These dynamics created a power-play between men and women that eventually culminated with the Women's Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Men struggled to retain their power, while women struggled to recapture what they had a taste of in the 1940s.
Although most of the women of the Women's Liberation Movement were not around during the war and were not Rosies themselves, they had listened to the rhetoric and talk from their mothers and grandmothers. The existence of this movement is evidence that other social influences were able to override the images portrayed on television and in magazines. The battle ground for this war between the sexes was family values and the home. The Brady Bunch was the ultimate stereotype of this era. One of the key factors in this series was that the blended family was a result of divorce. However, this was hardly mentioned in the show at all, except every time opening theme song played. The series MASH showed very capable and independent women, but one can argue that their role was often demeaning. "Hotlips" Hoolahan was the ultimate object of every man's desire. She was strong, yet at times showed feminine weakness and had to turn to a man for support.
In the final analysis, it can be said the media can be used as an important tool for the study of late 20th century history. However, there are still considerable...
When one considers the question from a psychology standpoint, it would appear that media may have played a role in shaping society, but that other influences were more important. However, media was an important tool for establishing fashion trends and ideals that were prevalent in society (Rubenstein and Caballero, 1569). If this is true, then we must consider what media says about out society. When we look at series such as Desperate Housewives, reality TV, and America's Top Model, can we really argue that our values have changed that much from those of the post war era? Only future historians will be able to answer this question fully, but for now it would appear that things have not really changed at all.
Works Cited
Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill,
Jung, J. And Lennon, S. Body Image, Appearance Self-Schema, and Media Images. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1, 27-51 (2003).
Rubenstein, S., and Cabellero, B. (2000). "Is Miss America an Undernourished Role
Model?" Journal of the American Medical Association 283:1569.
Filmography
Still Killing Us Softly (1987) Directed by Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich
