Representations of ageing in the media

This chapter reviews research on representations of older people and ageing in print and TV media, focusing on advertising. Findings from content analytic studies are summarised and a case is then made for the necessity for more context sensitive research. Media discourses are related to assumptions and aspirations regarding the lifespan and lifestyles at older age: ‘positive’ portrayals reveal limited depictions of ageing. Representations in advertising provide a rich resource for cultural gerontologists, but these need to be understood as highly context specific cultural constructs that offer versions of the ‘reality’ of older age for very specific purposes