Representation - Age

This, is Carl Fredricksen; he is one of the main characters from Disney Pixar's 'Up'.

Stereotypically old people (60 - 65+) are racist, anti-youth, narrow minded, deaf, hunchbacked, set in their ways - prefer things 'back in my day', stubborn, ill, wrinkly and keep themselves to themselves. They are often very racist and like to do things traditionally, they sleep a lot and are known for their hobbies, like knitting or tapestry, they tend to appear lonely and grumpy and we always see them as wearing flat caps and sweater vests. Usually they live in villages in small communities and there is a stereotypical idea of old women having lots of cats.

Although Mr Fredricksen comes across as being the traditional old man with his wrinkly appearance and smart clothing and glasses, he isn't old in his mind, he's still living the life of his middle-aged self. At the start of the film we see a montage of Mr  Fredricksen's married life, spent with his wife, Ellie, they plan to go travelling to a Lost Land in South America together, but they don't make it there before she passes away. He is told his house must be knocked down because of buildings being built around it, he ties hundreds of balloons to his roof and takes off in his house to the Lost Land. This shows that Carl still has passion in him even though he's old and people believe old people shouldn't have the same types of dreams as young people.



I chose Mr Fredricksen as I believe he shows a non-stereotypical personality of an old man, at first he comes across anti-youth as shown at the start of the film, he seems grumpy and jealous of the fact they can still run a mile. However, once you get to know the character throughout the rest of the movie, the audience see that he has a big heart and is just too stubborn to show it - also linking to the fact old people are stubborn and like to do things their way.
As he is paired with Russell throughout the film, an 8 year old boy scout from his neighbourhood, Carl has to learn to cooperate with children's needs - this could cause him to feel emotion again (after Ellie's death) and release his 'inner child' during the rest of the film. Russell is a typical 8 year old, living in the modern world and experiencing the present day events and activities of children's lives. He relies on his parents a lot, in this case he relies on Mr Fredricksen a lot throughout the film, he can use technology and there is a particular scene in the film where he uses a satellite navigation pad. He also is experiencing the subculture groups at school and in general life, just like other young people, involving geeks, goths, townies, grebs, emos and chavs etc. - this is typical of young people in the modern day.