The impact of gender on the representation of characters aged over 50 in British films between 2021-22
Author: Dr Jonathon Crewe, Dr Marcus Nicholls, Dr Dennis A. Olsen
Format: Video Essay
Duration: 12'07"
Published: March 2025
Embedded Files
Practice
Practice
Research Statement
Research Statement
Context
Context
This audio-visual essay and accompanying research statement are intended to be an illustrative extension of the qualitative analysis embedded in our report, Screening Older Age: The Representation of Older Adults in British Cinema between 2010 and 2022, which was commissioned by the Centre for Ageing Better and whose purpose was to combine statistical analysis with close readings to identify patterns and highlight stereotypes in the onscreen representation of age in contemporary British cinema. This study built upon precursors such as Lauzen and Dozier’s Maintaining the Double Standard: Portrayals of Age and Gender in Popular Films (2005), tracking developments in representation since this study, and shifting the national context to the UK. Our video essay offers another angle on our previous report, refining the focus to one specific year, and selecting qualitative case studies for visualised analysis.
The past few decades have seen an increase in awareness and sensitivity around media representation and its place in cultural feedback loops that can perpetuate stereotypes linked to aspects of identity such as race, gender, sexuality and class. Often overlooked in these debates is the representation of age, even though 'ageism is the most commonly experienced form of prejudice and discrimination...in the UK' (RSPH 2018, p3). Our study set out to examine how ageing and older age are portrayed in film. Although every film in the 2021/22 sample contained at least one speaking character over 50, only 1 in 10 were featured in a major role. For context, approximately 50% of the UK's population is over 50, which means that older people are critically under-represented in British cinema (Eurostat 2022; Office for National Statistics 2021). Predominantly, older characters appear far less frequently than their younger counterparts, becoming plot devices rather than narrative drivers. At the intersection of age and gender, a further disparity is noticeable at the expense of older women (Chivers 2019). Similar to other sectors of the media, the study highlighted a gender imbalance for characters over 50 (Swift and Steeden 2020). Whereas characters under 50 are predominantly women, this is reversed when they are over 50 to a ratio of 2:1 in favour of older men. Looking closer, the data shows that older female characters spoke 14% less than their male counterparts. It appears that the representation of characters over 50 is impacted by gender, with women ageing into more passive and silenced roles compared to men. In addition to this lack of visibility, the study indicates a continuing pattern of uniform roles for older women, which are often reduced to stereotypical portrayals regardless of real-world socio-cultural advances in gender equality (Chivers 2019).
While there have been landmark studies such as the aforementioned 2005 work by Lauzen and Dozier and their significant work on the age/gender intersection in US film and television (1999, 2007, 2009), this still represents a neglected area in representational research. As a way to zoom in on a specific aspect of our broader prior report’s findings, this video essay takes up this thread. Consequently, and in addition to our own prior report, we draw on works such as Stacy L. Smith’s rigorous gender-based content analyses (2010, 2014), which note similar trends around age and gender, with a lack of women over 40 represented in cinema, and an increased gender bias amongst older adults (2014). Elizabeth Prommer’s recent work in this area on German TV, cinema, and streaming, is also a useful parallel. In her chapter within Women, Ageing and the Screen Industries: Falling off a Cliff?, Prommer notes that “after the age of 30, women gradually disappear from the screens” (2023, p1), additionally noting the narrative stereotypes which older characters fall into in many stories on screen. Alongside collections such as this, Josephine Dolan’s Contemporary Cinema and 'Old Age': Gender and the Silvering of Stardom (2017) adds much useful qualitative background.
Using close readings of five films taken from the 2021/22 sample, our video essay aims to add a creative practice, visualised element to this field, offering a snapshot of this applied framework to illustrate recent trends in the disparity between older male and female representations in British cinema.
Research Questions
Research Questions
How does the intersection of age and gender impact representations of male and female characters over 50 in British cinema?
Methods
Methods
The sample for the original study was collated using information provided by the British Film Institute (BFI), where the films met the following pre-defined selection criteria:
feature in the top 15 of the UK’s weekly box office charts (BFI, 2022)
state the UK as their sole country of origin (BFI, 2022)
be fictional productions
be an original release
be available to rent or purchase at the time of data collection (Q4 2022).
