Running head: VISIONS OF AMERICA
The Feminist Movement
I was too young to watch the original airing of The Mary Tyler Moore Show but I certainly enjoyed watching it in syndication during the 80s. It was one of my favorite shows and I wanted to have the same exact life that Mary Tyler Moore did. She was independent, stylish and smart with the perfect job. I actually based my early career goals on journalism and chose it as my major during my round of college. It is one of those shows that had an impact on me personally and it is a great representation of the second wave of feminism and a new era for women during that time.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show aired from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977 on CBS and was the first television series that portrayed an independent career woman as the lead character. Her character’s name was Mary Richards and she was a young woman in her thirties who was starting over after a break-up. She lived with her boyfriend previously whom she helped through medical school until he received his degree and then left her. She moved to Minneapolis where she wanted to start a new life and make it on her own which is where the show successfully portrays a strong person determined to succeed. Mary “finds a job as Associate Producer of the evening news and, as a result, finds herself in a position of some power. The following seven years followed Mary Richards through various aspects of being a woman at work at a time America was experiencing significant social change regarding women’s roles (Jule, 2010).
