Contemporary Cinema and 'Old Age'

Contemporary Cinema and 'Old Age' PDF

Author: Josephine Dolan

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-02-06

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1137584025

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This book is the first to explore ‘old age’ in cinema at the intersection of gender, ageing, celebrity and genre studies. It takes its cue from the dual meanings of ‘silvering’ – economics and ageing – and explores shifting formulations of ‘old age’ and gender in contemporary cinema. Broad in its scope, the book establishes the importance of silver audiences to the survival of cinema exhibition while also forging connections between the pleasures of ‘old age’ films, consumer culture, the ‘economy of celebrity’ and the gendered silvering of stardom. The chapters examine gendered genres such as romantic comedies, action and heist movies, the prosthetics of costume, and CGI enabled age transformations. Through this analysis, Josephine Dolan teases out the different meanings of ageing masculinity and femininity offered in contemporary cinema. She identifies ageing femininity as the pathologised target of rejuvenation while masculine ageing is seen to enhance an enduring youthfulness. This book has interdisciplinary appeal and will engage scholars interested in ‘old age’ and gender representations in contemporary cinema.

Ageing Masculinities in Contemporary European and Anglophone Cinema

Ageing Masculinities in Contemporary European and Anglophone Cinema PDF

Author: Tony Tracy

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-30

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1000830144

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This volume offers a unique exploration of how ageing masculinities are constructed and represented in contemporary international cinema. With chapters spanning a range of national cinemas, the primarily European focus of the book is juxtaposed with analysis of the social and cultural constructions of manhood and the "anti-ageing" impulses of male stardom in contemporary Hollywood. These themes are inflected in different ways throughout the volume, from considering how old age is not the monolithic and unified life stage with which it is often framed, to exploring issues of queerness, sexuality, and asexuality, as well as themes such as national cinema and dementia. Offering a diverse and multifaceted portrait of ageing and masculinity in contemporary cinema, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of film and screen studies, gender and masculinity studies, and cultural gerontology.

Fade to Gray

Fade to Gray PDF

Author: Timothy Shary

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2016-09-06

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1477310630

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Americans are living longer and reinventing both work and retirement, but Hollywood movies barely hint at this reality of contemporary society. In many popular films, older characters fade into irrelevance, inactivity, or absurdity, or else they stay in the background as wise elders while younger characters provide the action. Most American films do not attempt to portray the rich variety of experiences or the sensitive aging issues that people confront in the years beyond fifty. Fade to Gray offers one of the first extended studies of the portrayal of older people in American cinema from the silent era to the present. Writing in an accessible style for both general audiences and scholars, Timothy Shary and Nancy McVittie examine social attitudes toward aging through an analysis of hundreds of individual films, including such classics as You Can’t Take It With You (1938), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Grumpy Old Men (1993), and Nebraska (2013). They show how representations of the aging process and depictions of older people embracing or enduring the various experiences of longer lives have evolved over the past century, as well as how film industry practices have both reflected and influenced perceptions of aging in American society. Exposing the social and political motivations for negative cinematic portrayals of the elderly, Fade to Gray also gives visibility to films that provide opportunities for better understanding and appreciation of the aged and the aging process.

Existentialism and Contemporary Cinema

Existentialism and Contemporary Cinema PDF

Author: Jean-Pierre Boulé

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2012-09-01

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 0857457306

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Simone de Beauvoir’s work has not often been associated with film studies, which appears paradoxical when it is recognized that she was the first feminist thinker to inaugurate the concept of the gendered ‘othering’ gaze. This book is an attempt to redress this balance and reopen the dialogue between Beauvoir’s writings and film studies. The authors analyse a range of films, from directors including Claire Denis, Michael Haneke, Lucille Hadzihalilovic, Sam Mendes, and Sally Potter, by drawing from Beauvoir’s key works such as The Second Sex (1949), The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947) and Old Age (1970).

