When an Oscar-nominated actress says she feels invisible, where does that leave the rest of us?
An interesting series of articles quotes Kristin Scott Thomas, one of my favorite screen actors, reflecting on growing older and lamenting the reality of being a 53-year old woman in an industry that worships youth.
And let’s not forget, once a leading lady hits her forties, she’s likely to be paired with a much older leading man.
A 50-something woman with a love interest of her own approximate age?
Unlikely.
In the role of anything other than a supporting character?
Equally unlikely, certainly for the American movie-going audience.
Mature Women in Film… Invisible?
Where are the roles for the millions of women 50 and over? What few roles there are – don’t they go to Streep, Mirren, or Densch? I adore all three, but surely we have room for more! (Did anyone else notice that Jack Nicholson just “retired” at 76? When do women get that option?)
The multiply award-winning, bilingual actress speaks to issues of the “woman of a certain age,” and as quoted in The Telegraph (UK) in July 2013, according to Ms. Scott Thomas:
… she had started to feel “invisible” as a result of her age…
“… when you’re walking down the street, you get bumped into, people slam doors in your face – they just don’t notice you. Somehow, you just vanish. It’s a cliché, but men grow in gravitas as they get older, while women just disappear.”
In the same interview at the Cannes Film Festival (2013), she notes that her peers seem to look more fresh (no doubt having had a little work done), and the thought of cosmetic surgery has crossed her mind.
Long a fan of Ms. Scott Thomas’s films, in both English and French, I find myself repelled at the idea of seeing her extraordinary face – one of the more interesting, versatile, and real – touched in any way by the scalpel or the needle.
But the shiver that runs through you when you feel that invisibility? I get it. And the pressure she feels? I can only begin to imagine. How many women whose lives aren’t lived out under public scrutiny are compelled to do everything they can to stay as young in appearance as possible? The hair, the face, the body, the clothing?
Kristin Scott Thomas, Invisible? Rebuttal and Reality
An article that insists that Kristin Scott Thomas is anything but an “invisible woman,” You’re Not Invisible, Kristin Scott Thomas, You’re Best in Class” lays it out:
Now, to you and me, the Four Weddings and a Funeral actress looks peerlessly classy; the epitome of mature soignée elegance…
… we have Jennifer Aniston, 44, having to explain away a tummy tiny enough to fit on Polly Pocket; whippet-slim Gwyneth Paltrow, 44, battling to conquer her outer thigh crisis…
It’s a tough old gig being a female celeb these days, and the desperate, tortured need to stay young and beautiful if they want to be loved is horribly, unhealthily infectious. Whether or not we admit it, an awful lot of us are on task 24/7 drawing up a mental inventory – age, dimensions, signs of recent weight gain (hurrah!) or loss (boo!), hair (colour, style, volume) and stylishness – of every other woman in sight…
Hello, “Not Good Enough” Syndrome?
And I repeat – If Kristen Scott Thomas feels invisible, where does that leave the rest of us?
Damned if I’m going to slink away quietly, grow older without a voice, or act as others think I should based on their interpretation of my appearance. Silver-haired, face fading, or otherwise – color me catatonic at the very thought!
You?
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Rosanna Arquette covered this territory more than 10 years ago in “Searching for Debra Winger.” Highly recommend. Invisibility is disconcerting. However, there is also a great deal of freedom in it. I’m not sure where I stand on this one.
I was just reading an interview with author Kristen Tsetsi on this same subject. She says,
“Aging is an inevitable part of living, and if you enjoy life, you probably cherish every extra day you get to live. Yet, we (women, primarily) are made very well aware that it’s fine for us to live longer—as long as we somehow continue to magically look young while doing it. Forget how very, very, very important it is that we be attractive to be assigned value; we also have to be young (or at least look convincingly young) to be attractive.”
I believe that how we treat the aging speaks volumes about how we live, and who we are as individuals, and as a society. In America, we shut them away and prefer not to look upon their faces. What does this say about us?
I do think that on an universal scale older women become more invisible. Because we live in a society that continues to view women as sex objects and therefore age negates sexy/attractiveness.
At the risk of offending someone, if we measure our self-worth as reflected in the eyes of others then we’re living on a more shallow level. I love Scott-Thomas’ work and hope she doesn’t cave in to plastic surgery. Authenticity will always win out for me in seeking out public figures to admire. I see her comments as reflecting the life of an Actor-someone who makes a living in the public eye. Hopefully she has more assurance and satisfaction in her personal life (to the extent that we all have a life separate from our jobs and public persona).
I agree completely, Walker.
A. I LOVE Kristin S-T, and have wondered why I haven’t seen her lately. B. I also hope she doesn’t change her face, as I find her truly beautiful. C. If we want to become more visible, I guess it’s time to vote with our money. I think I’ll proclaim myself the Most Interesting Woman in the World as I drink my morning smoothie!!
Meryl Streep, in her 60’s and not invisible! I imagine it is very very very tough in the world of show biz to be young forever. Joan Rivers we all can not be!
When I was in my twenties, I lived in the high-pressure ‘exciting’ world of working as an associate producer in TV News. Not a day went by that I didn’t wish for a valium while sitting in the control room during live news broadcasts while those around me were frantically trying to fix technical problems with reporters who were live in the field while cursing a blue streak.
Had I stayed in this field, I would have been ushered out by age 35 and definitely by age 40.
When my older brother suggested I try to find work in TV news again at close to age 50, I laughed out loud.