Grandmother Fa, Dr. Aaron Glassman, and Harry Sanborn are similar in two noteworthy ways. The first way is that they are all considered to be elders in their respective fictional universes. The second way is that they are all portrayed to be wise and highly respected by the people in their lives - both largely due to their ages. The representation of these characters as being revered and full of wisdom demonstrates the tendency of the media to stereotypically portray elders, whether in a positive or negative way. This propensity can promote prejudicial attitudes towards older adults.
Wisdom is a common quality accredited to older adults in the media. However, there are differences in how the two sexes attain this quality. In the TV show The…show more content… A central plot point in Something’s Gotta Give is that Harry Sanborn only dates young women. It is suggested that he does this because he is effectively trying to stay youthful by not being in any intimate relationships, which he believes would happen if he were to date a woman his age. He is so afraid of aging that he is reluctant to date a woman who is over the age of 30-years-old, and when he finally begins to, he quickly ends the relationship to continue dating younger women. Harry Sanborn wants to forget about the reality of aging because his fear of it is so…show more content… They are usually supporting characters who serve as guides or mentors to the young protagonists. Consequently, they are regularly seen advising young people. Sometimes, elders seem to be objectified in their portrayals because of how their lives revolve around advising the protagonists or fixing their problems. In The Good Doctor, despite Dr. Glassman’s busy schedule as president of a hospital, he seems to live to give Dr. Murphy (the protagonist) advice about his job and his personal life. Elderly Harry Sanborn is the protagonist of his movie; nevertheless, he is the man that his young girlfriend, Marin, needs to date before she realizes the qualities she needs in a man and becomes married and has a baby. Grandmother Fa is Mulan’s grandmother, and her only appearances in the movie involve her worrying about Mulan or helping her in some