1970s

Charlie’s Angels- 1976-1981 TV series

The TV series Charlie’s Angels, featured three young and sexy women who investigate crime for Charles Townshend, or “Charlie” in the 70s. The three girls had previously been in the police academy and became police officers when Charlie found them. They began to work as private investigators who by the end of each episode bring justice to criminals.

Their characters bend the gender stereotypes of the time by being women who were able to do serious physical damage to criminals. They were being depicted in more occupational roles that men usually had in television. However, they were still seen as sex symbols, and they were usually dressed in what could be considered as sexy outfits. Men and women still had very distinct roles during this time. Male heroes in the show, like Charlie, were seen with many woman, maybe to show their masculinity. Men were also never seen in what would be considered feminine.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHskEt6PhtI

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073972/
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/elb9501.html

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Wisk Commercial- 1970s

The Wisk commercial shows the specific gender roles that were considered “normal” of men and women in the 70s. In the commercial a woman who had, what seemed to me, been packing for her husband when she is stopped by voices taunting “ring around the collar!”. She turns to see that the detergent she had been using previously did not get the stain in her husband’s collar.

From the commercial one can assume the gender roles that were prevalent during the 70s. It is seen in the commercial that the woman is in charge of the household chores because it was made clear that she was the one who did the laundry. Much like today’s commercials it depicts a woman doing laundry rather than a man. It was not unusual to show a woman doing laundry because that was considered “normal” for families.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3N_skYSGoY

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Grease- 1978 Movie

The movie Grease was about a girl named Sandy who met a guy over her summer break named Danny. They end up falling in love but, unfortunately, they break off their relationship because Sandy must go back home to Australia. She ends up staying and going to the same school as Danny, where she sees that he’s a popular, macho guy.

This movie shows two different stereotypes of women that still exist today, the virginal goody two shoes, and the bad girl, sex symbol type. Both come out in the character Sandy who, at first feels alone in her new school because she has this “good” girl reputation. Many of the other girls she befriends in the Pink Ladies are not virginal like Sandy, and she is judged because of it. She changes into a sexy “bad” girl though at the end to be with her bad boy, renegade boyfriend Danny.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aataTbxlWeM

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077631/plotsummary



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Foxy Brown- 1974 Movie

This movie depicts a woman who, like Charlie’s Angels, fights crime. Foxy’s government agent boyfriend was shot down by gangsters at the time, so she seeks revenge by becoming a high-class prostitute. She was able to fight crime and save another prostitute while getting her revenge on the agency that killed her boyfriend.

However, this movie is a blacksploitation film, meaning there are African Americans playing lead roles and most of the characters are black. This genre usually glorifies violence and anti establishment in the black community. It was also seemed as though she was only becoming a prostitute because she was a woman, and kind of went along with the idea that women are weaker than men. The only way she was going to get to them was through sex in the movie.

Photo: http://ia.mediaimdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjI2NTY1NTE3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTQyMDgzNA@@._V1._SY317_.jpg

Sources: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Blacksploitation
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071517/



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Three’s Company-(1976-1984) TV Series

The TV series was about two women named Chrissy and Janet who get a man named Jack as a roommate. The three live together in a very platonic arrangement, however, their landlord does not believe that the three should live together because he believes there will be all sorts of “hanky-panky” going on. Jack tells the landlord Roper that he is gay in order to move in.
The show shows the stereotypes associated with women, gays, and heterosexuals in that time. The landlord’s expectation that obviously the grown adults of different sexes cannot live together without having relations, shows the heteronormativity. Also, Jack puts on a show to make their landlord believe that he is gay by acting a way in which a stereotypical gay person would. Also, Chrissy is seen as a stupid, blonde, sexual girl while Janet is the more thoughtful, more prudent girl. Again, women are portrayed as being either very promiscuous, or “prudes”, which can be seen in this show.

Photo: http://www.themesongshut.com/tv-images/Threes-Company.jpg

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075596/plotsummary

1960s

1.      Crest commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoZ5irNl7D4

        This commercial shows a group of seven women, mostly mothers, who are in a test group for Crest toothpaste. The people who are running the trial are asking these women for their opinions relating mostly to their children’s experiences with the toothpaste.

        The fact that there are parties interested in these women’s personal opinions displays that women were beginning to be “taken seriously” if you will, during the 1960s. Their input into the performance of the Crest product is valued highly by the people running the trial. However, it is important to notice the main focus of the women’s opinions is centered on their children’s success of failure with the product. In this way, women are still being put into the category of wife and mother over their own selves.

        Another interesting aspect of this commercial is the involvement of African American women in the panel. This shows a little more tolerance than would have been present in the 1950s. However, when one of the African American women begins to give her opinion, the narrator cuts her off and displays a picture of the Crest product and lists its positive qualities. This begs the question: though women seem to have gained a little more stamina in the way of being heard in society, are women of color included in this positive trajectory?

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. “In fact you could say that Bewitched portrayed a world of competing fantasies: as an advertising executive, Darrin too was in the business of casting spells. And although it was always abundantly clear who was the real creative genius here, it was imperative that Sam be persuaded to hang up her broomstick in favour of a vacuum cleaner (latest model, of course), and trade in her wizardry for a kitchen whiz.

