Ageism In The Film 'Fried Green Tomatoes'

The Second Half: Middle Life & Aging

Ageism, like racism or any other form of bias, characterizes individuals on the basis of their membership in a group. Many do not see ageism as being particularly harmful because unlike gender bias or prejudice it does not affect only one group of people; it affects the entire population (if they are fortunate enough to reach an age to be jested about.) Reaching middle tends to be a period a very emotional period, especially for women moving closer to or going thorough menopause. In the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, we meet Evelyn in quite a state: her children are
Her worries that “she is too young to be old and too old to be young” are taking a toll on her relationship with herself. She is having a very difficult time accepting this – she eats compulsively and worries because “she can’t even see her vagina anymore!” Unfortunately for women, the changes that they go through (getting fat, old, etc) are not only “in their heads.” These changes tend to make society look at them differently because women tend to be evaluated through their bodies. (Crawford, 403) Crawford explains menopause in further detail, pointing out that at times a woman may be irritable or disturbed by hot flashes but there are no studies that actually point to menopause causing depression. Many cultures, like Japanese and Mexican report that they do not get hot flashes as much as women in the US. African-American women do not see menopause as a significant period in their life. Western culture, however, has taught us that quite simply a woman that is aging is unattractive and crazy. Sarcasm aside, Crawford reports that women in the US and cultures with similar attitudes as the US are the women that feel the effects of menopause the most. This is highlighted in the movie with both Evelyn’s current distress and Ninny’s past going through the change. “I used to burst into tears for no reason at all!” Many people also like to think that women are crazy during menopause. The producers of the movie make an elicit joke of it: when Evelyn is reading the newspaper in the first scene, the headline reads WIFE KILLS HUSBAND AND SELLS HIS BODY PARTS but quickly puts it down when she runs into an acquaintance. The joke sums up part of Evelyn’s menopausal attitude: crazy and bored of her husband. Americans, therefore, have taken matters into their own hands. In the beginning of the clip, we meet Evelyn as a sad, frumpy woman who eats her emotions and lets others walk all over