Gilbrea Seminar Series – The seduction of successful aging: Imag(in)ing older age in comics and graphic novels
L.R. Wilson Hall, Room 1003
03/10/2019, 12:00 pm - TO 03/10/2019 - 1:00 pm
Organizer: Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging
L.R. Wilson Hall, Room 1003
03/10/2019, 12:00 pm - TO 03/10/2019 - 1:00 pm
Organizer: Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging
Complementing the increasing presence of older adults starring in movies, TV, and books, we wanted to focus on older characters in another, increasingly popular media: comics and graphic novels. In this seminar, we discuss our ongoing American Library Association-funded reading guide that collects comics and graphic novels depicting older adult characters and later life experiences. As we showcase a selection of titles from our reading guide, we start with the difficulties of delineating “old” in comics and graphic novels. We will document how characters “do” older age as narrated and visualized throughout the included comics and how characters learn to age against different societal expectations. In doing so, we examine how these comics both resist stereotypical assumptions and ageist narratives while simultaneously yielding to the seduction of successful aging.
**************************
Presenters:
Nicole K. Dalmer, Postdoctoral Fellow, Trent University
Lucia Cedeira Serantes, Assistant Professor, The University of Western Ontario.
Free seminar | Everyone welcome