These were coded and examined in an in-depth content analysis for all films in the July 2021 – June 2022 sample who met the thresholds, alongside two comparison samples (2010-13, 2013-2018). Five films from our 2021/22 sample were selected for closer qualitative analysis, the objective of which was to enrich the quantitative findings through illustrative examples and showcasing outliers that otherwise might not be apparent from the data. This small sample within the broader selection sought to offer an indicative snapshot of the industry. For the study, and for this essay, the films were chosen as case studies for two reasons. The first was to reflect a cross section of genres and featured roles for characters over 50 — The Duke (Comedy - male and female main characters), Belfast (Period Drama - male and female supporting characters), Off the Rails (Comedy Drama - female main characters), Supernova (Drama / Tragedy - male main characters) and Benediction (Biopic - male and female supporting characters). The second was to investigate whether these rare 'positive' anomalies, films where older characters are seemingly of central importance to the narrative, challenged or re-enforced stereotypes at the intersection of age and gender. While there were other films acknowledged in our broader study which could have been interesting to examine within the video essay, we limited our scope to these five due to their representation or contestation of a variety of aspects drawn from the initial findings. There are limitations here, and we recognise that there is the potential for methodological decisions such as the box office cut-off to compound structural issues faced by older women in terms of funding, promotion, and audience. However, we wish to highlight the lack of visibility in the most widely-received representations, so the box office caveat is a necessary element of the sampling design.
Case Studies
1. The Duke (2022)
There is a clear gender disparity in the representation of the two older lead characters in The Duke, especially in terms of narrative. Kempton (Jim Broadbent) is shown as having aged with his agency intact, his active rallying against assumed societal norms being the main driver of the narrative. Dorothy (Helen Mirren) on the other hand, has taken on the passive role of obedient citizen as she has grown older, depicted as subservient to socio-moral conservatism and reduced to little more than a one-dimensional trope with minimal relevance to the story, plot or major themes of the film.
2. Belfast (2022)
From both a visual aesthetic and a narrative agency perspective, the supporting characters of Granny and Pop (Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds) highlight a gender disparity in Belfast's portrayal of older people. Whereas Pop has some level of impact on the main characters' story arcs, Granny is predominantly a narratively passive plot device to provide an emotional anchor point onto which the central protagonists’ conflict is projected. Granny is often visually relegated to disempowered positions as a result of framing devices and depth of field. In contrast, Pop is generally in the foreground where he participates more in conversation and is often shown actively working on a minor task.
3. Supernova (2021)
Two A-list actors, Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, play the older male protagonists Sam and Tusker in Supernova, a film that both confronts and explores ageing. As well as being progressive in its foregrounding of an over 50s LGBTQ+ storyline, the older characters are central to the narrative. Despite their age – and as an indirect consequence of it – Sam and Tusker are portrayed as possessing self-determination and self-reflection; their decisions drive the plot forwards. Although a positive step forward, our study found no equivalent over 50s female characters or storylines, again highlighting a gendered disparity in the representation of older male and female characters on screen.
4. Benediction (2022)
Benediction contains a number of older characters whose roles are starkly divided by gender. Whereas the older males, Dr Rivers and Robbie (Ben Daniels and Simon Russell Beale), are portrayed as rounded, individuated and positively impactful on the protagonist's story through their narrative functions as mentors and role models respectively, the older women are restricted to one-dimensional tropes, such as the 'grieving mother' or 'staid wife'; Theresa and Hester (Geraldine James and Kate Phillips / Gemma Jones). In relation to its major themes of sexual and artistic expression, the film places older men and women in direct opposition. Dr Rivers and Robbie's sexual and artistic agency are celebrated by, and impactful to, the narrative despite their age. In contrast, Edith and Ottoline's (Lia Williams and Suzanne Bertish) appearances are narratively superfluous and they are, instead, mocked for their sexual and artistic aspirations because of their place at the intersection of age and gender.
