The Modern American Woman

Betty Draper, Don's wife, from "Mad Men"

Today, the 21^st century American woman can go to college, earn a substantial paycheck, and keep her last name in marriage. She can vote. Society no longer dictates that a woman needs an escort to accompany her in public. She has accessible access to the pill and other forms of birth control. Indeed, women have made many leaps and bounds since the beginning of America. From the women’s suffragist movement in the early 20^th century that fought for the right to vote to the Second Women’s movement in the 1970’s, women have made huge leaps and bounds.

And yet, at the same time, society still harbors many expectations of its women. Women continue to be viewed as homemakers and mothers. While a woman may work eighty hours a week as a lawyer, society expects her to make it home for dinner with her husband and two kids. She will still shepherd her kids to soccer games on the weekends and attend every single violin recital. While it has become more common for a man to cook and help out with housework, women have remained unable to shake off their role as house maker.

While a woman may keep her last name, her kids will often take the last name of their father. My aunt lives in Marin County with her three daughters and husband. She works in Silicon Valley managing technology corporations while her husband stays home. She kept her last name when she married, but her three girls all took their father’s name. Despite her extensive workload, she manages to take her daughters on college trips, attend dance shows, and to stay on top of her daughter’s lives. She makes working at a top-level job and being a mom seem easy, but I know that it takes its toll on her. When a man is the primary breadwinner in the family, society doesn’t expect him to simultaneously maintain a “mom” role as well. He’s not expected to do all of the laundry and pick Billy up from school in the afternoons.

Julia with her daughter and husband on "Parenthood"

Television offers many ripe examples of women figures. On NBC’s new drama Parenthood, an early thirty-something mom named Julia works as a lawyer in a law firm. She works long hours while her husband stays home with their five year-old daughter. Many of Julia’s storylines revolve around her fear that her daughter doesn’t really know her. Julia is made to feel guilty that her work cuts into her spending time with her daughter.

Kristina from "Parenthood"

On the same show, Monica Potter plays Julia’s sister-in-law, Kristina. Kristina is a stay-at-home mom with a working husband, a teenager daughter, and a nine year-old son with Autism. In the most recent episode, entitled “ Perchance to Dream”, that aired on April 27, 2010, Kristina is invited to Sacramento for a weekend to help an old friend campaign for a political position. Before she had kids, Kristina used to work in politics. During the weekend, Kristina feels re-invigorated and remembers how much she values being needed. She does excellent work, and earns a job offer. But, when she tells her husband, although he is supportive, she ultimately decides that now is not the right time for her to go back to work. Kristina reasons that her kids will only be kids once and that she can always postpone work until they graduate high school. When Kristina’s nine-year old graduates, eleven years will have passed. If Kristina continually puts her children’s needs above her own, she may never return to work. She should not have to choose between being an employee and being a mother.

I think that Kristina serves as an example of how few leaps women have made in their everyday lives. While many, many women do work, those that do face a double standard. They are expected to superstars at work and at home. If a child is not doing well, the mother is expected to give up her job instead of her husband. In my Edith Wharton class, we are currently reading The House of Mirth. The women from New York society in 1905 could not vote, were viewed as inferior as men, could not be alone with men who they were not betrothed to, didn’t go to school, and faced many other discriminations. The modern American woman has improved immensely from a woman in one of Edith Wharton’s novels, but she has not gained an equal status to a man. Women continue to be expected to fulfill their “feminine duties” as mothers and masters of the house. They may work and travel alone, but at the end of the day, they are not granted the same freedoms that men possess.

The American Man

When Alexis de Tocqueville came to the United States in the 1800’s from England, he made several observations on the gender roles he saw men and women occupying. Tocqueville wrote that democracy had a profound effect on American men. Unlike in Britain, all American men are born with equal opportunities. The third born son is granted the same opportunities as the first-born son. Sons of a blacksmith are not expected to grow up and carry on the family blacksmith business. They can go to school and train to be whatever they want to be. There is a sense of choice and chance and opportunity in America. One can rise up and make something of himself.

