Appearance of Older Women in Film
...ng, because while older women are seen as ugly, older men are seen as distinguished. Aside from actors and actresses, stars are public symbols. It is not very often that you can be considered a ‘star’ without a well-known face to go along with your persona. These ‘faces’ that we see, must be above-average standards. These people are famous for a reason: they are special – even more than that, they are extraordinary. That is why we support their fame with our money and our time. We want these people to be attractive, as well as talented; experienced, but not too old so as to be seen as ugly. Unfortunately, older women are never viewed as attractive. Therefore, to be an aging female star, you must take every precaution to maintain a youthful appearance so that the public does not grow old of you, and discard you with the other ‘incompetent’ older, forgotten women. As a general rule, society has learned to turn their backs on older women, which perhaps extends back to when women’s “only use” was to procreate and to raise children. Once their children had grown up and moved out, the mothers were of no more use. They were simply taking up space, and filling their time until it was their time to die. Men, on the other hand, have always been viewed as useful in our society. The men continued to work into old age, and continued to support their family. Because of our society, actors must reflect the ...