5. Off the Rails (2021)
The three older female characters are central to Off the Rails. Cassie, Liz and Kate (Kelly Preston, Sally Phillips and Jenny Seagrove) are all depicted as contradictory, rounded characters whose decisions and actions are the main drivers of the narrative. The film does not ignore or shy away from female ageing but embraces it as a part of the characters' self-determination, self-reflection and positive change. Off the Rails is exceptional in the study by representing older women as equal to, or greater than, their male or younger counterparts in terms of narrative and sexual agency.
Outcomes
Outcomes
Long noted for its presence in cultural artefacts and real-life settings, the study suggests that 'double jeopardy', where members of marginalised groups are further stigmatised as they age, is prevalent in British cinema with regards to gender (Ylänne 2022; Swift and Steeden 2020; Bugental and Hehman 2007). Not only do older women feature and speak far less than older men, double jeopardy - at the intersection of age and gender - also seems to have impacted the character roles for older women insomuch as they possess far less agency and narrative relevance, and are often depicted as conduits of socio-moral conformity and passivity in older age. Their portrayal in films could be seen as 'a cultural repository of regressive and outmoded beliefs about aging femininity' (Chivers 2019, pxviii). Even in a sample that possesses a number of progressive films focusing on older characters in LGBTQ+ storylines, these are almost all about male homosexuality with little to no representations of female equivalents. The study clearly shows that older female characters in British cinema are under-represented and more often reduced to two-dimensional stereotypes when compared to their male counterparts.
The notable exception in the study, Off the Rails, also highlights the under-representation of older women in the film industry. As the only film that foregrounded and portrayed rounded, dynamic and individuated older female characters as the drivers of narrative, it's perhaps unsurprising that this was directed by an over 50s female. Going forward, this apparent connection between who makes films and how characters are portrayed within them should be explored more thoroughly in relation to the depiction of older female characters.
Impact
Impact
It is clear that the intersection of age and gender has a significant influence on representations of age and ageing in film. Male characters in main roles generally maintain agency into older age (Kempton, Tusker, Sam). Those in supporting roles tend to provide a positive impact on the protagonists (Pop, Dr Rivers, Robbie). Overall, it appears that older male characters are far more likely than their female equivalents to maintain narrative relevance, whereby the story is driven forward because of their decisions. In contrast, older female characters are often shown to have lost agency or the ability to self-reflect and have aged into socio-moral conformity, passivity, symbols of pathos (Granny, Dorothy, Theresa, Hester), or objects of mockery (Ottoline, Edith). Compared to their male counterparts, older female characters tend to be portrayed with less narrative relevance, both to the story and any younger protagonists. They are often used as little more than stereotyped plot devices.
One exception to this is Off the Rails, where none of the older female protagonists are portrayed as passive or judged because of their age. Instead, they are presented with all the narrative agency of male or younger characters, and their identities as older women are celebrated rather than glossed over. However, these positive and dynamic narrative depictions of older women are rare and overshadowed by a male-orientated gendered concept of ageing.
Significantly, women of colour are an absence from either the stereotyped or progressive presences outlined here, a key intersection requiring additional research. Looking outwards from this project, we aim to broaden our scope to address its limitations. The focus on traditional ideas of gender here, whilst necessary for the scope of this study, could be seen as reductive in its binarism. Further complexifying these findings through engaging with non-binary characters on screen (plus other forms of fluidity), as well as a more multifaceted intersectionality that engages more extensively with sexuality and, in particular, ethnicity, is the goal of these planned extensions. By necessity, this project has simplified its approach to maintain clarity within a condensed form. However, as exemplified by the excellent intersectional work on ageing published by The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (2014, 2019), there is much to be investigated here.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Bugental, D., and Hehman, J. (2007) ‘Ageism: A review of research and policy implications’. Social Issues and Policy Review, 1(1), 173–216. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-2409.2007.00007.x
BFI (British Film Institute) (2022). Weekend box office figures. Available at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/industry-data-insights/weekend-box-office-figures
Chivers, S. (2019) The Silvering Screen. 1st edn. University of Toronto Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/972460/the-silvering-screen-old-age-and-disability-in-cinema-pdf (Accessed: 23 August 2023).
