Old too often tossed
Australian society is too quick to dismiss the elderly as not being useful members of the community. But being classed as ‘too old’ is powerful, negative and destructive, and should be railed against, argues Craig Carnes
ESKIMOS supposedly practised senilicide by ejecting the old and sick from the social group, leaving them to die in the wilderness.
Setting the grandparents adrift on an ice floe is probably a cultural myth lionised in sensational and soppy film scripts. No matter, older Australians are confronting their own cold and bleak separation from society as social media goes into hyper drive to proselytise at the altar of the young, the healthy, and the promise of what is to come, not what is behind us.
The stats speak for themselves. A Human Rights Commission report has found 61 per cent of the Australian community feel the portrayal of older people in the media is unfair.
By 2050 about a quarter of all Australians will be aged 65. Yet we are living longer and healthier lives, well into our 80s. Interestingly only one in four people aged 85 years or over live in care accommodation.
However, the stereotypes and labelling are rusted on in our social portrayal of the old: senile, sick, frail, forgetful, victims, vulnerable.
Television shows such as Grumpy Old Men, and Grumpy Old Women for that matter, legitimise and perpetuate the view using highprofile older actors/personalities who should know better than selling out their counterparts for a few bucks.
A quick search of Netflix movies and dramas which are apparently patronised by the elderly includes these gems – On Golden Pond (1981), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), All the President’s Men (1976) and, yes, it was on the list – Grumpy Old Men (1993).
Drama and historical series include Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, and Our Planet.
Come on. I am not knocking the shows but the clumping of them together in this way has finally resolved in my mind why Dad always fell asleep in front of the TV. This can’t be all.
Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique and, later, The Fountain of Age, tackled these stereotypes with great gusto, turning societal thinking on its head and heralding the triumphs of growing older.
Friedan interviewed countless people and pointed to research to show that as we age, society deprives us of human identity and purpose, and that assumptions about ageing are programmed into the DNA of media.
In many countries there is an expectation of retirement after 65 and a paradigm shift to a youthoriented workforce rather than appreciating the skills and cumulative wisdom of the older cohort.
Many are finding they did not put enough away to supplement a comfortable retirement and, to exacerbate matters, those on the aged pension are taxed if they earn additional income.
In Australia there are only 14.2 per cent aged 65 and over in the workforce but in New Zealand an impressive 25 per cent as the tax is less. I would vote for a government that made such adjustments to its fiscal policy.
The point is, productive lives are cut short by a fantasy reinforced by the media, marketing, and advertising that we all bought into, even the aged.
At some point, we are told, there is threshold and we become “old”. This fantasy is powerful, negative, destructive and it resonates. A mythology has crept into social mores about ageing and how we define the aged. Many traditional societies looked to those who were older as mentors and sages. People who have lived a life and can give back in spades.
Governments with all their spin, smoke and mirrors have bought into this idea, hence policy is never constructive but reactive as critical incidents occur such as the recent high number of deaths in nursing homes.
The median age for those who died from Covid in Australia is 83.7 and as of February this year 566 aged-care residents had passed away. Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services Richard Colbeck said, “The sector is not in crisis” (simply people dying of old age). You can draw your own conclusions.
Winston Churchill was 71 when he led England through World War II. Raymond Chandler and Frank McCourt didn’t publish a book until they were over 50. Let’s not forget Henry Ford, who was 45 when he redesigned the transport universe with the Model T car or Ray Kroc, who revolutionised the fast food industry when he launched McDonalds at age 52.
Most admirable was Grandma Moses who began her painting career at age 78. In 2006 one of her paintings sold for $1.2m. When Paul McCartney wrote When I’m SixtyFour, I wonder if he imagined he would be still filling stadiums at 79 or that Mick Jagger would continue to own the stage like a gymnast as on his recent US tour.
Finally, I am with Dylan Thomas when he says, “Do not go gently into the night. Old age should burn and rave at the close of day: Rage, rage against the dying of the light”.
I intend to burn brightly for quite a while yet. Lots to do, things to see and be done.