About: Playing Gertrude   Sponge Permalink

An Entity of Type : owl:Thing, within Data Space : 134.155.108.49:8890 associated with source dataset(s)

Due to Double Standards concerning age and perceived attractiveness, adult male characters are usually played by actors of about the character's age, but female characters of middle age and older are often played by actresses noticeably younger than the character should be. This becomes jarring when a character's mother, or a woman otherwise stated to be of of an older generation, is played by someone only slightly older -- or, in some cases, younger -- than him. Examples of Playing Gertrude include:

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  • Playing Gertrude
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  • Due to Double Standards concerning age and perceived attractiveness, adult male characters are usually played by actors of about the character's age, but female characters of middle age and older are often played by actresses noticeably younger than the character should be. This becomes jarring when a character's mother, or a woman otherwise stated to be of of an older generation, is played by someone only slightly older -- or, in some cases, younger -- than him. Examples of Playing Gertrude include:
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  • Due to Double Standards concerning age and perceived attractiveness, adult male characters are usually played by actors of about the character's age, but female characters of middle age and older are often played by actresses noticeably younger than the character should be. This becomes jarring when a character's mother, or a woman otherwise stated to be of of an older generation, is played by someone only slightly older -- or, in some cases, younger -- than him. Named for Hamlet's mother Gertrude, who tends to be played by improbably young actresses. That this is often used to support a Freudian interpretation of the text has Unfortunate Implications: apparently there can only be sexual tension between the characters if they both appear young and pretty. This is most prominently and ridiculously pronounced in Laurence Olivier's film version of Hamlet, which featured Eileen Herlie in the role of Gertrude despite the fact that she was eleven years younger than Olivier himself. (Note that this trope does not apply if the the actress is convincingly made to appear her character's age.) Male examples occur too, but tend to be less jarring, perhaps because men are, for obvious biological reasons, generally perceived as aging more gradually and gracefully than women. A related effect tends to crop up in animated portrayals of middle-aged women. If a female character has a Hot Mom, expect them both to look about the same age. Closely related to Hollywood Homely. This is one way to invert Dawson Casting. Often overlaps with Hollywood Old, since it's usually impossible for a Hollywood Old character to have a teenage or adult child without their (lack of) age difference becoming a Playing Gertrude. However, when both actors are middle-aged or older, it's easy to have a Playing Gertrude without either character being Hollywood Old. Contrast Age Lift, where the role is changed to make the actor's age appropriate for the role. Examples of Playing Gertrude include:
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