Gender Roles in Films during the 1970s

During the 1970s, one major motion picture changed Hollywood completely was The Godfather. Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece broke many of the norms that the industry had adhered to for decades. It was revolutionary in its depiction of violence, greed and the corruption of the American Dream. Perhaps equally as revolutionary as the film’s themes are the varying personalities of the Corleone family, from both genders. Each character in the film seems to allegorize a certain personality trait that is common in each gender.

On the male sides, I want to discuss the three Corleone brothers. They have only one thing in common: their last name. They are completely different in their thoughts, ideals and actions. The eldest, Sonny, is fiercely protective of his loved ones. His world is black and white, divided between those who can aid his family and those who are a threat. However, his most dominant characteristic is his violent temper. His deep love for his family makes him a very easy man to infuriate. Both of these characteristics prove to be his downfall, as his opponents use his well-known reputation to lore him into a trap. The middle brother is Fredo. He is constantly seen as the weakest link in the family. His mistakes cost the family dearly, and the failures damage his own self esteem as much they damage others. Eventually he is sent away for his own protection. Michael is probably the most complex of the three characters. When The Godfather starts out. Michael is attempting to distance himself from the reputation his family has, going so far as to enlist in the Marine Corps. However changing circumstances and violence force his inner self to be unleashed and he becomes the ruthless Capo di Tutti Capi of the American Mob, who only seeks to further his own goals no matter what the cost.

Accurately describing the female characters in The Godfather is no easy task. Michael is married twice in the film, and both women are equally unique and dynamic. His first wife is the gentle Sicilian country girl, Appolonia. At first cautious of Michael’s advances, she warms up to him and exposes her true self. She is depicted as being humorous and flirty. She is slightly naïve, but that is because of her sheltered upbringing. She greatly loves and admires her husband without truly knowing him. Michael’s second wife can almost be confused as a modern woman. Kay is smart and free thinking. She is not afraid to speak her mind and often questions her Husband’s actions. Unlike Appolonia, Kay marries Michael after years of dating, so she truly understands her husband and attempts to turn him from his violent ambitions.

By showcasing such diversity in his film, Coppola depicts an accurate and realistic portrayal of the time. Most movies tend to highlight certain aspects of genders, often exaggerating them to the point of inaccuracy. The success of The Godfather may be attributed to the fact that a viewers see an image of themselves in one of the various characters.

1970s Sitcoms

            The previous two decades we’ve seen the stereotype of a typical household, more so in the 1950s than in the 1960s. We see a stay at home mother, some with children some without, and we see the provider of the house – the husband. Now we’re going to take a look into the 1970s, a decade that came after a big turning point for the United States.

            The first sitcom for this decade that we’ll see is The Brady Bunch. This sitcom as aired in the early 1970s but portrays a very different family scene than decades before. In this sitcom we see two divorced people, Carol and Mike, who each have three kids from their previous marriages. Before this we haven’t seen any families portrayed with divorced parents. This is a significant change, especially for the role of the mother. Previous beliefs were that divorcees were shamed and definitely not put into the spotlight of a sitcom, especially for women. However Carol Brady still remains a stay at home mother, taking care of her now six children while Mike Brady works to support the family.

            The second sitcom we’ll look at is called The Odd Couple. Like The Brady Bunch it depicts two divorcees but in this situation it happens to be two divorced men. Felix and Oscar live together in a small apartment in Manhattan. The relationship between the two men remains completely plutonic but its one of the first times we see men playing both the provider of the house as well as all the chores women usually do like cooking and cleaning. This sitcom opened viewer’s eyes to a whole new kind of relationship. Previous beliefs would have stopped this sitcom from airing but as the nation changes so does the forms of entertainment. Though both men are expected to fulfill the role of the ‘woman of the house’ the sitcom portrays Felix as the more ‘motherly’ role, cooking the majority of the time as well as being cleaner than Oscar.

            This decade shows a lot of progression of gender roles, introducing some new concepts such as divorcees getting remarried or two men living together. We’ll see some more of these concepts in future sitcoms as well as more progression to a more gender equal sitcom.

Female in 1970 music

Dingmin Lin

Times new Roman

1970’s music

Open blog

March 21, 2014

Female in 1970 music.

              In America at 1970s, the rise of disco became of the biggest genres of the decade, first appearing in the dance clubs by the middle of the decade. There are some famous music in 1970s like “The Hustle” by Van McCoy, “I will survive” by Gloria Gaynor, and “Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees. And also the 1970s saw the emergence of hard rock as the most prominent of rock music. Famous band such as Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin were highly popular and most welcome during the first half of the decade.

In 1970s woman singer’s music, sex and laughter became two mean elements in their music. And also the women’s right movement is continue during that time. The women’s music movement of the early 1970s was created by and for women who came to political consciousness as result of the women’s liberation movement. They all desires a world that having sex outside of marriage, they can make their own money by their own hands and living alone not get control by man. And at that time those music about women’s right have been to call as “lesbian music” some famous woman’s right movement music like“ I am Woman, “by Helen Reddy and “ Want Ads” by Honey Cones/ those music was created for a lesbian audience to describe lesbian experience and desires. In “I am woman” this song’ lyrics

“You can bend but never break me

'cause it only serves to make me

More determined to achieve my final goal

And I come back even stronger

Not a novice any longer

'cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul”

Form this song’s lyrics we can see that Helen Reddy wanted to send a message to other women that woman can be invincible if they strongly believe that woman should have their own right to do whatever they want. Between 1970s and 1980s, there is a famous cultural movement called Lesbian feminism, and those singers like Helen Reddy use their music as their tool to fight for their freedom.

Helen Reddy – I am woman youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUBnxqEVKlk

1960s Advertisements (Michelle)

   After one decade passes, in the 1960s, the status of women did slightly change. In the beginning of this era, women still remained the same as 1950s, however as years builds on, women begin to appear on the same page as men in posters.

In this 1960 Velveeta’s advertisement, sellers remained the same and continued using women as a figure to promote household products. The slogan, “How Velveeta can help you in the big job of being a mother,” directly points out women as a mother figure. The image of a woman holding a baby with a little boy next to her and the food product along with the slogan strong encourage men to believe the role of women should be house material.

However, in 1964, Reed and Barton decide to place a woman in the same picture as a man. Women in this year slowly upgraded their social status. It takes a lot of courage and risk for a company to use both man and woman in the image since in the mid 1960s men are the dominant figure. In this advertisement, the feminine character may be the man’s wife or girlfriend, and the way how the company promotes the silversmith creates a seductive image for the female. Through this advertisement, other companies might start taking risk of promoting female in the same image as man and probably using female as a seductive in the future if this advertisement is beneficial to the company. 

In 1966, Kentucky Fried Chicken uses Colonel Harland Sanders as public figure to promote their food product. This poster strongly promotes men in this era as the dominant figure that is capable of adapting in the society. Regardless if the advertisement is plain, but it encourages many other men in this era to work harder among each other in order to support a family.

In this 1960s era, men still remained at the first in line comparing to women. However, the advertisements in this era slowly transformed women’s role in public. They are slowly to reveal the feminine figure on advertisements.