For while it was never explained whether the materialised goodies were transported from elsewhere or created with a kind of witch-nanotechnology, as long as Sam continued to twitch her nose and conjure up whatever she needed by herself she was a threat to the entire capitalist-consumerist world that Darrin represented and from which he made the living which earned him the role of household head.” (Spencer 2011)

Source: http://bethspencer.com/blog/2011/03/bewitched/

               This quotation is an excerpt from a blog post written by Beth Spencer in 2011. In it, she discusses the TV show Bewitched, which aired from 1964-1972 on ABC and starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha the witch. The main premise of the show is that Samantha gives up her role as witch to become Darrin’s wife. However, she is still able to take control of her life using her powers and special abilities, and to solve life’s problems using magic. This depicts her as a strong woman who can take of herself, contradicting the stereotypical wife from the 1950s. As Spencer states, her lack of obedience to her husband and general stubbornness “threat[ens]” Darrin’s role as the man of the house, or the “household head” (Spencer 2011).

               Because of her independence and ability to assert herself in her everyday life, Samantha could fall under the category of Second Wave Feminism. She represents a woman who is not afraid to speak out, and is not satisfied with just being a housewife: she wants to feel independent and powerful! Also, because she is able to provide for herself without any help from a man, she is considered a danger to the “capitalist-consumerist world” that her husband is an intricate part of (Spencer 2011). This shows that though women’s role in television has only evolved so much since the 1950s, but they are on the right track

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photo: http://cigarettesandsoap.blogspot.com/2009/09/wait-until-dark-1967.html

               In the movie Wait Until Dark released in 1967, Audrey Hepburn plays a woman who has recently been blinded, and has mistakenly come into the possession of illegal drugs. She has to defend herself from drug dealers trying to find the stash, while in the complete darkness of her apartment with no way out. At first, it seems hopeless for Susy (Hepburn), but she is able to fight against the thugs against all odds and survives the ordeal.

               Susy’s character relates to the concept of intersectionality in that she is not only a woman, but a blind woman. This means she is seen as at a disadvantage compared to, say, a man who has his sight. Her ability to overcome these challenges and prevail against the drug dealers communicates the message of a woman who is strong, independent, and capable of defending herself even in the face of serious danger. This is an accurate portrayal of women in the 1960s who were becoming more and more independent and opinionated in the realms of family, the workplace, and politics.

1950s

photo: http://lessonbucket.com/media-texts-societys-values/’

Intro to show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Lq9wKfgr4

American Decades: http://www.enotes.com/1950-lifestyles-social-trends-american-decades/womens-roles

               Leave it to Beaver was a very popular television series which ran from 1957-1963. It depicted the daily lives of the Cleaver family, which included mother June, father Ward, and children Wallace “Wally” and Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver. This TV family represented the ideal values and behavior of the decade, showcasing especially the expected role of wife and mother.

               In this particular still from an episode of Leave it to Beaver, June Cleaver is seen serving her family at the dining room table. This picture embodies the ideal woman of the decade: one who serves without thinking of herself. A woman’s ideal gender role was “housekeeping and raising a family” during the 1950s (American Decades). The body language of the men seated at the table successfully translates this ideology as well. They are looking down, not paying attention to the woman, and are not assisting her whatsoever in preparing the meal. This behavior perpetuates the stereotypical role as wife and mother during this time period.

               The video clip is from the opening of the show. It portrays June Cleaver offering beverages to her husband and sons. This is yet another example of the ways in which women were expected to behave in domestic settings. The ideal woman of this time period would serve her man and her family over herself. 
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movie trailer for Some Like It Hot

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2371683353/

               This is a movie trailer for the movie Some Like It Hot starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, which was released in 1959. In the movie, after witnessing a murder, Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon) dress in drag in order to join a women’s orchestra and hide out from Chicago gangsters. Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) is a singer in the women’s orchestra, and her main goal is to find a rich millionaire to marry. In the end, Sugar discovers Joe and Jerry’s secret and she falls in love with Joe, though he is not a wealthy millionaire.

               Monroe’s character as a blonde bombshell demonstrates the decade’s view on women: that they are only pretty faces who cannot support themselves, who need a rich husband to take care of them. Monroe exhibits the expected gender role for women during the 1950s as helpless and vulnerable without the support of a man. Her determined pursuit of a wealthy husband is also a trademark of the decade, with this being the main goal of many women of the time. Also, Monroe’s role as a sex symbol in not only this movie but in her everyday life signifies that women were not valued for their intellect. The importance of appearance during this time period is perfectly exemplified through Monroe, with beauty taking president over every other aspect of a woman. This is an example of how gender roles formed in the media and television can shape the views of the public, highlighting the differences between the binary of cultural versus natural.  

Introduction to Virtual Gallery

 Women in Film and TV throughout History

               This virtual gallery exhibits the changing role of women in television and film throughout its history. It begins in the 1950s and travels through the present day. In each era, gender and sexuality is showcased differently, and it is evident that women’s roles have changed vastly over time. Through the use of visuals such as videos and images, and written texts like articles and blogs, this gallery brings together many different mediums to communicate this theme. Characters in TV and film are used to represent the “ideal woman.” So, by analyzing women’s roles in TV and film of each time period, we can piece together what a “normal” woman of the decade consists of. Enjoy!