Candidates must write about “Perspectives on Aging in Brazilian Society.”
The first day of Enem 2025 had a horrible essay. This year, candidates had to write about “Perspectives on Aging in Brazilian Society.” The choice of the essay’s topic attracted attention because it recalls a notable episode in the exam’s history, namely the 2009 Enem leak that would have led to the “elderly assessment” proposal.
The essay is intended to assess the candidate’s argumentation and writing skills. Participants must write up to 30 lines of text based on the proposed theme. It requires the presentation of a paper, a coherent argument, and a proposal for a solution to the problem raised.
The maximum score is 1,000 points, and the essay has a significant impact on the final result of Enem. Getting a zero will prevent you from using your test scores to get into public or private universities, and will also hurt your chances of getting scholarships or exchanges.
See examples of written essays. João Vinícius Albuquerque Pimentel (Poliedro Writing Teacher and Poliedro Writing Team)
The movie “The Intern” tells the story of a man who attempts to return to the labor market at the age of 70, but is unable to get hired due to age prejudice. The prejudiced environment depicted in this film is repeated to some extent among older Brazilians, as stereotypes are often reproduced by society and the media. Added to this is the fact that even after retirement, many elderly people must find new sources of income to pay for their care in old age. Therefore, it is worth discussing the negative views regarding the aging of Brazil’s population, insofar as, from a capitalist perspective, individuals have value only if they create wealth, and the cult of youth is perpetuated.
Viewing the individual as a commodity devalues aging. This happens because when capitalism aims to make a profit, it tends to evaluate people who act in some way within the system, whether they are producers or consumers, and to discard anything that is unfavorable to capitalism. Older people end up having little role because they are poorly integrated into this logic, which contributes to the creation of a prejudiced mentality towards them, where they are seen as socially incompetent, vulnerable and slow, especially given the speed at which technology and the economy are expanding. This concept means that even when older people must remain in the labor market for economic reasons, they are considered unproductive and subject to prejudice, as depicted in the film The Intern. In this way, economic bias leads to the marginalization of this population.
population. As a result, a culture that values youthfulness has been fostered. This fact stems from both capitalist concepts and a media industry that routinely promotes young, healthy, and agile faces and bodies. For example, the former touts productivity as a synonym for professional and personal success, which everyone needs to achieve as a way to adapt, and it requires vigor and positivity. The second, in a similar way, disseminates advertisements that celebrate standards of youth that can be achieved through simple aesthetic procedures such as Botox, facial harmonization, and “peels” or through methods of erasing the traces of aging, such as dyeing hair or wearing youthful clothing. All these are attempts to achieve a youthful appearance and stay away from old age. Thus, it is observed that youth worship poses a barrier to population aging.
In other words, viewing the individual as a commodity and valuing young people are the challenges to steadily advancing the aging of the population. It is therefore up to the federal executive, in the form of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, to invest in changing societal perceptions of older people through educational campaigns broadcast in the media and targeted at the community at large, to ensure a more positive view of this age group. If you do that, unlike “The Intern,” you will create a society where your experience and wisdom are valued.
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