[ecrea] CfP - Acting their Age: Women, Aging & Popular Cinema

Deadline: Monday 13th February 2012

ACTING THEIR AGE: Women, Aging&  Popular Cinema
Friday 04th May 2012
A day symposium at the Research Centre for Film&  Digital Media
Culture Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
http://actingtheirage.tumblr.com

“If old people show the same desires, the same feelings and same
requirements as the young, the world looks upon them with disgust: in
them love and jealousy seem revolting and absurd, sexuality repulsive
and violence ludicrous.”  – Simone de Beauvoir

"There aren't enough roles for women over 50. Directors here [in the
US] aren't interested in us. We have to go out there and make them for
ourselves…”  – Kim Cattrall

A recent report commissioned by the now defunct UK Film Council found
that the majority of older women generally feel underrepresented in
cinema (UKFC, April 2011).  Of the 4,315 people surveyed, sixty-one
percent of women aged between 50 and 75 commented that women of their
age were not portrayed as having sexual needs or desires on the big
screen (contrary to their own experience).   Older women make up a key
demographic in cinema audiences; yet, with few exceptions, older women
are often invisible or embody ageist stereotypes.

This one-day symposium primarily questions how cinema has responded to
and historically dealt with older women both off and on screen.

Keynote Speakers:
Dr Deborah Jermyn (University of Roehampton, Department of Media,
Culture&  Language)
Dr Sadie Wearing (London School of Economics, Gender Institute)

Proposals of 200 words for papers of 20 minutes on the subject of
older women in cinema are invited, but not confined to, from the
following areas:

* Cinematic representations of aging and the older woman
* Older women’s sexuality on screen
* The ‘Older-Bird’ chick-flick
* The ‘Cougar’, The ‘Puma’ and The ‘MILF’
* Cross-generational relationships on film
* Older, contemporary female stars on screen
* Aging in different national or historical cinematic contexts
* Women in the Hollywood studio system
* Europe’s relationship with the older woman
* Women behind the scenes (writers, producers, directors, etc)
* Women in the audience

Proposals, accompanied by a short biog, should be sent to
(r.knight /at/ ncl.ac.uk) by Monday 13th February 2012. Notification of
acceptance will be sent by Friday 2nd March 2012.

--
Rebecca Knight
PhD Candidate
School of English, Language&  Linguistics (Film)
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU

E: (r.knight /at/ ncl.ac.uk)
W: http://actingtheirage.tumblr.com


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