by Andrew Blaikie (Author)
As the 'grey market' perpetuates the quest for eternal youth, the biological realities of deep old age are increasingly denied. Ageing and Popular Culture traces the historical emergence of stereotypes of retirement and documents their recent demise, arguing that although modernisation, marginalisation, and medicalisation created rigid age classifications, the rise of consumer culture has coincided with a postmodern broadening of options for those in the Third Age. With an adroit use of photographs and other visual sources, Andrew Blaikie demonstrates that an expanded leisure phase is breaking down barriers between mid and later life. At the same time, 'positive ageing' also creates new imperatives and new norms with attendant forms of deviance. While babyboomers may anticipate a fulfilling retirement, none relish decline. Has deep old age replaced death as the taboo subject of the late twentieth century? If so, what might be the consequences?
Format: Illustrated
Pages: 260
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04 Mar 1999
ISBN 10: 0521645476
ISBN 13: 9780521645478
Book Overview: This book traces changing popular images and policies around ageing to reconsider realities of the Third Age.