The intersections of aging, media, and culture are under-explored given trends in population aging, rapid increases in the mediation of everyday life, and the growing cultural significance of media consumption at the global level. This book brings together an international collection of critical scholars, both well-established and up-and-coming, from the various academic disciplines that share a common interest in the future study of aging and media. This anthology of original articles integrates aging theory and media studies through a study of core issues including the media's influence on the construction of "old age," the reciprocal influence of aging on media industries, age-based identities in a mediated world, issues of gender and sexuality in an aging society, and the practical implications of a more integrated approach between the two fields. The chapters explore the intersections between aging and media in the realms of advertising/marketing, television, film, music, celebrity and social media, among others.
Contents Introduction 1. New Areas of Inquiry in Aging, Media, and Culture - C. Lee Harrington, Denise D. Bielby and Anthony R. Bardo Section I. Advertising and Marketing 2. Aspiration and Compromise: Portrayals of Older Adults in Television Advertising - Shyon Baumann and Kim de Laat 3. Forever Young: The New Aging Consumer in the Marketplace - Anne L. Balazs Section II. Age Identities 4. Reflections of Old Age, Constructions of Aging Selves: Drawing Links between Media Images and Views of Aging - Anne E. Barrett, Alex Raphael, and Justine Gunderson 5. Age and Gender in Film and Television: The Case of Huong Hoang - Anthony R. Bardo Section III. Celebrity 6. Growing Old in Celebrity Culture - Hilde Van den Bulck 7. Social Meaning of Celebrities in the Everyday Lives of Nursing Home Residents: An Exploratory Study - Nathalie Claessens Section IV. Music 8. Music, Performance and Generation: The Making of Boomer Rock and Roll Biographies - Stephen Katz 9. "The Long Strange Trip" Continues: Aging Deadheads - Rebecca G. Adams, and Justin T. Harmon Section V. Fandom 10. A Life Course Perspective on Fandom - C. Lee Harrington and Denise D. Bielby 11. Breaking Dusk: Fandom, Gender/Age Intersectionality, and the "Twilight Moms" - Christine Scodari Section VI. Gender and Sexuality 12. "Let's do it Like Grown-Ups": A Filmic Menage of Age, Gender, and Sexuality - Leni Marshall and Aagje Swinnen 13. Sexualizing the Third Age - Barbara L. Marshall Section VII. Social/New Media 14. Learning New Tricks: The Use of Social Media in Later Life - Kelly Quinn 15. Polite Pigs and Emotional Elves: Age in Digital Worlds - Rosa Mikeal Martey Afterwords 16. "Time to Grow Up": The Study of Media and Aging as a Field in its Infancy - Cornel Sandvoss 17. A View from Gerontology - Merril Silverstein
