* Cultivation Theory coined by George Gerbner (1993) “ mass media has impact on people and it is merely wholesalers of social roles in industrial societies. “They present a steady, repetitive, and compelling system of images and messages”. (Gerbner,1993)
* Mass media is a way people can gain guidance on social roles, it also has the power to manipulate our views and give us information whether accurate or not.
* When we are unsure about something we often just take in the information given to us by the mass media without questioning it (magazines, television, movies, advertisements etc.) and this information is stored and is used as social guidance to categorize societal roles.
* Media tends to emphasize youthfulness, beauty, as well as physical and emotional health. The mass media is catered towards children, teens, adolescents, and adults but not the elderly. In this way the elderly are portrayed in media as nonexistent to our society and as if they do not matter.
*
On the other hand, when the elderly are
portrayed through the mass media, unfortunately it is in a way that does not
depict their true representations. They are represented to the public in
negative ways which in return confirm the stereotypes against the elderly
*Women segregation in media has been found across all age groups, in fact Dr. Linda-Marie Delloff has done research on the elderly and media. She has found that “Elderly women are shown much less on Television then elderly men, “only one in ten characters over 65 is a woman”. (Delloff, 1987)
Ageism
Ageism: Prejudice or discrimination against a persons age.
Examples:
-Not hiring someone even though they are qualified for
the job
-Thinking the person is not worthy or important
-Making jokes about the elderly
-Emotional abuse
How the Elderly are portrayed in media
* Immobile
* Not interested in sex/lack sex drive
*
Taking care
of grandchildren
*
Poor
eyesight and hearing
*
Obnoxious/outspoken
*
Help is
always needed/Unable to take care of self
*
Unemployed
*
Napping
*
Sewing
*
Cooking/
Baking
*
Lacking
cognitive abilities (short and long term memory loss)
*
In nursing
homes
Media Examples (YouTube)
1). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMiJzne3Wmk&feature=related
King of Queens (TV show) : In this scene Arthur ( the father of Carrie) is not understanding what is going on at all. Carrie and her husband Doug repeatedly say something but he seems to be in his own world and acts like a lost child.
2). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_CXXtAGM8A&feature=related
Everybody Loves Raymond (TV show) : Marrie is portrayed in this TV show as a stay at home grandma, and in this specific scene she is baking. She is then confronted by her daughter in law for needing to see an optometrist and her own husband makes a joke about her poor vision.
3). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ntCmFwtWc&feature=youtube_gdata
Gran Torino (Movie) : In this scene Walt Kowalski, is portrayed as a grumpy elderly person who believes the future generations lack values his generation did.
What research actually shows
*
Immobility=
can be sustained through moderate exercise
*
Viagra can
help sex life (erectile dysfunction/premature ejaculation and lubricating
secretions for women)
*
Osteoporosis
can be prevented through eating healthy and moderate exercise
*
Exercising
the brain, whether by writing poetry or playing Sudoku, also helps maintain
cognitive skills. (Campbell)
*
Some people
do work past the retirement age and enjoy it, in fact a delivery man stays fit
at the age of 84 by carrying 23kg of water jugs (CTV News, 2012)
Media and the Elderly:
Consequences on the person
Cognitive Effects
*
Expectations
of self (“How I should behave”/ What is acceptable vs. not acceptable)
*
Self-fulfilling
prophecy
* Impaired memory (Due to stress/depression/anxiety )
Emotional/Behavioural Effects
*
Depression
*
Stress
*
Anxiety
*
Fear
*
Sleep
changes
*
Eating
habits changes
*
Irritation
* Suicide attempts
* Physical Effects (Smith, Robinson, & Segal, 2012)
*
Body pain
and aches
*
Immune
Deficiency
*
Disease
*
Ulcers
*
Brain
tumour
*
Heart
Attack
* Not exercising—fear of inability or weak bones
**Note that
sometimes people may experience other social barriers e.g. Women+ Ethnic
minority +Homosexual +Elderly+ Low SES. This means that a person can be
receiving discrimination across many other dimensions.
How to Prevent Media’s impact on
Ageism
* Spread the
word—Needs to be more public awareness
* When
watching any media source, see how the elderly are misrepresented and address
to yourself and out loud if someone is around, why it is not an accurate
representation of older adults
* Needs to be
stronger social security for the elderly
* More positive
representations of the elderly needs to be shown in media (television, movies,
magazines, posters, ads etc)
* Campaigns about the media’s influence on ageism
References
ArthurSpoonerFan.(2009,
February 19). Arthur Gets a Job at Danny's Pizza Place-King of Queens.[Video
File]. Retrieved from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMiJzne3Wmk&feature=related
Bbcombochidori.(2011,
June 16). Gran Torino- How About That. [Video File]. Retrieved from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ntCmFwtWc&feature=youtube_gdata
Bradchaz.(2011,
October 15). Everybody Loves Raymond-Invisible Frank.[Video File]. Retrieved
from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_CXXtAGM8A&feature=related
CTV News. (2012,
Janaury 12). Delivery man, 84, stays young lifting 23kg water jugs. Retrieved
from: CTV News.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120112/best-employee-84-120111/
Delloff, L.-M.
(1987). Distorted Images: The Elderly and the Media. The Christian Century, pg 12.
Retrieved from URL: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=977
Gerbner,
G., (1993). "Learning Productive Aging as a Social Role: The Lessons of
Television," in Achieving a Productive Aging Society, Bass, S.A., Caro, F. G., and Chen, Y. P., eds.
Westport, Conn.; London: Auburn House. Retrieved from: http://www.asc.upenn.edu/gerbner/Asset.aspx?assetID=681
Smith, M.,
Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2012, January). Depression in Older Adults and
the Elderly. Retrieved from HelpGuide: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_elderly.htm
