Centre for Policy on Ageing



"Old people are useless" — representations of aging on The Simpsons
Author(s)	Darren Blakeborough
Journal title	Canadian Journal on Aging, vol 27, no 1, Spring 2008
Pages	pp 57-67
Source	http://www.utpjournals.com
Keywords	Communication media ; Television [media] ; Attitudes to the old of general public ; Sociology, Social Science ; Theory ; Qualitative Studies ; Canada.
Annotation	This article looks at how The Simpsons' representations of ageing, considered ageist and stereotypical to some, can be viewed as a positive look at older people that attempts to subvert the same stereotypes that it seemingly employs. The baby boom cohort is now seen as an attractive economic group, and as they continue their journey through the life cycle, they are drawing increased attention. A current scholarship exists that investigates the ways of that the "aged" are seen, catered to, advertised at, seemingly marginalised, and represented in the larger context of the mass media. Relying primarily on the theoretical musings of Frederic Jameson and Linda Hutcheon on postmodernism, the article constructs a bridge that places The Simpsons squarely within the postmodern aesthetic and, using the rubric, shows how the inherent political nature of parodying irony can help to create an inversion of meaning. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-080808016 A
Classmark	UD: UKL: TOB: S: 4D: 3DP: 7S
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.