Dolan, J. (2017) Contemporary Cinema and 'Old Age': Gender and the Silvering of Stardom. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Eurostat (2022). Population by age group. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tps00010/default/table?lang=en
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (2019) ‘Frail, Frumpy, and Forgotten: A Report on the Movie Roles of Women of Age’. GDIGIM. Available at: https://seejane.org/wp-content/uploads/frail-frumpy-and-forgotten-report.pdf
Lauzen, M and Dozier, D. (1999) ‘The Role of Women on Screen and behind the Scenes in the Television and Film Industries: Review of a Program of Research’ in Journal of Communication Inquiry, Vol. 23, Issue 4.
Lauzen, M and Dozier, D. (2005) ‘Maintaining the Double Standard: Portrayals of Age and Gender in Popular Films’ in Sex Roles, Vol. 52, pp. 437-446.
Lauzen, M, Dozier, D. and Reyes, B. (2007) ‘From Adultescents to Zoomers: An Examination of Age and Gender in Prime-Time Television’ in Communication Quarterly, Vol. 55, Issue 3, pp. 343-357.
Lauzen, M and Dozier, D. (2009) ‘Recognition and Respect Revisited: Portrayals of Age and Gender in Prime-Time Television’ in Mass Communications and Society, Vol. 8, Issue 3, 241-256.
Office for National Statistics (2021) UK population pyramid interactive. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/ukpopulationpyramidinteractive/2020-01-08
Olsen, D.A., Crewe, J. and Nicholls, M. (2023) ‘Screening Older Age: The Representation of Older Adults in British Cinema between 2010 and 2022’. Centre for Ageing Better. Available at: https://ageing-better.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/cast-aside-full-report.pdf
Prommer, E. (2023) ‘The Gender-Age-Gap on Screens: Cinema, TV and Streaming Services’ in Women, Ageing and the Screen Industries: Falling off a Cliff? (ed. S. Liddy).
Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) (2018) ‘That Age Old Question: How Attitudes to Ageing Affect our Health and Wellbeing’. Royal Society for Public Health. Available at: https://www.rsph.org.uk/static/uploaded/a01e3aa7-9356-40bc-99c81b14dd904a41.pdf
Smith, S. L., Pieper, K., Granados, A., and Choueiti, M. (2010) ‘Assessing Gender-Related Portrayals in Top-Grossing G-Rated Films’ in Sex Roles, Vol. 62, pp. 774–786.
Smith, S. L., Pieper, K., and Choueiti, M. (2014) ‘Gender Bias Without Borders: An Investigation of Female Characters in Popular Films Across 11 Countries.’ Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Available at: https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/bitstream/1/11673/1/gender-bias-without-borders-full-report.pdf
Swift, H., and Steeden, B. (2020) ‘Exploring representations of old age and ageing’. Centre for Ageing Better. Available at: https://ageing-better.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-03/Exploring-representations-of-old-age.pdf
Ylänne, V. (2022) Introduction: ageing in/and the media. In V. Ylänne, ed. Ageing and the media: International perspectives. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2022, pp. 1 – 11.
Filmography
Filmography
Belfast (Kenneth Brannagh, 2021, UK)
Benediction (Terence Davies, 2021, UK)
The Duke (Roger Michell, 2022, UK)
Off the Rails (Jules Williamson, 2021, UK)
Supernova (Harry Macqueen, 2021, UK)
Peer Reviews
Peer Reviews
All reviews refer to the original research statement which has been edited in response to what follows
Review 1: Invite resubmission with major revisions of practical work and/or written statement.
This video essay addresses representation at the intersection of gender and age in recent British films (2021-2022). Gendered inequality on screen is not news, neither is older women being ignored by the screen industries. But whilst it is not a revelation that women characters over 50 are less numerous, less visible, less active, and less verbal than their men counterparts, the illustrations from the chosen case studies here are powerful by being visual: a successful deployment of practice-research.
