For my research paper I have chosen to expand upon the television show Mad Men. I am writing my paper now on one episode of it and I think that I could really expand it by watching more episodes and doing more of a paper on the show as a whole instead of just one episode.
Also, I am taking Megan's advice and using the book "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan. I have purchased the book and looked through it and I have chosen a few chapters to focus on. One chapter is called "The Happy Housewife Heroin" and it talks about the dissatisfaction a lot of women go through and have gone through in the past by being the stay at home mother, being referred to as less than men, and being confined to a specific role in society. I have also started to read the chapter called "The Mistaken Choice" which begins talking about our the 50's and 60's. It talks about America after the depression and the war and how things were going to be changing and sets up the baby boom as well as describes different family roles in that time. I plan to compare the information Betty Friedan provides with the television show Mad Men.
I also plan to do some research on the 1960's time period. Specifically when it comes to sexuality and gender. I think not only is it important for me to know the period itself but also the media in that period and how they would portray gender and sexuality.
I also plan to take a couple of pages and re-write the first episode of Mad Men set in 2010. Then I will compare the two time periods when it comes to portraying gender and sexuality.
**I want to add that I posted my fourth blog early so it is before my last paper proposal. (just wanted to let everyone know that because I didn't get any comments and I wanted to make sure you knew it was there)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I like this idea a lot. I think one thing that you will want to compare is the treatment of women in the workplace during the early 1960s vs. today, and how that perception of women comes through in your revision.
The Feminine Mystique will be a great book for you to use. Friedan points out many of the problems that arise out of the post-WWII era, with women being expected to care for their husbands and families.
Overall, I'm interested to see how this evolves. I'm not going to make a lot of suggestions here, as I think that you already have a good trajectory (and we've talked about it). Instead, as you go along, if you encounter any issues, please let me know. ~Megan
I think this is a really cool idea. I have never seen the show Mad Men but I think looking at sexuality in different time periods is a unique angle to take. It is important to analyze how these issues have evolved over the years and responded to the happenings of the time.
ReplyDeleteI would be really interested to see how you work in The Feminine Mystique because of how well known and influential it has been. We have obviously made a lot of progress as a society and specifically as women in the last century but I think its important to recognize some of the things that may not have changed that much and how far we still have to go. I would even say that women are still forced into that housewife role, just not as obviously because we don't wear aprons and heels in the kitchen everyday anymore.
I think you have a very strong topic and as long as you are able to clearly compare the two time periods that will definitely translate into a strong paper.
I think this is a good choice. You can learn more from watching more epoides and see how women are treated in other events durning that time. Maybe have a compare contrast from then and now. How are things different for women then compared to now or are we sill dealing with the same issues. Like Grace said maybe go on about how the clothing stlye has changed for women.
ReplyDeleteWhen re wrting Mad Men maybe try to make the women more strong independent women who can take care of themself. Not just over sexualize women that we see today. Just an idea, i have never seen the show so im not completly sure how your going to rewrite it. Then you can talk about how you went for or against Yep. I think you will have a lot to write about since that time peiord has a lot of info and maybe talk about feminist movements durning that time which should give you an insight to women discotent durning that time. It should definitely be a strong paper!