Age in the Arts

Okay, the title is a little more refined than this article might be. In the last few years there has been a discussion of aging people in television and movies. Granted I do not pay attention to all of it, but I want to discuss three shows that have hit my radar, Doctor Who, Star Wars, and The Walking Dead.

I am an old and new fan of Doctor Who. I remember watching Tom Baker as a kid, but not much passed that. In 2013 I caught up to date with 9, 10, and 11. Since I do not have BBC America, I have only seen one season with Peter Capaldi. Just for reference I am over the age of forty-five, well that does become important later on too. I was hesitant to like Capaldi. I am such a huge fan of 11, it seemed hard to let him go. As per usual, the first episode with Capaldi had me in tears. When he is screaming at Clara that she needs to see him, I lost it. Why? I am in my late forties with greying hair. I am also a full-time college student. Sometimes I wonder what younger students see when they look at me. I had grown to love the Doctor and I knew who he was supposed to be inside, the outside was just different. In real life, I wonder if younger people will be willing to get to know the real me, if they can look beyond the face with some years upon it. The point in the story was, I am pretty sure, intentional.

Star Wars? Come on people, stars and characters age. Han, Luke, and Leia are still themselves, would you have preferred replacements of a more appropriate age play them? Blasphemy! I saw the original Star Wars in the theater in 1977, I was in elementary school. People do not just fade away in the movies, the lives of Han, Luke, and Leia continued happening. They looked just like they were supposed to. Again, in the theater it affected me more than I ever thought it would. When Han and Leia embrace, you sense the years they have lived that we did not see onscreen and the pain of loss. Like Leia, I am aged. I hold a few more pounds, I tend to move slower on some days, my hair is fading while my skin is working to defy gravity. I also have felt loss, I have lived a life, one I am still living even though my body is not twenty anymore.

And The Walking Dead, our hero of last season was Carol, a greying woman with a tinge of bitterness. I did not see as much chatter about that, maybe because those that have made it that far into The Walking Dead get it. Youth is not an indicator of survival. Carol is one BAMF, in my opinion. Her age is irrelevant. I just do not recommend going on a flower gathering expedition with Carol.

The thing is, people who are my age need to see heroes their own age. It’s rewarding in such a weird sometimes subconscious manner. We are not our parents’ middle-age. We were geeks and nerds and in our hearts we still are. We love fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian worlds too and quite frankly we’re not ready to roll over and the let twenty year olds take over the world and the screen yet. We consider the end of the world or the discovery of new ones, we seen some of that in our own small worlds. Loss, becoming invisible, judgment based upon how old our body looks, these are things we have experienced.

Being older does not mean we have it all figured out, it does not mean I would pass on a great adventure with the Doctor. It also means that I, like Carol, would do whatever it takes to save those you care about.  Age does not have a limit on the need to live, we want to feel alive ALL of our lives, not just the first few decades. It is important that film and television reflect that. We need to know that we can still be heroes, perhaps just for one day.