I’ve been a part of a small group of girls who’ve been assembly each month for a number of years, going to dinner, watching a film after which speaking in regards to the movie and numerous different issues over dessert. It makes for a enjoyable evening out of the home, however particularly because the pandemic, we’ve been having a tough time discovering movies we need to see. Many appear too horrifying or violent, and the schedules for others of potential curiosity — in theaters very briefly earlier than hitting the streaming companies — don’t line up with a date picked for our outings. Just a few occasions, as a result of lack of choices, we’ve even opted to skip the film and concentrate on dinner and dessert.
Earlier than the subsequent gathering, I’m going to seek the advice of the listing of winners of the AARP’s Films for Grownups Awards. For greater than 20 years, the honors have celebrated movies and tv exhibits which have “acknowledged the expertise and expertise of older actors and filmmakers,” in keeping with the group.
The awards ceremony, held earlier this month in Beverly Hills, CA, was broadcast Sunday. In case you’re in search of inspiration on your subsequent outing to the theater, journey to your lounge sofa, or senior dwelling group occasion, you possibly can see the listing of winners right here. A few of the movies that my mates and I’ve prevented are on the listing, however many others made the reduce as properly.
| See a slide present from the awards right here. I would like Alan Cumming’s go well with! |
The awards come simply after the discharge of the outcomes of an AARP survey of greater than 1,000 folks aged 50 or extra years on their ideas in regards to the portrayal of individuals their age in films and on TV.
Sixty-nine % of respondents within the “Breaking Stereotypes: The Push for Actual Illustration of Older Adults in Films and Tv” ballot mentioned they contemplate it vital that such endeavors precisely signify their age group in each casting and storylines. Solely 7%, nevertheless, mentioned that movies and TV exhibits typically meet that aim, with 59% saying movies and TV exhibits generally are correct, 29% saying they not often are correct, and 4% saying they by no means are correct.
Fifty-three % of survey members mentioned they need advocacy for equal alternatives for actors, administrators, writers and producers aged 50 or extra years, with at the least 4 in 5 saying they imagine that male actors (80%), feminine actors (84%) and administrators, writers and producers (83%) aged 50 or extra years contribute distinctive views to movies and TV exhibits.
However entertainment-related ageism and stereotyping, the research outcomes recommend, aren’t restricted to those that work within the trade; in addition they apply to and have an effect on customers of leisure. Fifty-one % of survey respondents mentioned the trade’s concentrate on youth tradition prevents extra tasks from centering on and that includes adults aged 50 or extra years, and 42% mentioned that an trade bias exists in opposition to representing such folks in movie and TV tasks.
Fifty-five % of members mentioned they need to see extra constructive portrayals of these 50+ on the massive and small display, and 73% mentioned they’re extra prone to help films or TV exhibits that embrace characters much like them in age and life experiences.
“The outcomes of this survey exhibit what now we have suspected since we began the Films for Grownups Awards program – that older adults care deeply about seeing their experiences precisely mirrored on display,” Heather Nawrocki, vp of AARP Films for Grownups, mentioned in an announcement. “Likewise, the studios and storytellers who’re in a position to seize the experiences and views of older adults profit from the numerous shopping for energy and loyalty of this age group.”
Shopping for energy shouldn’t be an element to be ignored, in leisure and elsewhere. In the USA, 70% of disposable revenue is held by folks 60 or older, in keeping with Michael W. Hodin, CEO of the International Coalition on Getting older.
“By creating dynamic, nuanced characters reflecting the life experiences of individuals over 50, the trade can proceed to higher join with this highly effective viewers, driving each engagement and income,” the AARP mentioned.
My mates and I aren’t essentially trying strictly for movies that includes folks 50 or older, however we actually admire the avoidance of stereotypes and the chance to benefit from the work of older artistic people. And we cheer the combating of ageism in leisure and in on a regular basis life.
Lois A. Bowers is the editor of McKnight’s Senior Residing. Learn her different columns right here. Observe her on X (previously Twitter) at Lois_Bowers.
