Documentary Script

INTRO:
(B-roll close ups of people of various ages)
VO: Stereotypes. The elderly are slow, the elderly are incapable.
The youth are lazy, the youth are arrogant. Right?
(B-roll of stereotypical age groups/ stock photos)
(Show clip from interviews that show them as doing the opposite of
these stereotypes.)
TITLE
Interviewer: What words do you think best describe the youth of
today?
Answers
Interviewer: What words do you think best describe the elderly
generation?
Answers
Piece to Camera: How are you perceived by others based purely on
your age? More people have reportedly suffered age discrimination
than any other form.
(Presenter walking down street towards camera)
A European-wide social survey from 2011 found 35% of respondents had
experienced unfair treatment because of their age, which is more
than those who said they had been discriminated against on grounds
of gender or race.
Interviewer: How do you think other people see you when judging on
your age?
Answers
Interviewer: How true is this stereotype?
VO: One in three of all older people have reportedly experienced
perceived age discrimination. Research from the English Longitudinal
Study of Aging shows that retired older people are 25% more likely
to experience it than those still in work.
(Main facts on screen)
Recently 33 year old British actress Roxanne Pallett took part in
social experiment to experience the problem for herself. After
spending hours being made up in prosthetics and make up she hit the
streets of Manchester to experience life as 90 year old Doris. By
the end of the day Roxanne went home saying the experience had left
her with a heavy heart. She spoke about her day saying she felt
lonely and invisible. Nobody helped her reach the top shelf in a

shop for half an hour while no one helped with a heavy suitcase. She
added "I know for a fact when you're younger you are not treated
like that. I've experienced help with my suitcase and reaching for
things
(clips and pictures from the experiment)
Interviewer: Have you ever been treated unfairly based on your age?
If so how?
Answers

Piece to Camera: At what age do you become an adult?

Answer: 18 (answers from different people from different age groups)
VO: In the eyes of the law you are not an adult until you are 18 and
are required to stay in education until then.

Interviewer: What do you think the minimum wage is for under 18s?
Answers
What do you think it should be? Why?
Answers
VO: The minimum wage for an under 18 3.87 unless you are doing an
apprenticeship then that wage is 3.30. (SHOW REACTIONS TO THE
MINIMUM WAGES) This goes up to 5.30 at 18; 6.70 at 21 and 6.50 at
25. All this means an under 18 would earn nowhere near as much as an
adult in a full time job. So why do children have to pay full price
for transport and cinema tickets to name a few?
(B-roll of trains and tickets, bus ticket, cinema tickets and money
being added as minimum wage increases)
Interviewer: Do you think this is fair? Why?
Answers from range of people
Piece to camera: There are ways to get cheaper tickets such as a
student railcard. However, as a student travelling to school or
college during rush hour this (HOLDS UP RAILCARD) cannot be used
unless the fare is over 12. Discounts on smaller journeys can only
be used after 11am, so are useless for travelling to the school or
college that you are required to attend.
VO: This is similar to senior railcards. This are for anyone over 60
and can be bought in order to save on rail fares, however, these can
also only be used during non-peak hours too.
(B-roll of people and trains)

Interviewer: What do you think of this system?

Answers

VO: In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine 56 year old Madonna

likened ageism to racism and homophobia. "It's still the one area
where you can totally discriminate against somebody, she said. No
one would dare to say a degrading remark about being black or dare
to say a degrading remark about someone being gay, but my age anybody and everybody would say something degrading to me.
(B-roll of Madonna and magazine report)
Interviewer: Do you agree with Madonna?
Answers
VO: However, when journalist Lisa Salmon from BT reported on this
interview she ended her report by saying It's probably a safe bet
to say the people who give the elderly the least respect are those
in their teens and 20s who don't treat anyone with respect (except
their peers with the very latest gadgets and trainers).
(B-roll of report)
Interviewer: How do you feel about this statement from Lisa Salmon?
Answers

VO: Stereotypes. The elderly are slow, the elderly are incapable.
The youth are lazy, the youth are arrogant. Right?
(B-roll of people doing the opposite of the stereotype)