How middle aged/old men are represented in film today 

I will be explaining and analysing how middle aged and old males are represented in the film industry today. I will be focusing on men over the age of fifty. There has be three main ways which this type has been represented. There is the old buffoon who has become delusional with age and is crazy with his words, there is the old and wise man who over his many year of being alive has become knowledgeable and experienced with his life and finally there is the "old but not useless". This is the middle aged man who still thinks he's got it in him. The man that is not at that age where you can call him the wise old man but he's not young enough to be called the big shot. So he is a hybrid between the, two becoming an old but still useful.  

The first example I thought of was Abraham Simpson from the TV show "the Simpsons". The Simpsons is a TV sitcom which has been going on for 26 years. One of the characters in this TV show is Abraham Simpson. He is the father to Homer Simpson. The reason why I have picked this character is because he suits the crazy old guy representation very well. There is a scene from the Simpsons film where is sleeping in the church and suddenly gets up and starts shouting all these weird fraises and runs around all over the church. the family doesn’t know what to do with him and when it the family finally restrain him put him in the car he completely forgets that anything has happened and wants to go get ice cream. I believe that this a perfect example because it displays old men as delusional and crazy men. Author Bruce Evan Blain wrote in his book, “understanding psychology of diversity”, that Abraham Simpson is typically portrayed as “Doddering”, "senile" and "dependent" person who is "trivial" and "often disposable figure" in his son’s life. This then backs up my representation of Abraham Simpson being the crazy old delusional guy.  

My other representation of middle aged /old men is the wise old man. This is where the character has a huge amount of knowledge and always chooses the most moral decision. An example of this representation is the Alfred from the Dark Knight (Batman series by Christopher Nolan). Alfred in the Dark Knight is Bruce Wayne butler at his mansion. He provides as a moral compass throughout the Dark Knight Film series by telling Bruce Wayne various experiences about his past life and what it has taught him. For example, there is a scene in the Dark Knight Rises when Bruce is trying to find out who stole from his safe. Alfred says he should stop looking for trouble and has a monologue to Bruce telling him how he has a fantasy. The fantasy is that he saw him in a cafe in Florence with some kids and a wife. He's telling Bruce to hang up the cape and suit for a normal life because Alfred knows from his experiences and knowledge that he coming to old for fighting crime. Another example is in the Dark Knight he tells Bruce Wayne about a story which explains why the joker does what he does. Another example of the wise old man is yoda of Star Stars the empire strikes back. In the scenes where Luke is trying to learn how to use manipulate the force yoda tells him that he must have patience and be able to let the force come to Luke. Yoda never tells Luke that his father is Anakin Skywalker this is because yoda believes that this will stop Luke from killing him. These two examples support the theory of the wise old man representation.  

The final representation of my middle aged/ old men is old but not useless. This is when the man is not old enough to be the wise old man but to to young to be the big shot so he's in the middle. The character will use his knowledge, experience and his physical skills to conquer the day. An example of this representation is DR. King Schultz in Django Unchained. This character is aged 55 and is a former dentist turned bounty hunter from Dusseldorf, Germany. He is very skilled with a rifle and pistol. An example of this man in action is in the sheriff scene at the beginning of the film. He is called outside of the bar by the sheriff. The doctor then walks outside and shoots the sheriff in broad day light in front of everyone. He's not afraid of what the town’s people think because he knows in the eyes of the law he is protected and has done justice. Another incident when he displays this representation is the first scene when he shots the two men in head very quickly and with no remorse. He is a cold blooded killer even though he is older than usual action hero's therefore making him in this category of old but not useless. Another example of this representation is Mr. Mayagi off Karate Kid. There are scenes such as the scene where Daniel is being beaten up by the group of young thugs dressed up in skeleton outfits and Mr. Mayagi jumps over the fence and fights the young thugs and beats them. These two examples support the representation of old but not useless.  

My research consisted of a questionnaire, interview and watching films and analysing character roles. My questionnaire was answered by my friends and family. There was a total of 10 results. Knowing that they were my friends and family that they may be lenient towards my theory, so I told them to be honest and truthful throughout the questionnaire. The results concluded that 10 out of 10 people agreed with my theory. One of the questions was "what is your initial thought of how old/ middle aged men are represented in the media". My brothers, Sam Slade, response was "they are represented as crazy, stupid and cookoo types of characters". My grand dads answer to this question was "I believe that old/middle aged men are represented as educated and sensible characters" both of these responses support my theory. I interviewed my step mum to see what she thought of my theory and see if she agreed with it. My step mum was not included in the questionnaire. I told her to be as honest and truthful as she could be. I asked her, who was her favourite old/middle aged character in film today. Her answer was Ian McKellen in lord of the rings playing as Gandalf. I asked her why she liked the character Gandalf. Her response was "I like him because he is not shown as a fool or idiot and he is shown to have great deal of courage and responsibility for the hobbits". This interview with my step mum supported the theory.  My final part of secondary research was watching films and analysing certain the old/ middle aged character in the film. The films i watched were, Last Vegas, Harry Potter (all of them), Django unchained, The Simpson Movie, Dark Knight (all of the Christopher Nolan's ones), Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back and Karate Kid (1984). I then analysed each of the old/middle aged male protagonists by watching the characters key events and roles in the film. Such as Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. The scene where Yoda is teaching Luke Skywalker to be patient and let the force come to him. This scene represents Yoda as the old and wise character. All of the key scenes analysing strengthened the theory. 

In conclusion there are three main ways in which old/ middle aged men are represented in film today. Old buffoon, Old and able and old and wise. My research methods have backed the theory.