I just watched the new re-make of the 70's "classic" and it proved to be a thought provoking endeavor....It showed the worst of both worlds! Seriously, at the beginning you see the very intense, high-powered television executive who is producing lots of, well, just bad TV which completely emasculates the male gender....later on you see her in a total nervous breakdown, fighting with her husband, children unhappy....and even later you hear her and her compatriots commiserating about how terrible things hare and the various cocktails of anti-depressants they depend on to get them thru. Then the woman has a breakthrough...she wants to try it the "Stepford way" meaning, basically, to become a mindless, charming, pretty cleaning machine--obsessed with holiday crafts and baking hundreds of cupcakes. All together, a rather depressing view, as it shows the working mother as, well, insane, and the homemaker as, well, insane.
But it doesn't have to be that way! I know many a working mother, who, though circumstances keep her in the workplace they still manage to put their families first. My own mother was an example of that. She taught us how to tend the home, and checked up on us constantly...in fact, we thought she called us too often from work! Dinner was always homemade and around the table. I was actually allowed to take over the kitchen on weeknights from the time I was in junior high...and I loved it! The family, however, was not as thrilled with some of my experimenting at meal planning and new recipes.
I also know many smart, capable and multi-talented women who choose to stay at home. They do all the "mundane" chores, play with and train their children and still manage to keep up with their educations. You can, indeed, be a homemaker and still have your own mind.
But I guess a movie showing the true reality would not be very "interesting"
oh well.
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