ReZoom

Could this have been the deep-rooted cause of America's bout with ageism all along? As is being widely reported, smart millennials at Brigham Young University have uncovered gruesome stereotypes in the huge stable of Disney characters. Of 90 senior characters studied in 34 Disney movies, researchers say that 58 percent are positive but that 42 percent of the characters are negative portrayals that include characteristics like anger, missing teeth, creaking voices, hunched postures. And many were portrayed as villains. The study has ben accepted in the "Journal of Aging Studies."

As disturbing to researchers is that older females, in particular, are particularly portrayed in a negative light in these (and other) films, while older male characters tend to be portratyed as authority figures with positive attributes such as leadership and mentoring.

Even more disturbing is that most of the older characters in the Disney flicks were villains, drawing an association between old age and evil in the minds of young children. The stereotypes, said study administrators, when learned at a young age, can have a lasting impact on how children will view old age
later, likely instilling a fear of growing old and a distrust of older people. Admittedly, fairly tales like "Hansel and Gretel" make the Brothers Grimm equally at fault. Curmudgeonly? Not a problem. Cranky? Just don't make it chronic. Child-eating, puppy-milling screechy witches? This we take issue with.