“You’re gonna make it after all”. The famous song lyric that plays in the intro for the final season of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is a great summation of not only the journey of the iconic character of Mary Richards, but also for the the people who worked so tirelessly and against all odds to be able to create her. The book, Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, is a summarized history of the making of the classic 1970’s television show “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. It’s history is told through anecdotal stories about the extremely talented group of people who created it and how their lives were forever changed because of their involvement. Armstrong, a huge fan of the series, was inspired to write this book by the strong, independent female characters …show more content…
It includes quotes from the producers, cast members, network executives, and various news outlets. The book also weaves in important historical events of the time and how the television industry operated during certain decades. The book itself starts out by explaining how the 1960’s, “…rural purge…”, saw a shift from rural television shows like “The Beverly Hillbillies” & “Lassie” to more youthful and socially aware quality programs. (ch.5). As Armstrong points out, times were changing and network executives wanted to cater to “…young, wealthy, educated consumers”. (ch.2). The character of Mary Richards, a single and thirty career woman working in an all male field, “…described the fate of more than a few real women at the time, but it was it a scenario that had never been depicted on television.” (ch.2). Thus, the socially aware “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” with it’s realistic portrayal of the single working woman of America became a hit among women in the …show more content…
She discusses behind the scenes drama between the cast and crew and their struggles as a television family. Mary Tyler Moore herself was a big part of the book, as Armstrong wrote about her personal and professional triumphs and failures throughout the years. From her big start on “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, to her struggles with alcoholism, diabetes, and her rocky career moves. Armstrong’s woven tales from set also help humanize big stars like Mary Tyler Moore and show the variety of affects being in the spotlight can have on people who work in this industry. The book also details the creators personal issues and career endeavors before, during, and after “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. For example, the first person introduced in the book is Treva Silverman who would become not only the first female writer for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, but ,“….the first female television network executive ever…” (ch.4). As the book illustrates, Silverman’s career helped pave the way for other female writers in the industry. Female content creators during the 1960’s were very rare in Hollywood. In Armstrong’s own words, “Few people in Hollywood believed women could be funny”. (ch.6). However, Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, emphasizes how “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” changed how people in the industry saw female comedians and
The Beulah Show, airing on ABC in the early 1950s, is the first sitcom to star an African American actress who plays as a maid to the Henderson family (Bronstein). In the episode “Beulah goes Gardening”, the Henderson discuss Beulah’s demanding workload―housework and gardening―after realizing Beulah did all of their gardening. Beulah tells Oriole, her friend, about her rosebush problem, and the next morning, Beulah sasses Bill, her boyfriend, into helping her. While the show may seem revolutionary with an African American actress and an innocent representation of a 1950s family, this show in reality demonstrates the harmfulness of the lack of diversity and misrepresentation on television. Tropes like “Mammy” and the “sassy black woman” are
Who is Alecia Beth Moore? Alecia Beth Moore is a strong, independent woman, even though her early life was quite rocky, Alecia Moore now has a successful career as a pop singer and lives a lovely life.
It was expected of women to get married, have children, buy a suburban home and do housework. The video, “A Word to the Wives” displays what Betty Friedan calls, “the feminine mystique”. The video presents the dilemma of a woman who is not happy because she does not have the newest house. Her friend has all the new “necessities” in order to successfully complete housework. Women were defined by what they had, not by who they were. Friedan’s research found that despite fulfilling the “feminine mystique”, when women were questioned they realized they were not truly satisfied with their life. The woman in the video would not of been fulfilled by buying a new house, or object. Women were deprived of the need to put their skills and talents to a purpose. The video, “Are You Popular” also shows the expectations of women.. It promotes that appearance, serving others, and rewarding men with “women” gifts such as baking is how to be popular. It condones girls for “parking in cars” but accepts men who do the same thing. Women must earn the approval of men, and men must earn women by doing thing women are “incapable” of. The repression of women in the 50’s is what eventually causes the “outbreak” of feminism in the 60’s. The idolism of the “female mystique” covered the sexism against women in the
While her acting and musical talents were safe from disparagement, her weight and changing body were not. The tabloids avidly chronicled her weight loss prior to the film and her weight gain after, and claimed that she had had extensive plastic surgery as the dimples on her cheeks were no longer noticeable. The media also frequently commented on the size of her breasts. One month the tabloids would say she had had a breast reduction, the next month she had had breast implants put in that were so large they were detrimental to her health. The media’s conflicting treatment of Dolly during this time reveals an important contradiction in the media’s perception of southern womanhood. When the conversation centered around Parton’s career or personality, the media focused on her as a businesswoman and praised for her charm and wit. For instance, the casting announcement for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas described the female lead as “a super lady played by Parton with all her accustomed humor, warmth and charm.” This type of praise indicates that mainstream media perceived the southern woman to be strong, independent, intelligent and in possession of other qualities that transcended earlier characterizations of them as gossiping housewives. However, when the conversation turned towards Dolly’s physical appearance she was reduced to a sexual object and treated without the respect she had previously earned. Thus, the media’s paradoxical treatment of Parton reveals that the press’s conceptualization of southern womanhood in the 1980s sharply separated a woman’s identity from her physical body. The bodies of southern women were objects of public display to be inspected and judged without dignity, while their identities was viewed as complex, powerful and worthy of
With the turn of the century, society and technology evolved and so did the minstrel shows. The introduction of the television gave the shows a new platform to broadcast their content to more american audiences. While not as harsh as the shows in the 19th century’s shows, the modern minstrel shows were “vestiges of their racial stereotyping and performances aesthetics persisted for decades in various performance mediums. ” (7). The show 's popularity forged a strong foundation for careers in the entertainment industry for African Americans. African Americans often could find great success in pursuing musical, or comedic careers following the minstrel shows. And as the shows finally died out, this underlying principle stayed true as the United States progressed. The minstrel shows facilitated African Americans into many forms of the entertainment as various performers. The shows play a major role in developing the comedic basis for African American entertainers even today. As referred to in the modern day , “Black Comedy” is extremely favored by the populus. Famous black comedian Dave Chappelle, once played a role as a “racial pixie”. Chappelle performed as a oddly dressed pixie on the shoulders of African Americans and sang, danced, and encouraged the individual to given into the stereotypes of society (4). Perhaps what disturbed Chappelle the most was the
Edna Pontellier and Neil Perry both went through a realization in their lives. The two characters were helped by someone in their lives. Even though they went through the same conflicts, they had different passions and fatalities. The role of women has from1890’s to present day. Women are independent, possess freedom, and have equal opportunities as men. The American teenager however is becoming even more distinct. The 1950’s started the evolution of the teenager and the authenticity lives on.