Having limited explanation for the choice of films prompts questions about their representiveness, although the essay’s claims reflect existing research. There are other films that could have been featured, including Living (2022), in which Bill Nighy cavorts with a much younger woman and is given credit for the work of campaigning mothers. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (2022), has substantial roles for Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Anna Chancellor and Ellen Thomas (a Black woman, absent from the video essay which overlooks race as a further axis of disadvantage). The Last Bus (2021) and Catherine Tate’s The Nan Movie (2022) presumably do not reach the box office bar, a parameter that risks reinforcing gendered issues related to funding, promotion and audience.
The essay demonstrates that women over 50 are primarily found in supporting roles, or used as plot devices, providing obstacles for the main (men) characters to argue against or escape from. Sometimes the women are simply in the background, adding little to the narrative and having limited contact with protagonists. Not all points persuade, such as the claim Judy Dench’s character in Belfast is “abandoned as a passive martyr”, despite her foregrounded presence and murmured entreaty “Go, go now”. It may be a testament to the quality of acting that these women characters seem less passive than the authors claim. The contention that most characters under 50 are women cannot surely be accurate and needs support. More convincing is the way older men are shown to have authority and wisdom whilst older women are the butt of jokes and objects of repulsion.
Supernova focuses on two men. However, there is erasure in using a woman’s voice, without showing her visually. This case study also feels protracted considering the focus on men, with substantial dialogue and characterisation compared to the clips from Off the Rails. The stark contrast provided by the woman-directed film extends the discussion to who controls narratives and how continuing inequality here influences what we see on screen. Again, this is not new, but the visual presentation is impactful.
The use of split screen is confusing, but the juxtaposition of scenes is effective. Gender should be considered beyond the binary and the use of trans-exclusionary terms ‘female’ and ‘male’ should be avoided. The research statement provides some detail about the sample films but does not provide enough theoretical context. Indeed, the authors fail to acknowledge decades of literature on age and gender in film and television, including work by Martha M. Lauzen, Stacy L Smith and Elizabeth Prommer.
Review 2: Accept submission subject to minor revisions of written statement
This video essay offers an intersectional textual analysis of the representation of gender in a number of British films between 2021 and 2021, with a particular focus on age. In exploring this topic, the researcher broadens understanding of inequalities in the sector and the impact these have in resulting representations and therefore, understandings of identities as an over-fifty-year-old person.
The video essay starts with a series of quantitative data about statistics in the film industry, which helps situate the topic and justify its relevance. The inequality in gender and age representation in the sector become evident from the beginning, in a clearly articulated argument. Then, there is a juxtaposition of examples that help illustrate, perform and evidence these. The style is rather expository, with a series of intertitles that build the argument over a creative compilation of films. One of the first films is analysed through an editing style that relies on split screen. Whilst this contributes to comparing and contrasting the representation of young men versus elder women, at times it feels like there is too much information to process and perhaps insufficient contextualisation of the films and filmmakers cited. I found myself pausing several times, which is fine, because video essays disseminated online allow this kind of engagement. However, I wonder if there could be a more filtered selection of clips, discussed into more detail, and with further time to digest the points being made. Sometimes the intertitles were slightly short in length, which could hamper the accessibility of what is otherwise a clearly articulated video essay. There is an interesting turn when the focus moves to the film Off the rails (2021) directed by Jules Williamson. Here, we are shown a series of women discussing their views of their experiences of menopause, in a rather strong and comedic manner, which, according to the researcher, results in a strong representation of these women. This is, the researcher suggests, a direct consequence of the fact that the film is directed by a woman who has already experience such phase. In fact, most interviews with her about the film spoke about how she was intending to address a gap in film representation of women, where menopause was rather absent. Perhaps including some of these interviews could have further emphasised that point.
The video essay is a great invitation to think further of these topics, and a straightforward presentation of a study on a subject that is certainly worth much more attention. The format of practice research enhances the argumentation, through an evident illustration of key problematic aspects and approaches in mainstream representation. The UK film industry could learn from other ways of representing mature women in further filmographies. I would love to see a comparative study, maybe with a focus on empowering representation of older women. I think it would also be interesting to see the argument complemented by a study which includes non-binary people. This could add further complexity to the existing discussion. Overall, this is a an efficient and convincing video essay which raises attention to an important matter.
All reviews refer to the original research statement which has been edited in response.
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