Today in America, the media has crafted a vision of the ideal American male. He can be seen on television and in movies, on the evening news, and splattered throughout newspaper headlines. The AMC drama Mad Men captures life in America on the cusp of 1960’s. Don Draper, portrayed by actor Jon Hamn, is the archetypal male on the show. Young and handsome with a high level advertising position on Wall Street, Don is the epitome of success. He has a beautiful wife and two children at home, and has earned the respect of his colleagues and neighbors. Don is admired for his ability to control the people around him. From what I’ve seen of the show so far, Don didn’t come from the world of class and high status that he resides in. The audience learns, from a stray comment, that Don wasn’t raised by a nanny. He doesn’t talk about his past, but one can assume that Don worked his way up into his wealthy life in New York. He was the American man of the 1960’s.

Don Draper

Forty years later, the American male ideal has changed. A new kind of male has emerged. He’s slobby, sexist, insensitive, lazy, and utterly disinterested. Judd Apatow’s 2007 film Knocked Up told the tale of a beautiful, ambitious woman named Alice who has a one night stand with a slobby guy named Ben that results in a pregnancy. Ben, portrayed by actor Seth Rogen, does not work. He sits around with is buddies dreaming up website ideas. Their biggest idea yet? A website that breaks down, minute by minute, all of the times a woman’s naked body appears in a film. Allison, portrayed by Katherine Heigl, is an ambitious worker at E! News who has just been promoted to a telecaster.

Ben and Annie:

Despite their differences, the movie finds Allison and Ben overcoming their differences and choosing to try out a relationship. Despite his lack of income, Ben is expected to support the baby. Ben cannot shake society’s expectations for a male to be the supporter and protector. The Seth Rogen type can be found in Homer Simpson on Fox's The Simpsons.

At the same time, there is a very masculine, heroic male archtype in the media. On Fox’s 24, Jack Bauer tortures terrorists every week. On the big screen, big movie stars like Brad Pitt and Gerald Butler run around shooting guns in action movies where they show off their strength and manliness. 2005’s War of the Worlds had Tom Cruise fighting off an alien invasion while he protected his eleven-year-old daughter.

Jack Bauer:

I think that American society has taken these various representations on television and melded them to form an ideal male. The Don Draper model of the 1960’s still persists in the fact that the male is the breadwinner. When a man walks into a room, he should command respect. He should also be strong and athletic. Traditionally, men are still expected to marry and have children. And yet, at the same time, there is a new type of slacker male. He can wear dirty shirts and say politically incorrect things but it’s all okay as long as he comes off as slightly charming. To be man today means to be hardworking and strong. But doing the weekends, it's fine to regress to a bum in sweatpants.

In looking at the media, one can see that my definition is a working definition. The American man changes through the years and decades, ditching aside some traits and gaining others as the years go by.

Turning a Political Figure into a Celebrity: Michelle Obama

Since President Obama’s inauguration in January of 2009, New York Magazine has kept a running slideshow documenting every outfit Michelle Obama has worn in public online. The website updates the slideshow weekly and showcases the First Lady’s various outfits ranging from walking her dog on the White House lawn to meeting the French President. Most photos are accompanied by a brief description of the location and the action taking place as well as information about her clothes. The photo below ran with the caption:

"Where: Talking with Greece's First Lady Ada Papandreou in the White House's Yellow Oval Room in Washington, D.C.

Dress by Narciso Rodriguez."

The “Michelle Obama Lookbook: Part One” which chronicles Mrs. Obama from 2008-2009 contains 222 images. The current 2010 Michelle Obama lookbook currently contains 62 images. The most recent picture features Mrs. Obama hosting the Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day at the White House. The event occurred today, April 22, 2010. In this day and age with the prevalence of the Internet, it’s possible for an image of Mrs. Obama taken today to circulate around the web in a matter of hours.

NY Mag’s lookbook stood out to me because I had never seen anything like it in regards to its subject matter. Plenty of celebrity gossip websites and fashion websites have various slideshows detailing what celebrities did that day and what they wore while they did it. However, these celebrities are often actors and singers. I had never thought of the First Lady as a celebrity.

But, looking back on Mrs. Obama’s first year and a half as First Lady, the media has portrayed her as a celebrity. Vogue magazine placed Michele Obama on the cover of the March 2009 issue, following President Obama’s victory. Vogue, known for its high fashion, dressed Michelle in J.Crew in one of the inside photos. Michelle has worn several pieces from J.Crew throughout her Presidency. That detail is significant because J.Crew has a reputation for being preppy, all American, and (relatively) affordable. By wearing a J.Crew cardigan that retails for $80 and can be purchased in local mall, women feel like they can relate to Michelle.

