Disney films and cartoons help develop negative views of older people
By the time children enter primary school, they have a negative view of older people, a new US study shows.
Disney films, along with TV cartoons, may influence these negative stereotypes, according to a report in the Journal of Aging Studies.
“The most negative older characters in the Disney animated films were the villains,” says lead author and one of the researchers, Tom Robinson.
As examples, he mentioned Madam Mim in The Sword in the Stone, the wicked stepmother in Cinderella, the witch in Snow White, Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmations, and more.
In these and other films, Disney portrayed older females in a particularly negative light, while older male characters tended to fill authority roles, such as that of clergyman, ruler and mentor.
The health of the older characters was good 73% of the time, but more than a quarter of older characters were shown as toothless or missing teeth, the researchers say.
Many of the elderly characters also had cracking voices, were hunched over and if female “were often depicted with saggy breasts”.
Aside from villains, most older characters were peripheral to the films’ story and plot.
“These stereotypes, when learned at a young age, have a lasting impact,” Tim Robinson says. “We don’t want to raise a generation fearful of growing old, or have these children rise to positions of influence and power only to dismiss the older age group because of these stereotypes.”
