Analyse how the transformation of the United States during the 1970s affected the world of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. These changes can be cultural, such as Mary discovering that her male predecessor in her producer job made more money than she did, Lou's divorce from his wife, and Lou's one-night stand with Sue Ann. But these changes can also be economic, such as Phyllis making cutbacks in the household, and gaining employment (in addition to her housewife duties) due to inflation. These angles are examples of what can be used in an article.
One interesting angle to explore this topic with would be to look at the ideas of femininity and masculinity and how postmodern American politics pertaining to gender shaped these types of TV shows. Of course these policies impacted the show's content as well as Moore's own personal and professional life as a woman. – aferozan9 years ago
This is a great topic; one that I would definitely be interested in writing perhaps myself. As Aferozan mentioned, it would definitely be advantageous to look at the ideas of femininity and masculinity. Originally, Mary Richards was supposed to be moving because of a divorce, but producers were afraid that it would appear that she was divorcing Dick Van Dyke (Rob Petrie) from The Dick Van Dyke Show; as such, they had Mary leaving town because of a boyfriend. That in itself is interesting when concerned with masculinity and femininity, and it's odd to think that people would not be able to differentiate Laura Petrie from Mary Richards. As The Mary Tyler Moore Show progressed, it definitely dealt with cultural issues of the time - Mary was a single woman who had boyfriends and stayed the night with them on occasion; the show dealt with equal pay for women, homosexuality, and addiction, to name a few. It was definitely snuggled appropriately with other groundbreaking series of the 1970's like "All in the Family", "Maude", "Good Times", etc. I would love to see this topic written about, and will keep my eye on it. If it isn't grabbed, I would love to take it. :) Great idea! – Douglas9 years ago
A sad, ironic comment related to this topic is that while MTM's efforts way-back-when supported freedom for women, she succumbed to cosmetic surgery - which
I believe are fueled by sexist expectations pressuring women (often by women) - and now looks awful. – Tigey8 years ago