Glamour magazine subsequently placed Michelle on the cover of the December 2009 Women of the Year issue. Michele graces the cover in a bright red (conservative) dress. Glamour often features actresses and celebrities on its cover. Laura Bush and Hilary Clinton certainly never appeared on the cover of a fashion magazine. Mrs. Obama appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show and the Oprah show in the past year. And, of course, NY Mag has kept a running tab on all of her outfits.

A first lady’s sense of style has not been this admired since Jackie O. Jackie O, with her perfectly put together suits and pillbox hats, represented the ideal American woman. She had a handsome husband, small children, a gracious smile, and an envious wardrobe. Forty something years later, the Obama’s share many traits with the Kennedy’s before them. Barack and Michelle are both relatively young to be in office (under 50) and they have two children under the age of twelve. The Obama’s are an attractive, powerful family in the public eye. People magazine often features photos of the Obama’s in the “People Watch” section. Michelle has shown an interest in fashion and the media has capitalized on that facet of her. It will be interesting to see how the media chooses to portray America's next first lady.

The Rise of the YouTube Sensation: Justin Bieber

Before last week, my only knowledge of Justin Bieber consisted of a vague recollection of an Entertainment Weekly blog posted a year ago about a young singer who got noticed through youtube videos of him singing. But last week, smiling back at me from the cover of People magazine (April 19, 2010), was sixteen year old Justin Bieber with the caption:

World’s

Biggest

Pop Star

Most singers marketed toward the tween market (age 10-14 years old) are products of a Disney or Nickelodeon channel show. Miley Cyrus gained fame on her Disney show “Hannah Montana” which soon spiraled into a record deal screaming fans. The Jonas Brothers gained fame from the Disney channel as well. Before them, Hilary Duff became a huge star on “The Lizzie McGuire Show.” Miranda Cosgrave, from the popular Nickelodeon show “iCarly” garnered a record deal out of her television show.

Contrastingly, when Justin Bieber first started singing, he had no television show with a built in audience to launch his career. Instead, Justin had YouTube. A product of his own digital generation, Justin Bieber got his first exposure through YouTube.

A December 31, 2009 NY Times article, entitled “Justin Bieber is Living the Dream” articulated this belief:

“he is…a creature of this era: a talented boy discovered first by fans on YouTube, then cannily marketed to them through a fresh influx of studiedly raw videos on the Web site.”

Because of this, fans feel especially connected to him. They feel like they can relate to him because they don’t see him as a manufactured product from a record company. The People article strives to continue to facilitate the image of Justin as a regular old sixteen-year old kid who just happens to illicit thousands of screaming fans wherever he goes. The article describes Justin a old boy living in Canada with his single mom who loved to sing, but never had any grand illusions of being famous. When he started singing in local competitions at age twelve, he posted videos of the events on YouTube so his relatives could watch from far away. Strangers began watching the videos and requesting songs. Before long, a music exec based in Atlanta clicked on the video and promptly woed Justin and his mother out to Atlanta to sign a record deal, and the boy that is Justin Bieber was soon released to the world.

The front-page article creates a narrative of a boy from a small town who followed his passion of signing and who succeeded. But, as the article quickly reminds us, he didn’t solicit any of this fame. Managers don’t want Justin to be perceived as stuck up or unattainable. The whole attraction to Justin stems from his relatable persona. Celebrity fans want their idols to “be just like them.” Tabloids like US Weekly feature a “Stars are Just Like Us” section at the beginning of each issue, where celebrities are pictured grocery shopping, getting gas, walking their dogs, and doing other “normal” activities.

In reality, Justin Bieber is a meticulously crafted entity. He has an entire team of adults working with him to sustain his fame. A January 9, 2010 LA Times article gives a glimpse into the world of Justin Bieber. Bieber, who was interviewed for the article backstage at “The Tonight Show,” is shown to be surrounded by a team of adults. Justin Bieber was such an unexpected surprise, and now, with his screaming, dedicated fans, he has become a shining light in the limping music industry.

“Bieber, in the span of less than a year, is suddenly one of [the music industry’s] most valuable assets, the evidence being the team of adults on his payroll that follows him nearly everywhere he goes, working to both manage and prolong his success. It's a lot for a teenager to process.”

