Contemporary Cinema and 'Old Age' : Gender and the Silvering of Stardom

This Book Is The First To Explore 'old Age' In Cinema At The Intersection Of Gender, Ageing, Celebrity And Genre Studies. It Takes Its Cue From The Dual Meanings Of `silvering' - Economics And Ageing - And Explores Shifting Formulations Of `old Age' And Gender In Contemporary Cinema. Broad In Its Scope, The Book Establishes The Importance Of Silver Audiences To The Survival Of Cinema Exhibition While Also Forging Connections Between The Pleasures Of `old Age' Films, Consumer Culture, The `economy Of Celebrity' And The Gendered Silvering Of Stardom. The Chapters Examine Gendered Genres Such As Romantic Comedies, Action And Heist Movies, The Prosthetics Of Costume, And Cgi Enabled Age Transformations. Through This Analysis, Josephine Dolan Teases Out The Different Meanings Of Ageing Masculinity And Femininity Offered In Contemporary Cinema. She Identifies Ageing Femininity As The Pathologised Target Of Rejuvenation While Masculine Ageing Is Seen To Enhance An Enduring Youthfulness. This Book Has Interdisciplinary Appeal And Will Engage Scholars Interested In `old Age' And Gender Representations In Contemporary Cinema. Josephine Dolan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Acknowledgements 6 Contents 7 List of Figures 8 Chapter 1 Introduction: Concerns, Positions, Intersections 9 Positioning ‘Old Age’ 9 Feminist Positions 13 Positioning ‘Contemporary Cinema’ 19 Precedents 21 A Cinematic Triad: Audience/Stardom/Narrative 27 References 32 Chapter 2 From the Silvering of Audiences to the Silver of Spin-Offs 38 The Silvering of Audiences 38 A Slow Pursuit of Silvered Profits 42 From Silver Audience to Consumer Silver 45 The Silver of Tie-in: Soundtrack Available 48 The Silver of Spin-Offs: Tourist Utopias 60 Conclusion 66 References 67 Chapter 3 The Silvering of Celebrity Stardom: Late-Style Icons and Brain Age(d) Gender 77 Costuming the High Street 77 Diane Keaton and Dame Judi Dench: Feminine Late-Style and Chronological Decorum 80 Ad‘Dress’ing Masculinity 88 Clint Eastwood: Vintage Style and Vintage Masculinity 91 From Star Influence to Silver Endorsements 96 Silvered celebrity, endorsement and the gendered regulation of the ageing brain 103 The Forty-Something Threshold and Postfeminist Contradictions 109 Conclusion 114 References 116 Chapter 4 Performing Gender and ‘Old Age’: Silvering Beauty and Having a Laugh 127 Unlifted ‘Old Age’, Untouchable Stars 127 The Silvered Beauty Myth 132 The Failings of the Silvered Beauty Myth 135 Male Grooming, Appropriate Concerns and the Exclusion of Ageing 139 Silvering Male Celebrity, Deferred Retirement and Late Fatherhood 144 Acts of Contrition to Muscling Out Frailty 147 Just Having a Laugh 152 Impersonating ‘Old Age’ 157 Conclusion 161 References 166 Chapter 5 The Silvering of Genre: Deferred Retirement and Hard-bodied Dissonance 176 Genre, Gender and Verisimilitude 176 Deferred Retirement the British Way: From Imposition to Pleasurable Hobby 181 Deferred Retirement the US Way: Smart Talk, Elder Kitsch and the Failures of Hard-Bodied Action 190 Hard-Bodied Dissonance 194 Conclusion 200 References 202 Chapter 6 A Hard Story to Tell: Silvering Abjection and the Gendered Prosthetics of the Fourth Age Imaginary 208 A Hard Story to Tell 208 Abjection and Gender 214 Costume, Abjection, Time 218 Fantasies of Abjected Femininity 224 Conclusion 235 References 237 Chapter 7 Conclusion: In Hope of Provocation 243 References 251 Bibliography 252 Index 256 Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction: Concerns, Positions, Intersections (Josephine Dolan)....Pages 1-29 From the Silvering of Audiences to the Silver of Spin-Offs (Josephine Dolan)....Pages 31-69 The Silvering of Celebrity Stardom: Late-Style Icons and Brain Age(d) Gender (Josephine Dolan)....Pages 71-120 Performing Gender and ‘Old Age’: Silvering Beauty and Having a Laugh (Josephine Dolan)....Pages 121-169 The Silvering of Genre: Deferred Retirement and Hard-bodied Dissonance (Josephine Dolan)....Pages 171-202 A Hard Story to Tell: Silvering Abjection and the Gendered Prosthetics of the Fourth Age Imaginary (Josephine Dolan)....Pages 203-237 Conclusion: In Hope of Provocation (Josephine Dolan)....Pages 239-247 Back Matter ....Pages 249-258