Coming of Age in Films

Coming of Age in Films PDF

Author: Mario Garrett

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2019-02-14

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1527528367

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The story of films is the story of human development. From the very first story that defined the birth of our civilization—the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, a story of immortality, aging and death—comes a tale of why we age. We are a species of storytellers. The stories we tell to each other define who we are. However, since we are living in a world marked by age apartheid, our interaction with people across different generations is becoming more limited. As a result, the information we gain about older people comes mostly from secondary sources. For the general public, films remain the most accessible form of information regarding getting older. From the early exposure of cartoons to more elaborate dramas, our knowledge of what it means to become old relies on our exposure to films. This volume provides insight into how accurate these representations are in line with current knowledge that we have about aging and older adults. Arguing that films present a simplified view of aging, this analysis relies on scientific evidence to explore why and how such stereotypes affect us. Stereotypes have the ability of being internalized and becoming prescriptive of our behavior. Numerous studies have attempted different ways of understanding the impact films have on aging. Theories as seemingly disparate as feminism and disability have contributed to our understanding of how stereotypes influence our aging process. This text builds upon this knowledge and provides new insights by applying current gerontological knowledge—the science of aging—to unpack and analyze the images of aging that films are providing. By readdressing this focus on gerontological theories—as diverse as biology and psychology—the book readdresses an overlooked approach.

The Bloomsbury Handbook to Ageing in Contemporary Literature and Film

The Bloomsbury Handbook to Ageing in Contemporary Literature and Film PDF

Author: Sarah Falcus

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-06-29

Total Pages: 475

ISBN-13: 1350204358

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Across more than 30 chapters spanning migration, queerness, and climate change, this handbook captures how the interdisciplinary and intersectional endeavor of Age(ing) studies has shaped contemporary literary and film studies. In the early 21st century, the literary study of age and ageing in its cultural context has 'come of age': it has come to supplement and challenge a public discourse on ageing seen mainly as a political and demographic 'problem' in many countries of the world. Following a tripartite structure, it looks first at literary and film genres and how they have been shaped by knowledge about age and ageing, incorporating both narrative genres as well as poetry, drama and imagery. The second section includes chapters on key themes and concepts in Age(ing) Studies with examples from film and literature. The third section brings together case studies focussing on individual artists, national traditions and global ageing. Containing original contributions by pioneers in the field as well as new scholars from across the globe, it brings together current scholarship on ageing in literary and film studies, and offers new directions and perspectives.

Existentialism and Contemporary Cinema

Existentialism and Contemporary Cinema PDF

Author: Jean-Pierre Boulé

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2012-09-15

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 0857457292

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This is a volume of essays which addresses a relatively neglected topic and conceptual approach, and is of relevance across a range of interrelated areas, specifically film studies, French studies, existentialist studies, philosophy, modern cultural and media studies.

Contemporary Narratives of Ageing, Illness, Care

Contemporary Narratives of Ageing, Illness, Care PDF

Author: Katsura Sako

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-12-24

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1000536521

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This collection of essays explores cultural narratives of care in the contexts of ageing and illness. It includes both text-based and practice-based contributions by leading and emerging scholars in humanistic studies of ageing. The authors consider care not only in film (feature and documentary) and literature (novel, short story, children’s picturebook) but also in the fields of theatre performance, photography and music. The collection has a broad geographical scope, with case studies and primary texts from Europe and North America but also from Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Argentina and Mexico. The volume asks what care, autonomy and dependence may mean and how these may be inflected by social and cultural specificities. Ultimately, it invites us to reflect on our relations to others as we face the global and local challenges of care in ageing societies.

Contemporary US Cinema

Contemporary US Cinema PDF

Author: Michael Allen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-09-25

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1317874188

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Contemporary U.S. Cinema is a forceful exploration of the tumultuous changes that have dominated the shifting landscape of American film-making over the past three decades. From the explosive release of Easy Rider to the excesses of Heaven's Gate and the comic book figures of Spider-Man, its aim is to examine the economic, social and cultural contexts of mainstream and independent American films. The book divides into nine provocative chapters with material on: the most significant individual film-makers, such as Scorsese, Coppola and Lucas, as well as independent film-makers like Jarmusch and Anders the careers of leading actors of the last thirty years, such as Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford and Julia Roberts, whilst exploring the powerful position of the film star in the modern American film-making process the economics of Contemporary U.S. Cinema with particular reference to the tortuous journey from production, distribution and exhibition of Waterworld and Titanic the artistic influence of foreign film-makers, such as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, and explores Hollywood's increasing dominance and reliance on the global market genres, sequels and the recent developments in computer-based technologies, using examples from The Godfather I - III, The Matrix, the Star Wars saga and remakes from Shaft to Ocean's Eleven The book is illustrated with stills throughout and includes a bibliography and annotated further reading list.