One of the most common issues surrounding older adults in television is how they are represented. Here, the word representation means the quantity of older adults that are used as main or secondary characters in television shows. Out of all three of the programs I watched, I conclude that older adult characters have a very low representation rate. The Golden Girls is the only exception to this finding, but keep in mind that it is an older show. Though the Golden Girls is a show made up entirely of four older women ranging in age from 53 to 86. Occasionally a young adult will appear as a guest star, but usually the show consists completely of older adults. The show seems to run infrequently, but sometimes there happens to be a re-run playing at an odd hour of the afternoon, most likely when older adults are watching. Shows with s...
Mary Maloney starts out as the typical 1950’s housewife carrying her child. “She merely wanted to satisfy herself that each minute that went by made it nearer the time when he would come home. This was her sixth month expecting a child,” (Dahl 1). Mary becomes so comfortable with the title and the duties that comes with being a housewife that it soon just becomes an everyday routine. She waits on her
Some television critics have abused “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Several statements declare he is a wimp because of his general caring approach on the show. Not only have television critics made negative remarks, but the children’s show has also been made fun of on late night television shows such as “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson as well as Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live (Bianculli 43). On a different level of criticism, the older siblings of those who watch the show develop negative opinions of “Mister ...
A main theme in this small town’s culture is the issue of gender and the division of roles between the two. Not uncommon for the 1950’s, many women were taught from a young age to find a good man, who could provide for them and a family, settle down and have children – the ideal “happy family.” As Harry states after singing the showstopper “Kids,” “I have the All-American family: A great wife, 2 wonderful kids and a good job.”
Modern media has a massive audience with more than 115 million American household families owning a television (NewsWire 2013). Everyday viewers devote huge amounts of time to watching TV programs and movies, and are intrigued by the attractive actors and the situations they encounter within these productions. Although these characters and their lives seem to be unbelievably glamorous, many of these productions exhibit commonplace gender stereotypes in both female and male roles. An excellent example is Regina George, a popular high school girl in the Paramount Pictures movie, Mean Girls. In the film, Regina portrays qualities that are often seen as ideal traits for adolescent girls to imitate, though a closer look reveals the limitations
Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, explains the mind set of society in the 1960s. She writes that the women of the ‘60s were identified only as creatures looking for “sex, babies, and home” (Friedan 36). She goes on to say “The only passion, the only pursuit, the only goal a woman [was] permitted [was] the pursuit of a man” (Friedan 36). This mind set, this “feminine mystique,” is clearly shown throughout the show Mad Men. The side effect of the feminine mystique hurt all the women of this time. Matthew Weiner shows how this conception of the “ideal woman” hurt all of his lead women. The consequences are shown in the two women who bought into the idea, Betty and Joan, and the one who re...
The 60’s was certainly a time of women’s curiosity and venture outside of the norm “homemaker” role. Women not only found pleasure in the world, but in themselves as a whole and as a woman. Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown played an important role here as her intent was to guide women - or more specifically the single woman - in her pursuit of independence and pleasure. Sex and the Single Girl most definitely lead the readers on to believe that it was to empower women; even to break away from the norm and advocate the unattached female. My response will focus on the contradictory nature the guidebook, and other literature like Cosmopolitan, create when advising a woman to do and be something on the one hand while having an underlying message on the other.
... It’s source was a large influencer of women in the 1950s, and, as a result, this article would have had a large influence on women, so it was useful to see what information women were being given at the time. YouTube, "Top Ten I Love Lucy Episodes," YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QEh5vZj0rs (accessed May 23, 2014). This video allowed for large themes of I Love Lucy, which was the top TV show on at the time, to be recognized, and it gave a view of television programs at the time. YouTube, "Ward Cleaver Teaches Walley About A Woman's Place," YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoVsRanrcc (accessed May 25, 2014).
When Desperate Housewives first aired in October of 2004 on ABC television network, the controversial pilot episode sparked interest in over twenty-five million viewers. On a seemingly quiet, average suburban street titled Wisteria Lane, four women – Lynette Scavo, Gabrielle Solis, Bree Van de Kamp, and Susan Mayer – became instantly connected by the suicide of Mary-Alice Young, a fellow neighbor and poker club member. While the reason behind Mary-Alice’s death remained unknown for several seasons, the show began to unfold a juicy plot chocked full of the stereotypical drama of suburbia; intermixed between love triangles and tragic affairs, more unusual and mysterious events began to occur. Although Desperate Housewives attempts to portray gender equality and society’s ever-altering perception of gender through the use of jobs, relationships, and melodramatic occurrences, this façade does little to hide the traditional roles of each gender and how those roles complicate the daily life of the families of Wisteria Lane.