Ageism in the Media: An Interview with Emmy-Award Winning Actress, Doris Roberts

Ageism in the Media: An Interview with Emmy-Award Winning Actress, Doris Roberts

By Lara Mahaney and Beth Reynolds 

"Would you tell Picasso he couldn't paint anymore because was too old?"—that's just the type of treatment that older people are faced with in the media these days, says veteran actor Doris Roberts, who was awarded an Emmy Sunday night for her co-starring role as the strong-willed Marie Barone on CBS's Everybody Loves Raymond. Roberts will also be seen leading the cast in The Hallmark Channel's A Time to Remember which airs Sunday, November 23, 2003 (8/7c). 

The Parents Television Council recently talked with Roberts about the depictions of seniors in advertising and on television. Why the push towards reaching younger audiences?  Roberts feels that advertisers target a young demographic because older audiences consider their consumer choices more carefully than young people. "They don't want an older audience because we have a brain." The message that Roberts wants to give advertisers is "change our minds by working harder—I will buy a different car if you tell me it's safer or give me instructions on how it works better for me." Marketers target youth because they are easier to convince. Ms. Roberts finds the quest by advertisers to target young buyers puzzling when more than three quarters of the wealth in the United States is controlled by older Americans. "Young people can't afford to buy cars. Young people don't buy houses" she asserts. So why then, the push for youth-oriented marketing strategies?

Advertisers are influenced by what Roberts refers to as "image-makers" and this image-consciousness is what leads to the ubiquitous ads featuring young, beautiful woman in advertisements for anything from alcohol, to cars, to magazines. "Nowhere do you see a picture of a woman over the age of 45 on a magazine cover. They're airbrushing us out of society."

The rise of television programming rife with sex and violence is because these image-makers are attempting to draw young viewers in with racy, envelope-pushing content. Clean shows that appeal to older viewers -- such as Diagnosis Murder and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman -- even though they may perform better in the ratings, are bushed aside because that's not the image the networks want to project, and that's not the audience they want to attract.

Roberts says that the problem is further exemplified in the portrayals of seniors in television programming. Seniors are not seeing accurate representation of themselves on television.  "[Seniors] do not see themselves portrayed and when then do, it's in a demeaning manner. They're referred to as ‘over the hill,' ‘old goats' and ‘old farts'—oh please, ugly ways of talking about us."

Roberts says that older people are frequently portrayed as feeble, unproductive and helpless, and these images can be detrimental. Testifying during a September 2002 Senate panel on aging, Roberts cited a Yale University study that showed that older people who have positive self-perceptions live more than seven years longer than seniors exposed to negative images of aging. "We shouldn't be shown that way. Seven and a half years longer—when you're in your seventies—is quite something, isn't it?"

Roberts thinks that in order for real change to take place, people must speak out and make themselves heard. Borrowing from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Roberts states that "‘attention must be paid' to people making enough noise so that congress listens to us and there is some type of law against ageism." Disappointed with the AARP's inaction and lack of support on this issue, Roberts says that not a single AARP representative attended the Senate hearing, even though they were invited. While they may have one of the best vehicles for bringing attention to ageism—their magazine—they turn a blind eye toward the subject. "I am appalled—and you can quote me—appalled that the AARP doesn't do anything about this…I am a member of that organization, but why should I be when they don't fight for us?"

Ageism in Hollywood is not limited to the images that we see on the screen but exist behind the scenes also. "People who worked on [the television series] M*A*S*H*—one of the great shows—are afraid to put that on their résumé because it will date them. Don't you get wiser as you get older? Isn't that the premise?" Roberts asks.  She feels that talented older workers, who have more experience and know-how than their younger counterparts, are often cast aside in Hollywood in favor of younger workers.

Characteristically humorous even in light of the serious topic, Roberts illustrates her point by posing this question: "Would you say to Einstein, please Al, I don't want anymore of your theories?"

At age 72 Roberts is one of the lucky ones; she continues to be able to work in her chosen field but says that many have not fared so well. Hollywood, Roberts says, is the "last bastion of bigotry" and she reminds us that there are laws against other forms of discrimination, but no laws are in place to specifically protect seniors.  

One of the projects that Roberts is excited to be involved in is the upcoming A Time to Remember, which will air on The Hallmark Channel on Thanksgiving evening. "It will be interesting for me, because it's not a comic role. It's a very straight dramatic role which I am delighted to play and am very proud of."  The film is about a controlling woman, the matriarch of her family, who finds that she has Alzheimer's disease. Roberts researched on the topic of Alzheimer's disease in preparation for the role and feels that her depiction will be an honest one.

Our country is made up of a wide mix of diverse individuals. People do not come in cookie-cutter uniformity. Talented actors and writers also come in all shapes, sizes, and ages— Hollywood should make an effort to better frame the diversity that exists in our country. Accurate portrayals of seniors benefit all viewers and add value to the lives of older viewers who are able to see themselves accurately portrayed. We applaud Doris Roberts for her outspoken efforts to stop ageism in marketing and the media.

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