Writing Process on the Topic "Negative Representation of Aging People in the Media"
Term Paper Assignment: The title of the paper is – Media representations of ageing and older people: Consequences for older people and wider society. Students will complete one research paper. The paper will require students to access 3 pieces of media from the material available on Blackboard to analyze the content and reflect on the intended meaning, hidden meanings and implications of this both on older adults, the recipient of the media and the wider society. These media should be identified prior to the end of week 6 and submitted to faculty by email for approval.
The materials should be used to build a paper based on societal stereotyping, the presence (or absence) of ageist imagery and prose followed by the implications that this has. Additional information will be provided in class with individual support available upon request when students have located their chosen media. This should link to several of the topics covered in class including but not limited to those on stereotyping. A paper of 2500 words max. (excluding references) will be turned in along with copies of the source material. Please use APA reference formatting.
Here is my writing process for the team paper:
After going through the exemplars that were provided in the Blackboard, I chose the three I thought would cover the various cases of negative representation of aging people in the media.
The birthday card was one of the media that attracted my attention. The lighthearted joke that the receiver of the card should be happier because they are younger than they will be after a year attracted my attention. While the card does seem humorous, I feel that giving such a card to an older person may be offensive as there is an implicit message that one should not look forward to aging. While discussing the card, I felt that the card did not acknowledge the likelihood that one gain from aging. One of the critical concepts that I learned in the course was successful aging. I felt that the card failed to appreciate the likelihood of a person managing to achieve successful aging. Therefore, my discussion about the card involved the analysis of the implicit meaning of the birthday card and how it seems to invalidate successful aging.
The article featured on the CBS News website was the other source that attracted my attention. On the surface, the article seemed informative as it is reporting a study. However, upon closer reading, I felt that the article suggests that older people cannot drive cars that are heavily populated by technology. Throughout the readings about aging in the class, we have discussed that age comes with experience that should not be underemphasized when describing the position of the elderly in society. I felt that the experience that the elderly have gained should be considered when exploring how older people drive. While they may not be able to easily access car technology like the millennials, older people have experience and expert...