Hey! My latest column is up at AMC and I take a look at the “elderly” in fantasy film.
My sense of what it means to be elderly is wildly skewed since my grandmother will be 105 next week, is sharp as a tack and still lives on her own. Sadly, fantasy has a narrower view of the elderly, and they get short shrift when it comes to adventuring. Fantasy ageism posits that old people have either had their turn, or exist to support the youth who are really getting things done. Thus, if you have gray hair in a fantasy flick, you probably fall into one of three camps.
Read Call the AARP! Middle Earth’s Ageism Needs an Intervention – SciFi Scanner – AMC.
Okay, I guess I had a different impression of fantasy, namely that if it weren’t for the elderly wizards, witches, etc. then most of the hotshot young heroes would a) never get out of their home village, b) forget to pack any underwear or food, and c) die of injuries or fever before they ever got around to the whole making-history-and-saving-the-world thing.
Heroic elders would be a fun addition, but in my experience, elders usually have smarter and less exertive ways to get things done. If they have adventures, it’s because they enjoy hiking or kayaking or something like that. *ponder* Though it might be amusing to pit a villain against a grandparent and watch him get all kinds of nowhere with his evil plans…