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Category Archives: Ageing
REFLECTIONS ON POINTS OF VIEW
In the last few months I have been asked – as an expert on old women in films – to be a panelist at two festivals, and to present a film at a literature festival. I declined the first two … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Conferences and comments
Tagged academic institutions, Ageing, Ageism, Ballad of Narayama, best exotic marigold hotel, british comedies, Fear Eats the Soul, film group, film industry, film panels, film reception, grandmother, group of old women, Notes on a Scandal, Pauline and Paulette, points of view, Records of a Tenement Gentleman, representation, representation old woman, still doing it, The Grapes of Wrath, The Mother, The Whales of August, tokyo story, women over 65
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Have times changed in Hollywood?
Today Pamela Scully tweets “Hollywood ‘Still Refuses to Let Actresses Age at all’ and gives this blog address: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/09/19/wrinkle-washed-female-faces-in-film-marketing/ In this blog Doug Barry writes about Susan Sontag and quotes her. “The Double Standard of Aging” was published in The Saturday … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, Conferences and comments
Tagged Ageing, Ageism, Hollywood and age, looks, susan sontag
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CHANGING TIMES
It is remarkable how things have changed in the last 15 years. At the beginning of the new academic year I am overwhelmed and recall the times when I started looking at ageing and the cinema. People were surprised and … Continue reading
WAYS OF VIEWING *
*apologies to John Berger. We were invited to a film evening at some young friends of ours. I was shocked by the conditions in which the film was viewed and realised how fanatical I am about the ritual of viewing … Continue reading
CINEMA LE GRAND AGE D’OR
At long last an informed and researched article about ageing and films in the general press albeit in the French le Monde. Jacques Mandelbaum, journalist and film critic whose articles are sometimes published in The Guardian, writes about ageing and … Continue reading
MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW (1937)
La cohabitation n’a jamais fait de bien à personne. (my mother) Life flies past us so swiftly that few of us pause to consider those who have lost the tempo of today. Their laughter and their tears we do not even … Continue reading
What is old age conference: Margaret Rutherford, Haptic Turn
I feel privileged to have attended the interdisciplinary conference ” What is old age? New perspectives from the Humanities” organised by the University of Warwick on February 23rd. 2013 ; Two keynotes addresses and 8 panels. The only frustration was … Continue reading
BALLAD OF NARAYAMA (1958) and AGEWISE
I was rereading chapter 1 of Margaret Morganroth Gullette’s book AGEWISE : The Eskimo On the Ice Floe. At the back of my mind lurked vague thoughts about a film group. I decided to revisit The Ballad of Narayama which has the same theme as the Eskimo … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Film Analysis
Tagged abandonment, Ageing, Ageism, Agewise., caring, death, folk myth, Gullette, Imamura, intergeneration, Kinoshita, mother and son, obasute, old woman, otherness, ritual
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BAFTA 2013
Against my better judgement I sat down doing my word puzzles while watching the BAFTA awards ceremony. I just could not believe it when I heard that The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was nominated for best British film and that … Continue reading
Ageing and Film Guide, Older Women in Film Group
I am taking the plunge and starting work on my ‘Women, Ageing and Films Guide’. I have an extended knowledge of the filmography and have led enough workshops about the subject to have material to share. This is a long-term … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Conferences and comments
Tagged Ageing, amour, death, film guide, film reception, friendship, women's group
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Anger at Ageist review. Bradshaw and Quartet.
Oh dear. It is Peter Bradshaw’s ageism again that spurs me back to the blog when I thought I would stop and consider at the end of this year. His review of Quartet reveals, in his critique and language, crass … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, Conferences and comments
Tagged Ageism, ageist reviewer, anger, care home, escapism, Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
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Me, Ageing and Films
It is the end of the year and I am entering my 79th year. Time to stop and consider. ‘Archbishop of Canterbury criticises contempt and abuse of elderly people. Rowan Williams uses final Lords speech to warn of damaging … Continue reading
THE MOTHER (2002) Old woman’s sexuality or Thatcher’s Britain?
The film-maker daughter of a friend of mine challenged me the other day. From agreement over Last Tango in Halifax that we both found a well written TV drama, we slid into disagreement and misunderstanding about The Mother (2002). She liked The … Continue reading
Haneke’s Amour
I have delayed writing about Amour. Of all the films I have ever seen Amour is the one that has touched me the deepest in my intimate world. I have in the last few years witnessed the slow physical and mental decline and … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing
Tagged Ageing, amour, carer, caring, Haneke, mental disability, separation
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Ageing and Bond OO7
I was told that in Skyfall the last Bond film Judy Dench has the role of a powerful old woman, M boss of MI6. I am still reeling from the excess of explosions, dead bodies, train, cars and helicopter crashes … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Film Analysis
Tagged Ageing, Bond, escapism, Judy Dench, M, OO7, Skyfall
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Films and demographic changes.
