Kevin L. let me know about Independent Woman, a PBS documentary in which a number of TV actresses discuss how their roles reflect the pressures, expectations, and opportunities women face, from the happy housewives of the 1950s to a variety of current shows. I don’t always agree with their interpretations, but if you love pop culture, as I do, it’s worth a watch:
Watch The Independent Woman on PBS. See more from America in Primetime.
Comments 5
socsci — July 13, 2012
I found the video to be a little too celebratory - "look how far we've come!" - at the expense of critically analyzing women's roles on television.
Other films that explore similar themes with more rigor and critical insight are (in my opinion), Searching for Debra Winger (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318049/) or Class Dismissed (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1316586/)
mandanza — July 13, 2012
I saw this as part of the in-flight entertainment on a United flight recently, of all things! I enjoyed it.
mimimur — July 13, 2012
It's an interesting series, however I think it is significantly hampered by it's effort to put all of its examples in a positive light. It's a good watch if you want ot know what some shows represent or how they move storytelling forward, but there's no effort at all to look ahead.
I remember being frustrated at how this casts female characters. The consequence really is an acceptance that there is an unwinnable family vs. work conflict and that a realistic and compelling female character has to be a characters struggling with or going to pieces over that conflict. It sorts of sets the idea that women can't be more than victims of oppression, which is an awful thing to beat into any minority.