From Miley to Meryl: How the Media's Role in Society Shapes Views on Age and Aging in Pop Culture

September 2005. As studios gear up for the launch of their fall movie campaigns, two movies face off, released on back-to-back weekends. One stars Jessica Alba, 24-year-old Hollywood actress, ubiquitous tabloid magnet, and perennial member of the list of the top ten most googled celebrities. The other is a star vehicle for a then 43-year-old Jodie Foster. It’s a perfect matchup of the generations, as each female lead goes head to head at the box office to see who can draw the largest crowds. The answer seems obvious— the hot young star is sure to draw more theatergoers from our youth-obsessed culture than some middle-aged actress past her prime. Yet when the box office figures are released, the money, as always, gets the final word. Foster’s Flightplan garners nearly $90 million in ticket sales among American audiences, more than four times the paltry $18.8 million Alba’s Into the Blue reels in. Any American super-market shopper can remember the omnipresent and now infamous shot of Alba clad in her blue bikini plastered on the cover of numerous magazines as part of the movie’s aggressive marketing campaign. So how is it that Foster—with no stellar bikini shot backing her up—was able to lure more than four times the audience of the actress nearly half her age?

We have entered a new era of American culture, one that reveals an interesting contradiction in our attitudes and beliefs about age in the entertainment industry. We have heard the endless Hollywood horror stories about actresses hitting thirty and getting caught with the first stretch mark or wrinkle that pops up screaming, “Expiration date is fast approaching!” The perpetual image of young stars on magazine covers and blogs adds to this impression that youth is the driving force of the American media. Analysis of economic data—from salaries, to box office figures and record sales—tells a different story, however, one that suggests that older celebrities truly succeed in bringing in the audiences and the cash.

Before exploring perceptions of age in American media, we first must examine the broad reasons why Americans are perpetually accused of being a youth-obsessed culture. Throughout the past several decades, however, this youth obsession has appeared in American culture to varying degrees. In order to fully grasp the factors that influence the changes in American fascination with youth, we must scrutinize each generation’s relationship with the media. As the media’s form, as well as its role in American society, evolves throughout the decades, so too do the ages of its most prominently featured figures. Yet while attitudes about age may change from generation to generation, our culture’s obsession with youth will always remain inherently rooted into our national identity, manifesting in different ways overtime.