Delivered by Intellect to: Intellect Ltd (id22687532) IP: 81.56.164.251 On: Tue, 27 Feb 2024 22:09:23 FFC 12 (2) pp. 121–137 Intellect Limited 2023 Film, Fashion & Consumption Volume 12 Number 2 www.intellectbooks.com 121 © 2023 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. https://doi.org/10.1386/ffc_00057_1 Received 15 September 2023; Accepted 15 October 2023; Published Online January 2024 SARA PESCE University of Bologna The Kominsky Method, Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin: Fashionable impairments of an ageing Hollywood ABSTRACT The series The Kominsky Method (Netflix, 2018–20) stars Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as two ageing members of today’s Hollywood milieu. Sandy Kominsky (Douglas) is an acting coach. His effort of self-preservation and perpetuation of the star’s charisma clashes with corporeal decay and financial collapse. Norman Newlander (Arkin) is Sandy’s agent and caustic friend. He has peculiar death thoughts and constantly makes humorous reference to both men’s physical, psychological and social disparities. What does Kominsky tell us about contempo- rary celebrity culture as regards ageing and the crisis of public appearance thereto related? The show reveals film and television industry’s leading position in setting desirable or disputable models of old age through a renovated alliance with fash- ion. Arkin and Douglas’s looks express the shame of old age but also glamorize it. A self-reflexive narrative testifies Hollywood’s search for innovative strategies of self-representation that includes old age, showcasing the transformation of cele- brated bodies and underlying the value of personal flexibility. Amid the decline of their image and influence, Douglas and Arkin develop a new adaptability, KEYWORDS The Kominsky Method Michael Douglas Alan Arkin ageing celebrity vintage classic hipster dandyism