At 5.00pm every day the theme song from M*A*S*H rang out at 5.00 pm, signaling the bitter end to my cartoons, and the beginning of a bunch of familiar old faces appearing as part of regularly scheduled programming.
The Golden Girls, Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Empty Nest, Columbo and Keeping Up Appearances were merely a portion of the programs that depicted older people in positive leading roles. In 1989, a near 60-year-old Sean Connery was even voted the sexiest man alive.
Watching these TV shows may not have exactly been my choice back in those days, but looking back, I can definitely see the benefits of having watched programs that positively depicted older people as the focal point of the show.
As a child, your social circle is relatively small, and in those days – due to the non-existence of the internet – the main influence outside of your family and friends was television.
At that time in my life, there was no doubt in my mind that the older age groups contained the wisest, most charismatic, and revered people that there was.
And that’s exactly how I saw them.
Mainstream in 2020
Media in 2020 is a completely different experience to what it was only two decades ago.
Not only has the subject matter of content changed dramatically, but the way in which we access our entertainment has done a complete 180-degree turn.
Thanks to the invention of the internet, things have gone from turning on our radios and televisions and hoping to find entertainment, to having 24-7 access to anything that we can think of.
While modern technology does bring with it a number of positive benefits, one of the problems with giving someone the ability to access their own entertainment, is that people rarely venture outside of their comfort zone.
Avoiding everything except your own interests lessens the likelihood of an individual interacting with something new and different.
Ultimately, this inhibits their ability to learn and grow.
Even though I saw the amazing love and respect that my mother had for her mother (my grandmother who lived in our home), seeing older people on TV reinforced the fact that these were people who should be valued in the highest regard.
Out of Sight Out of Mind
The unlimited smorgasbord of information and entertainment currently at our disposal is removing the elderly from the hearts and minds of the vast majority of people.
Even though ageing is something that none of us are immune to, the lack of value being placed on issues affecting the elderly shows that the majority of people view aging as an afterthought.
The structure of these modern-day entertainment platforms leave the masses believing that older people simply aren’t relevant, and this mindset has even trickled down into the mainstream news.
These are stories that some families still sit and talk about at their dinner tables, offering a window into what society values.
Unfortunately, it now takes scandalous headlines and shocking tales of abuse and for the plight of elderly people to peak the interest of the mainstream media, and even then, the conversation surrounding these types of things fizzles away rather quickly.
Not only are these moments few and far between, the subject matter means that on the rare occasion elderly faces do grace the silver screen they are associated with negativity.
And this has the ability to shape impressionable minds.
In stark contrast to the television screens of my childhood era, media platforms are now a sea of younger faces who either present or star in programs geared specifically to an audience of a similar age demographic.
It is extremely rare to see mainstream media figures aged 65 and above, and the idea of seeing people of that age bracket playing positive leading roles in quality programming is even more unusual in 2020.
While there may be the odd person who manages to secure a role presenting a program, there are very few older and elderly people portraying characters with substance.
Unfortunately, attitudes towards older people and the issues that they face currently reflect these characters.
Opinions begin to take shape at an early age, and the lack of an older presence within media and entertainment gives young people, who are just beginning to form their opinion, the idea that the elderly are not valuable enough to be represented on a grand scale.
This type of negative reinforcement through absence has the ability to affect the way that children view and treat the elderly, and it is also an indication of the importance that they will place on elderly issues as they begin to age.
Although I don’t expect the elderly will take center stage in the spotlight again any time soon, I do think that giving them meaningful media exposure can have a positive and lasting impact on those who will be making decisions about them in the future.
Seeing is believing.
So if we want people to believe that elderly people are valuable members of our society, maybe it’s time we started seeing them, free to air, and in the prime time hours once again.
