and Gwynne 2014), visual representations of the body seem to be lacking. In this research, we will analyse the representations of ageing femininities in contemporary television fiction labelled as "post-feminist television fiction. "…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invisible golden girls? Post-feminist discourses and female ageing bodies in contemporary television fiction

Bauwel

2017

Feminist Media Studies

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The popular television series The Golden Girls (1985-1992) seems to be an exception in the history of the representation of third-age women femininities and bodies in television fiction. This series about four mature women living in the same house in Miami made ageing women visible in television representations. Older women are generally invisible in popular television fiction. Despite this absence, a discourse on ageing and femininities is present in all sorts of popular media texts. We will question post-feminist discourses on ageing bodies and femininities. Are the post-feminist claims regarding ageing bodies present in popular television fiction? Moreover, are these discourses represented by the portrayal of ageing bodies? We will analyse the representations of ageing femininities in television fiction labelled as "post-feminist television fiction. " The series Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, and Girls will be studied using a textual analysis to look for discourses on ageing female bodies and their particularities in relation to post-feminism. We distinguished a limited set of three sets of discourses (losing femininity, masking of ageing, and the wisdom of ageing) on ageing femininities. Although ageing feminine bodies are absent, a discourse on ageing, "good" ageing, and acceptance of ageing is present in the narration in all three series. The discourse on the masking of ageing, however, is predominant.

show abstract

Section: Representing Ageing and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Masking Ageingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invisible golden girls? Post-feminist discourses and female ageing bodies in contemporary television fiction

Bauwel

2017

Feminist Media Studies

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“…I understand films as polyphonic cultural products that participate in societal discussion of age by reinforcing and challenging prevalent understandings and by recycling and creating new. The theoretical reference points for my analysis are located in discussions on older women, in cultural narratives and portrayals of age and aging in popular culture (Chivers, 2011; Dolan and Tincknell, 2012; Swinnen and Stotesbury, 2012; Whelehan and Gwynne, 2014). By investigating non-Hollywood and non-Anglophone films, this article adds to existing studies on representations of older women and the ways in which global and local influences conflate in them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In and out of control: Portraying older women in contemporary Finnish comedy films

Varjakoski

2019

European Journal of Cultural Studies

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This article analyzes representations of older women in contemporary Finnish film. It focuses on comedies since traditionally the genre has granted older female characters more visibility and offered a space where stereotypes can be dissolved, alternatives imagined and the conventional contested. The article sets out to investigate what kinds of representational spaces the figures of an elderly mother with dementia, a ‘bag lady’, an older female warrior and a mature woman ‘gone wild’ open up in the films Playing Solo (2007), The Garbage Prince (2011), Off the Map (2014) and Off Key (2014). The article proposes that the cultural legacy of designating Finnish women as ‘strong’ shapes the portrayals of older women in contemporary film, yet asks whether it is possible for an older female character to be transgressive and counterstereotypical without recourse to humor. I will demonstrate that older women who are ‘too’ non-conforming, rebellious or independent need to be somehow regulated and deflated. They are placed at the very margins of cultural womanhood and society, rendered as cognitively impaired, portrayed in a humorous vein and figured as being ‘out of control’. Consequently, these practices support what is understood as being socially and culturally (un)acceptable for older women. By investigating non-Hollywood and non-Anglophone films, this article adds to existing studies on representations of older women by analyzing the ways in which global and local influences conflate in them.

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“She Says She’s Thirty-Five but She’s Really Fifty-One”: Rebranding the Middle-Aged Postfeminist Protagonist in Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones: Mad about The Boy

Rasmussen

2017

Ageing Women in Literature and Visual Culture

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Introduction: Popular Culture’s ‘Silver Tsunami’

Cited by 13 publications

References 2 publications

Invisible golden girls? Post-feminist discourses and female ageing bodies in contemporary television fiction

Invisible golden girls? Post-feminist discourses and female ageing bodies in contemporary television fiction

In and out of control: Portraying older women in contemporary Finnish comedy films

“She Says She’s Thirty-Five but She’s Really Fifty-One”: Rebranding the Middle-Aged Postfeminist Protagonist in Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones: Mad about The Boy

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