If you're asking, I'm answering. No folks, I'm not talking about Donna Reed, the television actress who starred in her namesake weekly show of the 1950's and '60's. That Donna Reed passed away January 14, 1986. I hope you took the journey through the television archives and met Donna Stone (The Donna Reed Show), Harriet Nelson (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy) and Margaret Anderson (Father Knows Best). These are the women, wives, and mothers of the 1950's and early '60's. Unfortunately, politicians continue to legislate and create public policy with these women and their fictional families in mind. In case you didn't notice, they are quite different from the women, wives, and mothers of the Twenty First Century.
- "I wish there was some way I could tell the kids not to believe it. The dialogue, the situations, the characters they were all totally false. The show did everyone a disservice. The girls were always trained to use their feminine wiles, to pretend to be helpless to attract men. The show contributed to a lot of the problems between men and women that we see today. . . . I think we were all well motivated, but what we did was run a hoax. 'Father Knows Best' purported to be a reasonable facsimile of life. And the bad thing is, the model is so deceitful. It usually revolved around not wanting to tell the truth, either out of embarrassment, or not wanting to hurt someone. If I could say anything to make up for all the years I lent myself to (that), it would be, "You Know Best".
Let's tackle this one step at a time. Let's explore life beyond Donna Reed. Meet Roseanne Conners and her family.
Roseanne tackled provocative subjects and issues such as poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, menstruation, birth control, teenage pregnancy, masturbation, obesity, abortion, race, social class, domestic violence, infidelity, and gay rights.The show was also significant for its portrayal of feminist ideals including a female-dominated household, a female lead whose likability did not rely on her appearance, relationships between female characters that were cooperative rather than competitive, and females openly expressing themselves without negative consequences.
A notable criticism of Modern Family from various online news sources is that the show reinforces gender roles and sexist stereotypes. One writer at the CS Monitor criticized the show for only casting the women as stay-at-home moms while the husbands on the show have very successful careers: "There is a difference between quirky, flawed characters and ones who are incapable of professional success. And when the latter is reliably female, it makes for sexist television. It also makes for unrealistic television."
Critics charge that gender stereotypes occur frequently in the series. Example: In the episode "Game Changer," one of the wives on the show, Gloria, hides her mastery of chess so that her husband will not be upset at losing. By contrast, one critic has praised the show as one of several that have begun subverting the longtime American sitcom stereotype of bumbling fathers incapable of managing anything at home despite being the only one employed. Modern Family drew criticism from the LGBT community for its portrayal of Cameron and Mitchell as not being physically affectionate with each other. In response to the controversy, producers released a statement that a season two episode would address Mitchell's discomfort with public displays of affection. The episode "The Kiss" eventually aired with the kiss scene in the background which drew praise from multiple critics.
As Bob Dylan told us in song, "The World is Changing". Today, Donna Reed stereotypes may be missing or dead to many and there's a new game in town.
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Donna Reed is Missing or Dead-Part One
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