The impact of gender on the representation of characters aged over 50 in British films between 2021-22

This video essay and accompanying research statement extends and adds to a broader study funded by The Centre for Ageing Better; Screening Older Age: The Representation of Older Adults in British Cinema between 2010 and 2022. The video essay draws a particular thread out of this larger project, focusing on the intersection of age and gender in a selection of British films from 2021-22. In examining this specific facet of the ways in which age is represented in cinema, the video essay not only adds further qualitative analysis to the broader study, but also uses the moving image form to establish connections between films and draw out nuances specific to film form. Using editing techniques of remix to create new montages and juxtapositions, as well as split screens and the superimpositions created by slow fades, the video essay examines the ways in which characters, narrative elements, themes, and stylistic choices converge in the portrayals of older characters in these films. In visualising the arguments, the aim is to draw the viewer into active critical engagement with the representations, with the on-screen titles and the research statement guiding these explorations.