It was once said that 35 was retiring age for women in the film industry, after turning 35 women are more likely to be cast as evil, vindictive, or homely types. In an article I read called "The Ageing Dilemna", Melissa Silverstein talks about how women are forced to play roles that make them older than they actually are even when their male counterparts are still older than them. It is after 35 that women
began to lose romantic, and seductive roles, or so it was until recently. Women over 35 have been appearing in more and more movies playing romantic, seductive roles that were once taboo for a older women. Some films even show older women with younger men which vice versa is a Hollywood norm but in general is pretty rare to be seen on film. In "The Proposal" (2009), Sandra Bullock plays a Canadian immigrant who runs a publishing company. Sandra starts off as an evil vindictive boss to Ryan Reynolds, her secretary, until she finds out that her Visa has run out and the only means of staying in her current position at her job and in the country is to marry him. As they stage their fake wedding, the two characters fall in love with each other. When the film was being made Sandra was already 45 and Ryan was only 33. She was 12 years his elder which is quite noticeable when looking at the two. However Sandra still was able to pull off romantic chemistry with a younger man which on film is very rare to see. Another example of a woman playing a romantic role with a younger man is "Water For Elephants"(2011) with Reese Witherspoon, and Robert Pattinson. In this film Robert plays a student in veterinary school who drops out to join the circus. Once in the circus he falls for Reese who is the circus owner's wife, who ultimately ended up leaving her husband to be with him. Reese Witherspoon is 35 years old, which is on the borderline of sexy, and homely, for Hollywood films but her costar Robert is only 25. Reese is 10 years his senior yet on screen they still have romantic chemistry. These are just two examples of dominant female leads in the film industry proving to the industry that they have not yet lost it, but there are many more examples. This sexist idea of men getting better with age, and women turning into old hags needs to end!
After learning more about the trend of "aging" women in Hollywood, it is nice to see some examples of older women getting roles in movies. Although I must point out that both Sandra Bullock and Reese Witherspoon both look pretty young in my opinion. Sandra Bullock is able to go from playing Michael Oher's mother, to playing a boss, to Ms. Congeniality (although arguably, she was much younger). Makeup can do wonders to those who don't look their age. However, Meryl Streep and Helen Miren seem to be the only truly older women I see in Hollywood getting any roles of substance in movies, and even then they still play vindictive women, albeit very well.Examples are The Devil Wears Prada, The Iron Lady, and The Queen. Formerly "hot actresses" like Susan Sarandon and Sigourney Weaver haven't been seen in a leading role for years as I can remember. Even Demi Moore and Halle Berry, both very stunning for their ages, are not getting those James Bond roles anymore or playing the female heroin. I think as 40 becomes the new 30 we will see more older actresses getting better roles.With the advent of plastic surgery, and other various fountains of youth you can pay for, more women might be looking younger and perhaps get those roles, but they still have to go through extraordinary lengths, and have a great agent to get the parts that Reese and Sandra have played. If things don't continue onto the older trend, I think we will be seeing less of both Reese and Sandra in the future. Although for now, I do see in People Magazine how good "older actresses look young for their age," perhaps this will translate into movies one day. And I'm also not counting Betty White, she is in a class all of her own.
ReplyDeleteI think the age factor is a huge contradiction in hollywood. Women such as meryl streep are not looked at as sex objects at a certain age but men such as sean connery are looked at to be the ultimate sex object. It's a horrible double standard. You constantly look at older men in media, they are paired up with young attractive women. Along with older men, older women are pairing off with younger men to counter balance it. It seems like a peculiar trend in media which isn't always right.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the research put into finding some examples of older women in acting roles. I agree that older women have been in a lot of movies recently, as a main character role. I can think of a few more examples as well. I would like to see this change more and more as time goes on.
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