"Mrs. America"

 Was this show meant for you to be uncomfortable? Because I was uncomfortable the whole time. I blame my school and my educators for this. There was so much that I didn't know about this time period. I remember the 2008 election very well, and the way news anchors kept talking about Hillary Clinton, I thought Clinton was the first woman ever to run for president, and my teachers didn't correct me. But this show has a different message: former U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman to run for president in 1972. At first glance, you would think that the show forgot about Victoria Woodhull (1872), Belva Ann Lockwood (1884), Gracie Allen (1940), and Margaret Chase Smith (1964). But of course the key word is "black". 

Also growing up in school, I was lead to believe that all women were unanimously for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. Clearly that wasn't true. Phyllis Schlafly, a woman who has the ability to be hated and rooted for at the same time, leads the charge to STOP the ERA from passing. I had a hell of a time searching for the complete text of the amendment, but here it is below:

SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

This seems simple enough. Organizations like NOW campaigned equal rights to all women: equal pay, health benefits, protection of lesbians, gay marriage, proper abortion care, a lot of this stuff we have now. But Schlafly and the rest of the STOP ERA were stuck on abortion, lesbians raising our children and drafting daughters into the military. The Vietnam War was winding down at the time, but the tensions against the war held on. I'm not sure what their argument truly was. They are proud Daughters of the American Revolution. Do they understand what women did in the Revolution? A woman gave up her petticoat so Paul Revere could muffle the oars on his boat as he sneaked across the Charles River. Molly Pitcher was one of the many women bringing water to thirsty soldiers at many battles. At one point, when her husband was wounded, she loaded a cannon herself. And let's not forget Betsy Ross sewed our nation's flag. There are plenty of women who want to serve their country, and plenty of men who don't. Why would you deny a woman's right to be drafted. Actually from what I understood, the Gulf Wars and the war in Afghanistan, after 9/11, we had so many volunteers that a draft wasn't necessary. 

A woman has the choice to do what she wants with her life. You chose the life of the housewife, and that's fine, but why are you forcing hundreds of thousands of woman to choose the same lifestyle? You can't support women and condemn them at the same time; that doesn't make sense. That's like talking trash about your favorite celebrity while wearing a T-shirt with their face on it. Same goes to working women. I ask that you support women in whatever they decide to do. Everyday, I question why supporting women at all. It's hard to pick a side when everyone is at each other's throats. And all to stop three sentences from ruling the land. And by the way, if the ERA had passed on time, you know Schlafly and the STOP ERA would take full advantage of it. 

Abortion. Why would you force a woman to keep a baby she doesn't want? You may say that it was her fault she wasn't careful. But what if she's 12 years old, and her father raped her? Would you still force her to carry the baby to term in her fragile body? Pregnancy is dangerous, always has been; women have died giving birth. Don't get me wrong, I don't like killing babies either, but I want women to have the choice. Like if it was mine, I will present my argument. I'd want to raise the child, but if she says she wants an abortion, I'll try to fight, but in the end it's her decision.

One of the biggest issues I had with the show is the men. I get it that times were different, but clearly these women were going places, so the men need to be supportive no matter what. They played like they were supportive, but Fred Schlafly didn't take it seriously that his wife could have won U.S. Representative, Jill Ruckelshaus' husband was vetted without her knowledge, Marc is pissed that Brenda is experiencing lesbianism, President Jimmy Carter fires Bella Abzug from the National Advisory Commission for Women, and newly-elected President Reagan dismisses Phyllis' chance of a Cabinet position. It seems that men think this is a game for women to play. I'm sure a lot of those sick bastards got hard watching women talk politics. Many of them in the show say that's why they married their wives: their wit. But they still attempt to lay down the law that men rule the country. Really the men just lit a fire under the ass of women, which will be the men's undoing.

On the other side of the issue, Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan lead the charge to ratify the ERA. The two clash one different versions of the same opinion. Friedan appeared to feel ancient to the new generation of feminists where she was basically saying, "Death to all Men!", and Steinem is trying to gather allies on all sides to push the movement forward. Steinem also clashes with Abzug on politics. Azbug, a former U.S. Senator knows the political game too well, and she struggles to relay that to Steinem, who wants to charge in guns blazing. It was a perfect balance to see a seasoned member of our government try to reason with a youngin' wanting change now.

One of the most compelling stories in this series is Alice Macray, Phyllis' right hand woman in the STOP ERA movement. Over the course of the series, she acts as a pipeline from Phyllis to the other women, but she eventually begins to question her beliefs, especially one drunk night at the National Women's Convention. She discovers a woman blessing the Eucharist, a God-fearing Christian woman who is a feminist, and that lesbians are not all bad. Her arc ends with her having a job, and that she feels empowered that she doesn't have to ask her husband for pin money.

This was a wonderful series that completely changed my perspective on several things. It's a shame it had to end, but I await more films and TV shows like it. 

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Released on FX On Hulu: April 15 - May 27, 2020
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, Kayli Carter, Ari Graynor, Melanie Lynskey, Margo Martindale, John Slattery, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tracey Ullman, Sarah Paulson
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Amma Asante, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Janicza Bravo
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
IMDb Score: 8.2/10 (Average)

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Limited Series - Nominated
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Cate Blanchett) - Nominated
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Uzo Aduba) - Winner
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Margo Martindale) - Nominated
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Tracey Ullman) - Nominated
• Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special (Tanya Barfield) - Nominated

Creative Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (Carmen Cuba & Robin Cook) - Nominated
• Outstanding Period Costumes (Bina Daigeler, Erin Byrne, Bettina Seifert, Erika Larner, Mila Hermanovski and Eileen Kennedy) - Nominated
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) (Kris Bowers) - Nominated
• Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie (Robert Komatsu) - Nominated

(Click here to view more awards for "Mrs. America".)