Bieber has become a manufactured star: his fans just don’t realize it. It’s interesting to examine the music business in regards to singers who are marketed towards a younger audience. Studies have shown again and again that young teens have money to spend with none of the responsibilities of a mortgage or insurance payments. Once you can tap into that market, you are tapping into a huge pile of money. Jusitn, with his doe-eyed look and non threatening stature, has managed to capture the hearts (and wallets) of millions of young girls.

Works Cited

Bartolomeo, Joey. “Boy Wonder.” People 19 Apr 2010. 66-72. Print.

Hoffman, Jan. “Justin Bieber is Living the Dream.” nytimes.com. The New York Times 31 Dec 2009. Web. 15 April 2010.

Kaufman, Amy. “Justin Bieber & Co.” latimes.com. The Los Angeles Times 1 Apr 2010. Web. 15 Apr 2010.

Bonus:

Below's a hilarious sketch from SNL which Justin Bieber hosted.

And here's a recent Chelsea Lately interview with Justin Bieber:

The Queen of Late Night TV: Chelsea Handler

The world of late night television has historically belonged to male comedians. The lack of female comedians is especially evident on network television. Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon both host late night shows on NBC, David Letterman’s on CBS, Jimmy Kimmel’s on ABC, and Conan O’Brien used to be on NBC. Even on cable television, the comedians are predominantly male. Comedy Central rarely features female comedians. Chelsea Lately, a half hour late night comedy talk show, stands out like a bright light in this male dominated world. The show airs five days per week at 11 p.m. on the cable channel E! and is hosted by Chelsea Handler. Chelsea is blonde, fit, and possesses a killer wit.

The show has been on the air since 2007, and currently averages 900,000 viewers a night. By contrast, an April 1, 2010 ratings report indicated that Jay Leno received 4.9 million viewers, David Letterman received 4.1 million, and Jimmy Kimmel received 1.7 million viewers. While Chelsea’s ratings don’t quite compare to her contemporaries, they are especially good for a show that airs on cable.

Four days ago, on April 11, The NY Times ran a headline article on Chelsea Handler entitled “I’m Chelsea Handler. And You’re Not” by Brooks Barnes. The article begins with Chelsea sitting in a dingy backstage room in Seattle, waiting to perform stand up comedy. The lackluster veggie platter and grimy floors seem to indicate that Chelsea Handler is not a star. But, as the article quickly points out, she is the star of her own talk show and the author of three hugely successful books (titles include Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea and My Horizontal Life). And yet, despite all this, Chelsea’s in the small room, doing her own makeup and joking with her agent and her brother.

The article strains numerous times that female comedians are a rarity. Chelsea Handler, despite all of her success, is still not a household name. And yet, Chelsea is not just another male version of Jay Leno. Every night, from Monday to Friday, Chelsea is doing late night comedy her own way.

Chelsea told The NY Times on January 15, 2009 that when E! first approached her about hosting her own show:

“I said the only way I could ever do a show like this is if I can make fun of everything E! stands for,” she recalled. “I cannot be Mary Hart — or even worse, Samantha Harris — and stand there with my hip out talking about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes taking Suri to an art museum without making fun of it.”

Chelsea’s show starts with an opening monologue, where Chelsea rips on celebrity headlines, scandals, gossip, and anything else she finds funny. Favorite past celebrities to laugh about include Heidi and Spencer from The Hills, The Kardashians (who incidentally have their own show on E!), the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Lindsay Lohan all top the list. The show films at 3:30 p.m., and airs that night at 11 p.m., so her monologue always manages to address current news and gossip.

The second act of the show involves a round table consisting of Chelsea and two or three guests that she invites on. The guests are often up and coming comedians who are not household names. The round table often plays out like a conversation between friends, with Chelsea and the comedians ripping on celebrities, doing impressions, and improvising humorous jokes. Interestingly enough, the round table is often better than the celebrity interview that follows.

In the beginning, Chelsea Handler didn’t possess the clout to score A-list celebrities to interview. She often interviews television actors and B and C list actors and actresses. Past guests include Jenny McCarthy, Matt Lanter (an actor from “90210” on the CW), and Holly Madison (a Playmate). In the past few months, as Chelsea’s recognition has risen, she has been able to secure higher profile guests. But despite this, the highlight of her show continues to be her opening monologue and her round table, as opposed to her celebrity guest.

