ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Gatling, Margaret Catherine (2013) Representations of age and ageing in comedy film. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/39247/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/39247/ Representations of Age and Ageing in Comedy Film Margaret Catherine Gatling, RN, RM, BA(Hons) Adel, MNSt JCU For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Nutrition James Cook University October, 2013 Advisory Team Associate Professor Jane Mills (Principal Advisor) Associate Professor David Lindsay (Advisor) STATEMENT OF ACCESS I, the undersigned, the author of this thesis, understand that James Cook University Library, by microfilm or by other means, allows access to users in other approved libraries. All users consulting this thesis will have to sign the following statement: “In consulting this thesis, I agree not to copy or closely paraphrase it in whole or part without the consent of the author; and to make proper written acknowledgement for any assistance, which I have obtained from it”. Beyond this I do not wish to place any restriction on access to this thesis. Signed Date: 10 October, 2013 i STATEMENT OF SOURCES DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own work and had not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published, unpublished or oral work of others has acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. Signed Date: 10 October, 2013 ii STATEMENT OF CONTRIBUTION OF OTHERS Nature of Contribution Co-contributors Assistance Editing and Spelling, punctuation, grammar and style checked. Marnie Hitchins proofreading Author responded to editor’s suggestions by making or rejecting suggested changes. iii DEDICATION For Dominic, my husband and best friend. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has been like a six-year pregnancy – long and uncomfortable towards the end but I have had many supporters to help me through the labour and I have many people to thank. My principal advisor, Associate Professor Jane Mills, has guided me through the past 18 months with her keen intelligence, boundless enthusiasm, strong sense of direction and good humour. My second advisor, Associate Professor David Lindsay, has been very generous in sharing his extensive knowledge of critical discourse analysis. Thank you to Professor Colin Holmes who was my principal advisor prior to his retirement. I am very grateful to Marnie Hitchins for her excellent editing and proofing skills. You were never quite able to teach me when to use ‘which’ and when to use ‘that’ but you tried your best with what you had to work with. Every year at JCU Graduate Research School, I was spurred on by the encouragement of the staff and fellow students. I am very thankful for your support and friendship. To all members of my wonderful family - thank you for nurturing my dream. I love you all very much: Annie and John Hugh, Aoife and Liam; Thommy, Katy and Roisin; Joe and Georgina, Brendan and Helen; Abigail; Patrick; Kitty; and James. And that goes for Caitlin, Michael and Lauren too! A huge thank you to Dom for your patience and support - your questioning and challenging of my ideas helped me to find my way through the maze. I really appreciate that you watched so much comedy with me even though it made your eyes glaze over at times. To my mother Maureen Egan, in Ireland: thank you for believing I could complete this project and urging me on. I wish my father was still here to share this with me. We would have raised a glass or two of Jamesons together. ‘Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.’ (E.B. White). No frogs were harmed in this research. v ABSTRACT Ageism is a social injustice that impacts negatively every person who lives long enough. The aim of this thesis is to raise critical awareness of ageist messages in the representations of older people on-screen in the popular genre of comedy film. It has been generally acknowledged that society is influenced, often unknowingly, by the mass media. Film, particularly comedy film, is a popular entertainment medium that is readily-accessible, both in cinemas and in DVD/Blu ray format. Going to the cinema, downloading a film or renting a DVD from a store are relatively cheap entertainment options for many people in the developed world. Film, therefore, has the potential to influence large numbers of viewers. Many films carry ageist messages, which are often undetected and unrecognised by audiences, yet these messages influence attitudes, behaviours and opinions. Negative representations of ageing occur in films made for children as well as those made for adults, which is even more unacceptable because children are particularly susceptible to influence, and can develop inaccurate views about age and ageing that may persist throughout their lives. As a registered nurse I have an obligation to adhere to professional standards requiring me, and every nurse, to respect and promote the human rights of all members of society. Discrimination against clients on any grounds, including age, is unacceptable and contrary to the codes of practice and ethical standards that govern and guide the profession. Unfortunately, it has been shown that health professionals, including nurses, are not immune to developing ageist views. This can negatively affect the care given to older clients and can contribute to poor physical and mental health outcomes. A dispositive analysis approach to critical discourse analysis was used to investigate the ways age and ageing are represented in a selection of comedy films. Dispositive analysis includes analysis of actions and objects related to the topic under scrutiny as well as analysis of the language used. This approach is extremely useful when examining representations of age and ageing in film because not all aspects of the discourse are linguistic. An example of this is the following scenario: a car is seen weaving erratically along the road with just the top of the driver’s old-fashioned hat visible through the front windscreen. It is commonly assumed that the driver is an elderly woman; no linguistic signposting is required. Comedy, as a genre, was chosen because of its capacity to perpetuate ideas and representations that, in other contexts, would be unacceptable but, using the guise of humour, are rendered permissible. Highly-exaggerated and ridiculous situations and characterisations are vi expected in comedy films; harmful messages, therefore, about gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and age can be disseminated freely. Were such scenes and messages to be aired in the real world, repercussions might well occur in the form of public protest and legal action. This thesis considers a selected corpus of films in three categories: 1. films about mid-life and the concept of mid-life crisis 2. films concerning older people’s age and ageing 3. films related to older people’s sexuality. Films that featured aspects of middle age as well as old age were considered because middle age is identified as the time in the life span when ageing becomes a subject that attracts the attention of the comedy filmmakers. The films in the dataset were chosen on the basis of their audience reach and popularity and content, which had to contain material related to themes of age and ageing. Findings confirmed that middle age is largely represented as a time of crisis, particularly for men. Analysis showed middle age to be characterised by stereotypical behaviours related to disappointment and dissatisfaction, including infidelity, restlessness, yearning for change, risk taking and attempts to ‘turn back the clock’ by cosmetic enhancements. Representations of old age in recent comedy films were found to be much more diverse than those found in earlier manifestations. Tentative steps appear to have been taken towards a more realistic portrayal of old age, particularly in relation to sexuality. Representations of old age as a period of asexuality appear to be fading to be replaced with a discourse of ageing which includes older people who have some level of sexual activity or, at least, an interest in sexuality. The myth of a heteronormative old age is being challenged by the emergence of older characters that are openly gay. The thesis concludes with a discussion about strategies that could be used to raise critical awareness about the messages disseminated in film. Specific strategies for use in the education of health professionals could reduce ageism in the future workforce of this vital sector of the community. Critical thinking skills could be sharpened by giving students the opportunity to evaluate representations of older people in film. Students could reflect on their own attitudes to ageing and consider how their practice could be improved by embracing an open-minded, non-judgemental approach to the care of all clients, irrespective of age. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ACCESS ...................................................................................................... I STATEMENT