In The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the perspective of the young, and aspiring is amplified, while the perspective of the old and finalized are ignored. Hugo in the story, is so full of life, and is constantly finding mysteries and trouble, uncovering long lost secrets and living freely without adult supervision. The elderly, however, sit quietly behind a counter, allowing their lives to be unraveled by curious children.
Through out the book, you never hear about how the grandpa feels about two children pushing through his deepest secret. For some reason, the media of today has decided that the old are not as respected and are never treated as key components. Their opinions are seemingly used, let alone viewed as important.
What I don’t understand is that the elderly use to be respected above a lot of people, for their wisdom and experience. For some reason we have fallen out of sync with this moral. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There is this strong competition between the old and the new. This is reflected everywhere; in age, style, clothing, and even on Survivor, where the young and old a literally trying to see who will out last the other.
Because of age, we have pre assumed beliefs about people. People are treated VERY differently based on age. Then based on where you are. For example, at an opera, a 4 year old might be watched with weary eyes, but at a club, a 50-something wont have the best time. This affects whom you sit with, and whom you talk to. It’s subtle, but people really are judged by age, and while it’s never the top of the spectrum, it’s always there
What I find interesting is that the very young are perceived as innocent, silly, immature. The young are perceived as newly open, just not immature, and just aware. The middle aged is perceived as holding on to long to their past, unwilling to change. The elderly perceived as done, with life and opinions; they never seem to care, in our prejudice. Yet, no matter what age we are, we always seem to think we know everything