When I watch Jimmy Fallon or Jay Leno, it’s often because I’m a fan of the celebrity that’s being interviewed. It would never occur to me to watch the show if I didn’t know or wasn’t a fan of the guests that night. But with Chelsea Lately, I’ll turn in regardless of the guest because I know she’s consistently funny.

It will be interesting to see how Chelsea’s career continues to play out on television. Being on cable television allows her certain liberties with content, and enables her to get away with racier jokes than her network channel rivals.

Mr. Morton, a former producer of “The Late Show With David Letterman,” told The NY Times, ““When there is a decision to be made about replacing somebody on a big network show,” he says, “I guarantee Chelsea will be up there on the list.”

If Chelsea Handler does ever move to network television, one wonders how much (if at all her) her persona will change to fit the mold of the network. A woman’s never heralded a late night show before on network television.

Works Cited

Barnes, Brooks. “I’m Chelsea Handler. And You’re Not.” New York Times 9 April 2010.

Rice, Lynette. “Jay Leno’s first month back at ‘Tonight Show’: Yep, he’s winning.” Ew.com. Entertainment Weekly, 1 Apr 2010. Web. 14 Apr 2010.

Stelter, Brian. “A New Bigmouth on Late Night.” New York Times 15 January 2009.

Product Placement: How Far is too Far?

Product placement has become ubiquitous today in television and movies. Characters type on Apple computers, drive Ford cards, conspicuously drink Vitamin Water, use AT&T phones (or T-Mobile, or Verizon), and so on. But, until now, I can’t remember ever seeing an entire plot line built around a product. That is, until the most recent episode of Modern Family aired on March 31, 2010. In “Game Changer,” Phil (a married dad of three) wants the new iPad for his birthday. He waxes poetry about the wonders of the gadget, claims that it’s fate the iPad just happened to come out on his birthday, and spends his entire birthday wishing for an iPad. The episode shows his family humorously trying to procure the i-Pad.

When watching the episode, I realized that the product placement didn’t really bother me. By using the iPad on the show, two days before Apple released the iPad (on April 2^nd), the show was staying incredibly current. Moreover, the storyline felt organic. Having watched the show since its premier in September, Phil is exactly the kind of character who would go crazy for the iPad.

Ten million people watched “Gamer Changer.” Undoubtedly, many of them walked away with a favorable impression of the i-Pad. However, there were also a substantial number of viewers who walked away with a negative impression of the integrity of the show. If Modern Family, which excels in quick and witty writing, could stoop so low as to base an entire episode around a show, does this mean the quality of the writing and storylines will start deteriorating? Moreover, is this the beginning of what’s to come? Will entire television episodes revolve around a new clothing designer’s collection, a brand new cereal, or a new brand of laundry detergent?

I remember a particularly painful scene in 90210 (which airs on the CW) from last year, where two characters were on a road trip. In the scene, the two characters talk about the necessity of having Dr. Pepper on a road trip, which an open cooler containing Dr. Pepper gleams from the back seat. The entire scene seemed to have solely been created to hawk Dr. Pepper’s wares.

A quick internet search endedup revealing quite a surprise. Apple DID NOT pay ABC to use the i-Pad in the show.

Christopher Lloyd, a co-creator of the show, told the Associated Press:

"In fact, there was no product placement…We approached Apple about getting their cooperation (using the product, for example, and they are notoriously secretive about their products prior to their being launched) and they agreed and gave us a few other small concessions. But there were no stipulations as with normal product placement, i.e. we give you X dollars and you have to feature our product such-and-such a way and say such-and-such nice things about it.”

An LA Times blog post, posted April 1, 2010, got a statement from Apple confirming this:

“Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said the company does not pay for product placement. It did provide an iPad for the show.”

And yet, even though no money was exchanged between ABC and Apple, the episode served to promote the i-Pad.

Upon researching product placement, I stumbled upon a NY Times article, "Branding Comes Early in Filmmaking Process" published April 4, 2010 by Stephanie Clifford. The article helps to explain the reasoning and business behind product placement. The burgeoning relationship between advertisers and film/television was born out of a need for money. As movies become more and more expensive to finance, product placement has become an even more appealing method to garner money. The larger the part the product plays in a film, the more money the brand pays for the appearance.

