How to Age Disgracefully

In assembling a cast that covers a range of ages, from an infant to adults in their 70s, Pooley takes the opportunity to interrogate and challenge perspectives on aging that are common in several Western cultures. At the same time, she confronts assumptions and prejudices about other age groups, not just seniors, showing that ageism can work across demographics.

Both Daphne and Art have encountered stereotypes associated with their perceived age, and both choose to challenge these assumptions in different ways. Daphne, for instance, encounters the retail clerk’s assumption that she doesn’t understand modern technology when she ventures out to buy a mobile phone. It’s true that Daphne is not familiar with the phone she chooses, but her interactions with OurNeighbours.com show that she’s not entirely unaware of technology. She’s perfectly capable of using the internet to find what she needs, and she’s also capable of learning to use the latest model iPhone, defying the stereotype of the senior who gets confused or hopeless about the latest gadgets. The challenge with Daphne is her obstinate personality, not her ability to learn.

Art has found, in his career as an actor and as a man of senior years, that he has become invisible.