Mrs America
"Why women can only accept half-life glitz, but can't take a place in the destiny of mankind?"
After reconciling with the years, I rarely stay up late, but this drama made me make an exception to stay up late to watch it. The casting of the actors and the tension of the performance are impeccable; the development of the plot is unconventional and thought-provoking; the most important thing is that the golden sentences in the play are constantly making people deeply doubt their IQ. Even so, I couldn't help but take a peek.
After watching the first eight episodes overnight, there are so many remarkable things in this drama, which are constantly surprising. The protagonist's lineup is luxurious, the scenes are exquisite, and the costumes are fashionable. The makeup of the 1970s is also very eye-catching now. Aside from the rich and colorful plots of politics and equality shown in the play, this play is already excellent. Kate also gave a wonderful performance. Remove these bright flashes, the core of the series is to discuss the major turning points in the women's liberation movement that are not well known in China in a neutral, or as neutral as possible, attitude. There is no absolute good person or bad person, some are just complex and diverse living people. Men retreated to the background in the play, enriching the whole plot in the form of supporting roles.
Shooting the feminist movement from the perspective of an anti-feminist is a different angle that tells the core of power and politics through the cloak of affirmative action.
Let's talk background first. In 1970, the United States launched the second feminist movement and introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was approved by the Senate and can be written into the constitution as long as it is approved by 38 states within seven years. By 1972, 23 states had ratified it. By 1973, the number of passing states had reached 30, and by 1977, it had reached 35 states. This period can be said to be the highest point in the history of the feminist movement. However, at this time, due to the female protagonist, the Republican conservative right-wing person Philippine. All the results came to an abrupt end when Lis Schlafly was born.
Phyllis is very provocative. She has a good educational background and excellent speech eloquence. She can pick out novel but popular opinions from the lines of the Affirmative Action Act, and successfully persuade the whole country with this. Tens of thousands of housewives ultimately affected the outcome, making the Affirmative Action Act, which was only three states short of passing, to naught.
But what exactly is equality and what is feminism? People who are discriminated against are often unaware that they are being discriminated against. For example, "black toothpaste", "ladies parking space", etc. However, similar discrimination in the workplace is everywhere, and even more, a lot of discrimination does not come from the opposite sex but the same sex. The time period when the series took place was still in the early stage of reform and opening up in China. Even after 40 years, the concept of equal rights proposed by the center has still not been realized, and there are still many inequalities that are not even noticed by those who are discriminated against. Ironically, in the US, the right to abortion, which the egalitarians struggle to obtain, has not become an obstacle at home. Behind the right to abortion is not bloody surgery, on the contrary, it represents women's control over their own bodies, which is the real human right.
But egalitarians succeed because they think ahead, and they fail because they think ahead. If you are too ahead of society and reality, Phyllis will seize the loophole. Through this loophole, the entire affirmative movement will be divided and the entire ERA bill will be overturned. Even so far, the bill has not been passed. To equal rights, we must first open up the wisdom of the people. Egalitarians are mostly well-educated and have social insight, but lack a deeper understanding of real life. The reality of women as a second sex has existed for thousands of years, and the habitual thinking and opinions of thousands of years cannot be overturned overnight. The second sex does not mean that all lives are miserable, on the contrary, some people will be persecuted and some people will enjoy privileges. The development of the US economy also ensures that this part of the people's real life is prosperous and prosperous. They have already obtained vested interests, and they cannot see the development of history or the oppression brought about by the second sex. From their line of sight, they can only see the current life and the short-term life in the future. The development of women in the future society is not in their sight. This kind of fighting between female camps will only happen if people's intelligence is not fully opened up, and those who fight for equality are resisted by the people they want to protect.
The second major reason for failure is internal conflict. Thousands of years of inequality have created different vulnerable groups. The women's liberation movement in the 1970s united various groups. However, the backgrounds and goals of each group were different, resulting in huge internal divisions, and eventually the internal classification led to the failure of the entire movement. Those who join the feminist movement are basically people with high education and high income. They have entered this patriarchal society by their own efforts. In their eyes, the housewives who live in the status quo are regarded as part of the sacrifice and abandonment. And more attention is paid to the interests of black women, the interests of homosexuals, and many other demands, precisely because they have been subjected to unequal treatment for too long and need to appeal too much, so that they cannot grasp the core and focus in the short term. Conflicts of interest among different groups within the organization have scuttled what appeared to be a vigorous campaign.
After talking about equality, let’s talk about politics and power. This time, the protagonist chooses an anti-feminist to tell the history of feminism, and the perspective is not new. But aside from that veneer, the whole story is actually about politics. Phyllis is nothing less than a feminist, not only that, but her passion for nuclear war and national defense has always been dominated by men. However, no matter how professional and theoretical they are, they are restricted by their female identity and cannot enter the core management to participate in policy discussion and formulation. Based on this, she used the method of saving the country through a curve. By combating the feminist movement that the management could not criticize, she formed a cross-party group and became a new force that should not be underestimated in the campaign force, and finally won the presidency. Appreciation of candidate Reagan.
After the ninth episode is updated, I can't wait to open it. Phyllis cut through obstacles all the way, and opened up a road from no one's land, but the final outcome was unexpected. After Reagan was elected president, he personally called to thank him. In addition to expressing his gratitude, he also told Phyllis in a tactful way: In his campaign, the number of female voters was not high. Therefore he could not invite Phyllis to the cabinet. Cruel politics does not tolerate the slightest hypocrisy. The temporary failure of the feminist movement does not mean the failure of this idea. It is just that the historical process has been artificially suppressed, but public opinion polls are the real aspirations of the people. After Reagan was elected president, the most important thing to do was to isolate people who went against the will of the people, so Phyllis was abandoned after being used. That's what politics is, to paraphrase Phyllis's husband: "You've been robbed."
American dramas refreshed my cognition and worldview time and time again. It can be said that a lot of wisdom and knowledge in my life came from American dramas. Time and time again I feel my shallowness, and time and time again I am amazed at the complexity and diversity of the world. Never judge a person or thing by its appearance. The plot changes day and night, and behind the plot are all kinds of forces that are surging. This is the real world and the real society. Nothing can be completely controlled by people, and some are just the competition of their own forces.
Although the heroine played by Kate is selfish and ruthless, she is indeed sympathetic to her ultimate goal. After all, she has only pursued the same job opportunities as men in her life. And feminists: Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus, these were the heroes of the time, the heroes of women, whose brilliance was not jeopardized by the temporary blockage of affirmative action, on the contrary, as the course of history advanced their image will become more and more dazzling.
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