“Manufacturers can stipulate that a clothing label must be tried on “in a positive manner,” or candy or hamburgers have to be eaten “judiciously.”

As time goes on, it is becoming clear that the trend of integrating products will continue to gain steam. I, for one, hope that writers will manage to keep the tone and quality of the shows in tact despite this.

Works Cited

Clifford, Stephanie. "Branding Comes Early in Filmmaking Process." New York Times 4 Apr 2010.

Flint, Joe. "'Modern Family' gives some free love for the i-Pad." Los Angeles Times 01 Apr 2010.

"'Modern Family' co-creator explains i-Pad use." hollywoodreporter.com The Hollywood Reporter,

01 April 2010. Web. 08 April 2010.

The Narrative of a Celebrity Scandal: Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock was just another unknown actress trying to make it in Hollywood until she co-starred in the hugely successful and well reviewed 1994 film Scream. Bullock’s turn in the 2000 Miss Congeniality farther solidified her place in Hollywood. Charming, self-deprecating, and armed with a huge smile, Sandra Bullock managed to capture the hearts of American movie audiences. In 2009, her film The Proposal topped the box office charts, making well over 100 million dollars in the U.S., a rarity in Hollywood for a female-led movie aimed towards female audiences. And so, when Sandra Bullock won Best Female Actress at the 2009 Oscars for her portrayal of the real life Leigh Anne Tuohy, the press went crazy.

Sandra Bullock, they proclaimed, truly had it all. A

successful marriage, stepchildren she adored, a hugely successful career, and an Oscar to top it all off. Sandra, holding her Oscar, appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly following her win.

Sandra Bullock seemed like the luckiest woman in America, that is, until the press began leaking rumors that her husband, Jesse James, had cheated on her. On March 17, 2010, Entertainment Weekly reported that Sandra would not be attending the London premiere of The Blind Side due to personal reasons. Then, on March 19, 2010, Jesse James issued a statement to People.

There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me. It's because of my poor judgment that I deserve everything bad that is coming my way. This has caused my wife and kids pain and embarrassment beyond comprehension and I am extremely saddened to have brought this on them. I am truly very sorry for the grief I have caused them. I hope one day they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

On March 25^th, Entertainment Weekly ran a news note about the situation:

Sandra Bullock seemed to be living out a thoroughly modern fairy tale. At 45, she had revived the female-centric romantic comedy with last summer's blockbuster performance of The Proposal, then crossed the $200 million mark with The Blind Side, topping it all off with an Oscar for Best Actress. We all rejoiced that a good, hardworking woman was finally getting her due, and swooned as she constantly lavished acceptance--speech praise on her seemingly smitten husband — her Prince Charming in this picture--perfect scenario.

Entertainment Weekly chose to use the narrative of a modern fairy tale to describe Sandra Bullock’s alleged marriage problems. By associating Sandra Bullock with a princess out of a Disney tale, her husband’s alleged infidelity seems all the more horrible. Cinderella’s prince charming is supposed to stand by her side and smile benignly, not cheat on her with multiple women.

On April 5^th, People put Sandra Bullock on the cover with the headline “Inside Sandra’s Heartbreak.”

The article begins by describing how happy Sandra and Jesse had looked to the public in the past few months. The image of the happy couple brings the reader in, until the illusion is shattered by Jesse’s alleged infidelity. Numerous “sources” and “close friends” are quoted, but Sandra Bullock and Jesse James are not interviewed in the article. There is a box explaining Jesse’s transformation “From Bad Boy to Star Husband.” The article describes him as a former bad boy who finally got his act together and started a custom-motorcycle shop and fell for Sandra Bullock. A series of photos track their relationship under the headline “An Unlikely Love Story.” The article paints a picture of Sandra Bullock as a quiet, happy, woman easily slipping into the role of wife and mother (to Jesse’s three children from a previous marriage) when she wasn’t working. The article is trying to imply that Sandra was just like any other woman reading the magazine, and that if infidelity could happen to her, it could happen to anyone.

Sandra Bullock once again graced the cover of People the very next week, on the April 12 issue with the headline “Inside Her Divorce Dilemma.” The article reports that Jesse is now seeking treatment (the specific kind is not specified), and that Sandra must now choose whether or not to divorce him. This time, the box highlights Jesse’s alleged three girls.

