If you follow all things Hollywood, the awards season is here and it has everyone talking.
But, according to a new study, the Oscars are “ageist” and they’re not necessarily appealing to or inclusive of the over-60s.
According to the Guardian, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism has been studying ages of characters in the 25 films nominated for Best Picture during the past three years.
What the study found was just 12% of named characters were over 60, which doesn’t match when compared with the fact 19% of Americans are aged over-60 and 14% of moviegoers are over-60.
If you’ve ever sat down to watch the Oscars and noticed over-60s talent missing out, or watched a film and couldn’t find it relatable, then this could be way.
The co-author of the study, Stacy Smith, told the Guardian that age had been left out of the conversation about diversity.
“It’s a missed opportunity for Hollywood,” she said.
“These are people with disposable income and time on their hands to view and stream and download films.”
For the movies with actors and actresses over 60 or characters over 60, the study found the majority were white (89.9%) and male (77.7%).
But what about the attitude towards older people in movies?
We’ve all seen a movie at some point that doesn’t portray older people in a positive light, or that’s somewhat demeaning to older people.
And the study reflected that too.
As reported by the Guardian, the study found that some of the films had characters dealing with ageist comments such as “just sit her and let Alzheimer’s run its course”.
Some might argue that what is happening in Hollywood and the Oscars is part of a widespread ageism problem in society.