A study by The Family Watch urges the film and television industry to offer a «more inclusive, realistic, and enriching image of old age.»
In the most-watched series and movies in Spain in 2024, there is little representation of older characters and ageist stereotypes persist.
This is reflected in the report ‘Grandparents and older people in the most-watched movies and series in Spain in 2024’, presented this Friday by The Family Watch Foundation, which analyzed a total of 129 characters, their narrative role, gender, social class, diversity, presence of stereotypes, well-being treatment, and ageism.
The objective of the study has been to systematically understand what type of older characters appear in these contents and how it could influence the social perception of old age.
In the analysis of 129 characters in 40 audiovisual products, Spain leads the most viewed production by people over 60 in 2024, with 53.8% in both series and movies, followed by the United States (30.8%).
Older people are clear about their main themes: drama genre (32.2%), followed by comedy (18.4%) and romantic comedy (10.5%).
The report points out that the family situation of older people is not identified in 38.8% of the series, which is associated with «autonomous profiles not dependent on their family members, but not providers of the same.»
Older characters over 60 belong mostly to a middle-high stratum in 69.8% of cases, coinciding with the Silver Generation trend, which has stability and can support their families.
In 11.5% of cases, characters are dedicated to SMEs or large businesses and, in the same proportion, to security and defense forces.
The study concludes that, although the audiovisual content analyzed in 2024 reflects the increasing demographic weight and purchasing power of the senior population in Spain, as well as, in part, their active role and family support, it also shows that there is a poorly representative number of older people and age-related stereotypes persist.
This is particularly evident in the representation of older women (in the most advanced ages, there is a higher proportion of women) and in the omission of realities such as dependency or unwanted loneliness, despite being a prevalent issue in Southern Europe.
Some exceptions observed in Spanish fiction series of the 21st century, such as the presence of actors and actresses playing themselves or the representation of older women in roles of resistance, suggest «an incipient progress towards a more complex and less stereotyped representation,» which, according to the study, «fits the result that the most-watched genres (drama and comedy) provide more space to represent the complexity of aging.
However, the research specifies that the path to a full and non-ageist representation still presents significant challenges, so it makes recommendations on the diversity of the experience of older adults in Spain in audiovisual content.
Thus, it highlights the need for film and television, as ‘cultural mirrors,’ to evolve to «offer a more inclusive, realistic, and enriching image of old age, challenging prejudices and normalizing the heterogeneity of this vital stage.»
For example, the study encourages creators to portray intergenerational bonds that help exchange values and knowledge, promote representations that make their family situation visible in this time of change, and well-being as a result of their social contribution.