Through this entire saga, Sandra Bullock has not spoken publicly on the manner. Aside from his vague apology, Jesse James has remained silent as well. No, it is the media that has latched on to this alleged story and blown it up into a huge narrative. As much as America loves a happy ending, they love a scandal even more. And Sandra, with fresh Oscar still in hand, was the perfect woman to base a narrative around.

Works Cited

Chiu, Alexis, Oliver Jones, and Michelle Tauber. “Sandra’s Marriage in Crisis.” People 5 Apr. 2010: 56-62. Print.

Chiu, Alexis, Oliver Jones, and Michele Tauber. “Sandra’s Painful Choice.” People 12 Apr. 2010: 60-64. Print.

Leonard, Elizabeth. “Jesse James Apologizes to Sandra Bullock and His Children.” People.com. People Magazine, 19 March 2010. Web. 6 April 2010.

Ram. Archana. “Monitor: Sandra Bullock’s marriage woes.” ew.com. Entertainment Weekly Magazine, 26 March 2010. Web. 6 April 2010

A Comparison of the Family Sitcom

In watching Father Knows Best and The Donna Reed Show, two family comedies from the fifties, I was struck by how different the family sitcom is today. Now, television networks are able to get away with showing racier material. Moreover, the American audience expects a show to be smart and witty. Shows centered on families have prevailed since the 1950’s, with noted shows such as Full House (a comedy about three men raising three girls from the nineties), Arrested Development (a faux documentary about a dysfunctional, corrupt, hilarious family in Orange County that premiered in 2003 on Fox), and the most recent Modern Family. Modern Family is a half hour comedy filmed in a mock documentary style. The show premiered on ABC in September of 2009 to rave reviews and a consistent average of 9 million viewers per episode.

The half hour comedy focuses on the hilarious antics of three related households living in the suburbs in California. There is the wealthy, sixty-something patriarch of the family, Jay Pritchard, who lives with his new Columbian wife and her eleven-year-old son. Jay’s daughter, Claire, lives with her husband, Phil, and their three children (two girls and a boy). And lastly, Jay’s son, Mitchell, lives with his gay partner and their newly adopted baby from China.

A gay, happy, functional couple is still not common on television today, and would certainly never appear in a show from the 1950’s. In that respect, Modern Family is taking a huge step forward in portraying families in a realistic way. However, in some ways, the show is eerily similar to those fifties sitcoms. Claire, the forty-something mother, does not work. She is often seen at home, cooking, cleaning, or yelling at one of her children. In one episode, the viewers learn that Claire left her business career once she got married and became pregnant. Plenty of mothers work in the twenty-first century, but none of the mothers on this show are portrayed as working mothers.

The relationship between parents between children is very different than in 1950’s sitcoms. The children often speak back to their parents, break the parents rules, and speak much more casually. However, the age-old plotline of parents worrying when their daughter begins to date is prevalent in both Modern Family and Father Knows Best. When Claire’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Haley, gets a boyfriend, Claire and Phil are worried that they might be having sex. Haley’s boyfriend is a skinny, hip, guitar-playing senior who’s in a band. He doesn’t show a lot of respect for Haley’s parents. In Father Knows Best, seventeen-year-old Betty’s father is terrified that she will date a boy who will take away her virginity. Betty’s boyfriend, who she brings home to meet her parents, in incredibly clean cut and polite. He calls Betty’s parents Mr. and Mrs., and he’s very respectful. That episode ended with Betty’s parents following the boy to a church, under the false impression that her daughter is going to run away and get married. On Modern Family, Haley’s parents simply accept the fact that she has a boyfriend. Both shows illustrate how the same plot line can be rendered in several different ways.

On Modern Family the characters are often sarcastic to one another, the kids speak back to their parents, and light swearwords like “damn” and “asshole” are uttered frequently. The characters live in modern homes, wear modern clothes such as jeans and t-shirts, and pop culture references are interwoven throughout the show. In the most recent episode, Claire desperately searches across town for the new i-Pad to give to her husband for his birthday.

In looking at these different shows, it becomes evident that a show often depicts the idealized way of life of that time. In the fifties, the white picket fence and two smiling kids was the idealized dream. That vision is portrayed in the shows of that era. Today, the sitcoms show messy, complicated families that don’t always get along, but they love each other in the end. It should be noted that in all three shows, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, and Modern Family, the families are firmly upper middle class.