I thought my days of getting angry were over. Not so. I broke my vow of remaining silent in public meetings and spoke out in anger stunning the audience and the panel. It was at the annual Pensioners Forum for … Continue reading
Ageing, Films, Hollywood
How things have changed! On my Facebook’s news page, Aging Studies and AgeUK share a link “Is Hollywood finally growing up?: Films and Old People”. It is an article published on AgeUK website under the lifestyle section. It is thrilling … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, Conferences and comments
Tagged Ageing Studies, AgeUK, christopher tookey, dustin hoffman, Hollywood
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BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
“Quartet , Heneke’s Amour , Les Invisibles, Epilogue, Memories Look at Me, Happy New Year Grandma, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, A Song for Marion. And I do not mention the remake – why?- of Great Expectations or Frank and Robot. “ I managed to see … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing
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Hope Springs: Instruction video
My motivation for studying films when I retired was my fascination with the difference of opinions and the heated debates about certain films I experienced during my compulsive film going teens. Now, after 57 years of seeing films, reading reviews … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism
Tagged Ageing, comedies, counselling, hope springs, late bloomers, Meryl Streep, old couple, old feminist, sex therapy
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The Imposter and the Mother between Grief and Guilt
The Imposter elicits amazement at the story and praise at the way the director tells the story. At the heart of this dramatised documentary is the incredible fact that a mother and sister are fooled into accepting a serial imposter … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing
Tagged Bourdin, daughter, documentary, family, grandmother, grief, guilt, imposter, interviews, mother and son, old woman, representation old woman, siblings, teenager
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56th BFI London Film Festival and ageing.
Have things changed? 15 years ago when I started work on the representation of the old woman in films I was told (see ‘why this blog’ page) ‘who is interested in old women?’ Since then, at every London Film Festival … Continue reading
Sight and Sound “The Greatest Films of all Time”
As a holiday exercise I looked at the Sight and Sound critic’s poll. Of the 100 critics I identified 19 women’s names. For another 9 names I could not define gender. I was curious to see if there was a … Continue reading
Old women, comedies and social issues
I have neglected the British comedies of the 30s-60s in my research, yet some representations of the older woman seem to be very interesting in these films. Our Older Women in Film Group had noted that in British produced films … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing
Tagged british comedies, escapism, group of old women, social issues, wrinkles
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Alive and Kicking at the Marigold Hotel
It is good to be able to have a dialogue with another researcher about films and older women. Claire Mortimer in her blog (http://matrons.wordpress.com) looks at old women in British comedies. I commented about Alive and Kicking (1959) and it … Continue reading
TALL DARK STRANGER
The last film of the U3A in Brent at the Lexi for this academic year was Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. The audience showed interest but no one declared that they liked the film: “True to … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism
Tagged A tall dark stranger, Ageism, death, mother daughter relationship, mother-in-law /son-in-law, supernatural, Woody Allen
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ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER LIFE. ANOTHER FILM?
A difficult film, a very difficult film for me. When I saw it at the London Film Festival I disliked it intensely and that was the reaction of at least one member of the audience at the Lexi when I … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, Film Analysis
Tagged Another Year, counselling, isolation, lasting marriage, loneliness, Mike Leigh, physical ageing
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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SILVERING SCREEN (part 1)
It is only on holiday that I can engage in serious reading. This time I struggled with Sally Chivers’ Silvering Screen. I only managed to read the Introduction and the First Chapter and therefore I am not entitled to make … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, Conferences and comments
Tagged Ageism, death, intergeneration, old woman, oldwoman/teenager, Pather Panchali, Sally Chivers, silvering screen
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ACTING THEIR AGE
FOR THE LEXI VIEWERS WHO MAY BE EXPECTING A POST ABOUT LEIGH’S ANOTHER YEAR, MY APOLOGIES, I HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY AND NOW PREPARING MYSELF TO GO ON HOLIDAY. 6th MAY I am back from the stimulating symposium on “Women, … Continue reading
The Grey Pound, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Older Demographic
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has captured the ‘grey pound says Charles Grant in Sight and Sound (May issue, Matinee idol P.9). He proceeds to quote the ex boss of Fox Searchlight Peter Rice “there’s an older audience and we … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, Conferences and comments
Tagged Ageism, best exotic marigold hotel, escapism, older audience, older demographic
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Old Age and Feature Films 
LUMIERE BLANCHE INTERGENERATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
I am just back from attending the Lumiere Blanche Festival in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune. This is the intriguing name of a suburb of Lyon, the birth town of the brothers Lumiere and also of Bertrand Tavernier. The festival took place in an … Continue reading →