The Stepford Wives and Popular Feminism - Coursework Example

The Author’s Name] [The Professor’s Name] [The Course Title] [Date] The Stepford Wives Introduction If we are to understand the popular culture of women in the 1970's we must first go back and see what caused this time period to be one of civil disobedience, voicing new freedoms and revolutionary ideas and celebrating differences. This society was created by genres of the past. It is important to look at these genres, because the past can be reflected in the future. What caused women to voice new freedoms? Had they not tried to voice freedoms before with women's suffrage rights back in the 1920's, what made the 1970's so different? Why is it so idolized today? "In an article written in Newsweek, Carla Power writes that since the cornerstone of information is change, anything enduring becomes precious." Perhaps this is where we need to begin. Popular culture will be seen differently by baby boomers and young people today. There are different issues that confront the two generations. With the end of the Vietnam Era for the baby boomers and the Watergate Scandal, this was a time of some peace and a need for change. Perhaps the baby boomers were ready for anything. Perhaps some of it was a time to fantasize, much like the romanticists of previous generations. (Roles, 22-25) Today the younger generation who is studying the popular cultures of the past may find it to be more peaceful than the constant murders, rapes and other destructive forces that we see on television and other media sources. Herewith, begins some of my queries regarding popular culture. First, exposure to media and technology has advanced greatly since the 1970's, e.g. Footage of things occurring in our lives today is much more visible to people of all ages. Media is all around us and everyone is exposed to popular culture whether they want to be or not. In the Stepford wives we have a distorted and idealized Society. " The Stepford Wives and Popular Feminism As is the case with The Stepford Wives, most popular media representations of feminism have come from the minds and pens of white men of privileged class." The mass media can either limit or expand our ways of looking at popular culture. "Like Bonnie Dow in Prime-Time Feminism. I proceed from the premise that media texts serve as the function of interpreting social change and managing beliefs." For the historian who only looks at only one source, such as the media, and who does not take the time to research more in depth views can be somewhat limited and perhaps distorted. "The mass media shaped people into one-dimensional receivers of communication." If we take a look at the 1970's we can see that the role of the perfect female underwent many changes that affected the family as well. The television shows of the 1950's and 60's like Leave it to Beaver show the typical American Family, the father going off to work and the mother being the typical housewife and always being sweet and having dinner ready. The popular show, Charlie's Angels created new possibilities for women in the media by providing "powerful images of women breaking through the glass ceiling and trying to help other women overcome oppression." Even though the women in the first series always looked beautiful and sexy, they were also independent women and able to take care of themselves for the most part. They were smart and sexy at the same time. (Inness, 110-14) Theme of Appearance and Reality There was little mention of their personal lives; the focus was on women and their importance. Their boss, Charley was in the background and one heard his voice, but he was rarely seen. If we look at the first series of Charlie's Angels, we see the typical white beautiful female, but, if we look at the second series, we see Angels of different ethnic backgrounds, thus, the emergence of celebration of different cultures. We also can make some comparisons with the Stepford Wives, for example, the girls often lie to their boyfriends about their jobs, just as the Stepford wives lie about their meetings. If one looks at Whitney Womack, who admits to being a feminist, "we are shown that the media is trying to paint us the perfect women, one who can look sexy in tight pants and still bake great muffins, an idealized image perhaps." If we look back to the Stepford wives, the old women in the movie are not changed into robots, for they no longer are useful or sexually attractive. Perhaps we can relate this to the popular culture of today for women; much of the focus in the media today is on youth and beauty, e.g. the perfect hair, the perfect makeup, the perfect body. Are these ideas revolutionary, or are these really a spin-off of the ideas of the men of the Stepford wives? These are all queries, but, of course different generations and different sexes will view them differently. (Helford, 34-50) Women’s Status and Traits as Depicted in the Movie With women's movements, it was no longer an issue if you were not married at 30. The idea of the "Old Maid" was gone and you were no longer regarded as being a failure, but, rather independent and successful. With the use of the birth control pill many single women became sexually active, thus, the women's movement affected families in general, many women having children later, opting to have successful careers first. There is a statement that says, history repeats itself. What have historians learned from popular culture? Women may have advanced in the business world, however why are they still making less then men in many professions? Why are women in the media often portrayed as having to be sexy and thin and beautiful? Is this to make themselves feel good, or is society somewhat like the Stepford husbands? These are all questions which historians must ask themselves. History is written by people and each generation will rewrite history in their own eyes. Historical facts, listed in dates, will not change, but opinions and views will always be shaped by views of the era and opinions, thus, limited popular culture somewhat, but also helping to rewrite history. (Womack, 77-80) Music had been a male dominated field in the 50's and 60's such as the Beatles, Elvis, Van Morrison. Much of the music of the 1970's was dominated by the influence of drugs and the backlash of the Vietnam War. The women's movement or women's liberation brought about better educated white females who were no longer content to simply buy records but also those who wanted to be songwriters and producers of records.( Kutulas, 167-70) Women were beginning to make it on their own in the business world. "The late 70's brought about the disco scene, once again evoking the idea of sexuality and subversive ideas, which could be seen as rebellion." The Women's sexual revolution meant that heterosexuality itself was to be redefined. Counter Culture Conflict A counter culture appeared, but there were any conflicts. Some of these bought freedom to women, for example, living together without marriage and postponing marriage and children, it also bought loneliness and disconnectedness. "There was a generation gap that was created between mothers and daughters." For historical purposes, this is an example where popular culture does illuminate the history of the times through music. Female songwriters and performers dressed casually and wore their hair in more casual styles; they did not dress to impress men, as they had in the 60's with bouffant hair and prom gowns. If we take a look at the music of the late 70's the economy became less optimistic, inflation became a problem, the oil crisis loomed and record unemployment became a major concern, especially for males. This created a different view of women in the music industry. They were not longer thought of as being sexy and liberated, but much of the music that was male dominated was very negative towards women evoking contempt and showing women was being too powerful. The female success in music was short lived as it once again became dominated by the males in the late 70's to early 80. Conclusion The Stepford Wives (1975) is dishonorable as a Hollywood item for consumption that failed devastatingly on the first gauge but has in time exposed itself to be a genuine gusher of subtextual anxieties and artistic irony. The scenario – taken gravely, not as campy embarrassment as per the repulsive 2004 remake – is a ticking bomb positioned under the theater seats of a middle-class America previously red-eyed and bone-tired from the anti-government activism, women’s lib and assaults of civil rights. Visualize an well-informed, young restless artistic wife being brazen out with moving to the outer edges, where her sense of estrangement in the middle of the extensive conventionality and provincialism arrives at a kind of earsplitting peak when she grasps that the wives she meets aren’t women at all, but robotic simulacra designed by the husbands, robots that are non-convincing, obsessive, unchallenging and obedient about housekeeping, and all the time sexually accessible. Works Cited Helford, Elyce Rae, It's A Rip-off of the Women's Movement" Second-wave Feminism and The Stepford Wives, Disco Divas Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s. Pennsylvania:University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003: 34-50 Inness, Sherrie A, Impress a New Love with Your Culinary Prowess" Gender Lessons in Swinging Singles' Cookbooks, Disco Divas Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. 110-14 Kutulas, Judy, You Probably Think This Song Is About You , Disco Divas Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. 167-70 Levin, Ira. "The Stepford Wives: Part I." Ladies' Home Journal (July 1972): 99. Roles, Disco Divas Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. 22-25 Womack, Whitney Womack, Reevaluating "Jiggle TV" Charlie's Angels at Twenty-Five, Disco Divas Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. 77-80 Read More