Older people and cinema

To the local cinema (usually we can't find anything we want to watch - it's usually ghastly violent teenfodder) to see the 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'. I found it colourful, amusing and sympathetic to older people having a good time in later life, and resolving their life tasks in new ways. It's had such poor reviews that the publicity has resorted to ordinary people saying they liked it. Perhaps the reviewers like the teenfodder.

Or perhaps not, because the Guardian (is it responding to its readership demographic?) has been going on about older people being poorly represented in film, but also rescuing the film industry, because there are more of them who are willing to spend money going to the cinema. Also, they like films about character and these are cheaper than the teen preference for fantasy epics.

The Guardian on older people being poorly represented in film
The Guardian on older people rescuing the cinema

The poorly represented argument suggests that the 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' represents older people as sick, doddery incompetents who don't know the difference between wi-fi and wireless. Well actually, according to Wikipedia, the wi in wifi means wireless and Wikipedia does not tell us that the fi means anything, so I think it is not an unreasonable question. And they have some illnesses and disabilities, but manage and overcome them well. They have a good time and they achieve their life aims in the film. That's probably unrealistic, but, hey, it's the pictures. We go for fun.

 Wikipedia on wifi

Actually BEMH is a romcom which is no better or worse than most romcom, but perhaps the Guardian writers do not want older people having rom. The people are no more caricatured than the teenagers are in teen films or younger people in romcoms for other agegroups.

And as far as rescuing the cinema is concenred, I also like drama, thrillers and science fiction. But I do not like earcracking sound, violence and extreme bad language. I've recently watched (on telly) some of the superhero films that have been coming out recently, but how are they exciting when the superhero always wins and the criminals are total caricatures?