The New York Times, Sunday, May 3, 2015, had a picture of action heroes with a flying AARP card and an open bottle of Lipitor with pills flying on the cover of the Arts & Leisure Section. Yes, of course, it caught my eye. The article by Manohla Daris and A.O. Scott, entitled, “Make My Day, Sonny Boy,” said “in today’s movies, old action heroes don’t die or fade away. They just let their characters age, play tough-guy protective and give up sex.”
What! Give up sex? It shows that those in charge of summer youth blockbusters still think of those over 50 as old. They say, “[f]ilmmakers and maybe audiences seem more comfortable with retirees shooting people and crashing helicopters than making love,” and actually seem to bemoan this as “part of the general, much debated infantilization of American culture or evidence of a countertrend.”
Yet, their thesis, “ripeness is cool,” shows that everyone recognizes that “[o]ut in the real world, Americans live longer, more active lives–life expectancy hovers around 80 for both sexes – and the legions of retiring baby boomers and graying Gen Xers are not going quietly into the pop-cultural twilight.”
The authors concentrate on the “bankability” of stars such as Meryl Streep, age 65 who is going to play a rock band’s frontwoman in “Ricki and the Flash,” and Denzel Washington, age 60, who is going to fight Russian gangsters in “The Equalizer.” They mention Helen Mirren, age 69, who is going to track down stolen nuclear weapon in “Red2,” and Arnold Schwarzenegger, age 67, who is going to try to save humanity in another future in, “Terminator Genisys,” 31 years after he starred in the first “Terminator” movie.
This Grandma loves their conclusion:
“Something else is also happening: the graying of American movies. Our stars, like the country they hold a mirror up to, are getting older, a fact they, like many of us, at once resist and do their best to exploit. They have always been symbols of glamour and potency, often reluctant to give up the spotlight. They are also the vessels of our ideals and aspirations, including the dream that it might be possible to grow old without slowing down, with or without a machine gun. They are changing the face of movie stardom, one wrinkle at a time.”
This Grandma thinks the authors must be very young. They seem to fail to recognize that the phenomena is that we Boomer grandparents are DIFFERENT than the last generation–their grandparents. We, like the superb movie stars we admire, are changing the face of aging. We are growing longer (we never say older) without slowing down. We have most of the wealth in the U.S., take care of ourselves and our health, and are looking forward to the “young old” years from ages 65-84 to enjoy this vibrancy and vitality. We care about how we look and want our outside to look as close to how we feel on the inside as possible.
Why, just look at Helen Mirran’s body and Meryl Streep’s demeanor and dress in the two new movies’ advance publicity pictures. And then tell this Grandma that grandpa is not thinking of sex. Take note, movie studios executives!
Joy,
Mema
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