October 9, 2003

Batool Mehdi reports on the portrayal of female characters on television and how it has evolved over the years

Picture this: a lazy Sunday afternoon, a bowl of popcorn on the table next to a comfortable couch, and not a care in the world, but to enjoy and watch television all day long. Sounds great doesn’t it? How many of us have whiled away countless Sundays doing just this? I know I have.

In fact, recent surveys around the world are showing that the average person is spending more and more time in front of the television. It just goes to show that in spite of the hectic lives we all lead nowadays, television still manages to form an integral part of our daily curriculum.

It is ironic, then, that for an invention that takes up so much of our free time, we rarely ever sit down and ponder over its deeper significance, or the cultural impact it has on society. Television has the capacity to not only affect, but also change our views, perceptions and even our psyches.

Take for instance, the portrayal of female characters on television and how they have evolved over the years. A journey through the 1950s to present day will show just how far the representation of women has come.

The evolution of female characters in television history over various eras and decades, is nothing short of fascinating, as it allows us to observe the ways in which women have not only been perceived, but also been presented. Television programmes are after all, a reflection of the times we live in. This is especially true in the case of the depiction of women throughout television history.

In the 1950s, the television experience was still finding its feet, as was most of the post war world. It was a period in time when pride was taken in one’s home and family. Moreover, gender roles were very well prescribed and set, with the man being the clear breadwinner, while the woman remained the content homemaker.

A woman’s very existence, therefore, was to a large extent dependent on a man’s. Thus, there is almost a sardonic touch to the fact that the central character in one of the most popular programmes of such a time, happened to be none other than a woman. The show was of course, I Love Lucy and though the comedy was extremely family centric, what could be taken as a positive sign of times to come was the fact that millions of viewers all over the world tuned in to watch a show whose main protagonist was a woman.

By the 1960s television shows and actors all over the world were fast taking on the status of cultural icons. The era itself was one of stark contrasts — political conservatism, anti-war sentiments, and who can forget the decade defining the hippy movement? Change was thus definitely in the air, and also on air, in television.

The show Bewitched (1964) is one such example of these winds of change. Another worldwide hit like I Love Lucy, Bewitched was a multi-layered sitcom. Considered by some as light and fluffy, it was in actuality a sophisticated show, textured with hundreds of pop culture references and relevant cultural themes.

At the heart of this classic was Elizabeth Montgomery’s portrayal of a beautiful and good-hearted witch named Samantha, a character rare in 1960s television — a strong, independent woman, with the world at her feet, or rather in this case, a twitch of her nose.

Samantha was also a clever role reversal of the women’s rights movement. On the one hand, her rebellion was so strong that she defied her arrogant family and terrifying witches council, while on the other hand her desire was to be a homemaker and to raise a family. It was heartening to see that there was a female character on television who did whatever she wished, on her own terms.

The character seems even more unique when one compares it to other popular female figures on television at the time. Almost parallel to Bewitched, ran the comedy, I dream of Jeannie. Though beloved in its own right, the show conveyed none of the liberated and enlightened message that Bewitched did. The subservient Jeannie, with her subtle, yet unmistakable sexual overtones, was the complete anti-thesis of a free and decision making Samantha.

However, this is not to say that Samantha was the only emancipated woman in 1960s television. On our very own shores, Shezori was an immensely celebrated serial. Nilofar Abbasi’s feisty portrayal of Shezori dispelled widespread notions that popular serials could not be driven by female protagonists.

It was the 1970s, however, that really shook up the television status quo, so to speak. With shows like Alice (1976-1985) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977), female characters on television were no longer just wives, daughters, or mothers — they were now also career women.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in particular, was a breakthrough of sorts, in light of the women’s liberation movement. It was a highly accepted and acclaimed comedy, centered around the character of Mary Richards, who moves to Minneapolis after a break up with her fiance, and ends up getting a job as associate producer at a television station. The show certainly set the tone for empowered female characters on television — characters who could take their lives into their own hands, and make something of them.

While the hallmark of 1970s American television remained the oh so perfect The Brady Bunch, by the latter half of the decade, yet another sensation was introduced — the female action hero. Series, like The Bionic woman (1976-1978) and Charlie’s Angels (1976-1981) were the pioneers in this genre. Charlie’s Angels was in fact one of the most successful series of the 1970s, and was singular at the time in showing women fighting crime in a man’s world. The show was basically based on the irresistible combination of guns, big hair, and make-up. It had an aggressive, yet definitive sexual enigma, with the angels using their beauty as much as their brains in solving crimes.

Come the 1980s, and television programming was increasingly being accused of the sexploitation of women on screen. Representative of this flashy and decadent television era, where most women were little else than sex objects, were the shows, Miami Vice, Dallas and Dynasty. Although hugely popular, these shows nevertheless relegated female characters to caricatures of bimbos and scheming glamour dolls.

A quiet revolution was all the while stirring in television though. While we had the sex symbols of the former shows, 1980s television also gave us the empowered and high profile career women of Murphy Brown in The Murphy Brown show (1988-1998), and Claire Huxtable of The Cosby Show (1984-1992).

Themes like divorce and identity were also being discussed in relation to independent female characters in shows like, Nine to Five (1982-1988) and Kate and Allie (1984-1989). While the former was about the lives of three single women trying to cope in the frantic rat race, the latter was about two divorcees finding comfort in each, and emerging as stronger women capable of handling both, their careers and their children.

The shows were moreover significant in promoting the theme of female solidarity. By the 1980s, female characters on television had evolved to a place where they could be single and content, if not yet quite happy.

The Golden Girls (1985-1992), however, was one show that took all these themes and cranked them up several notches. Often referred to as the ‘original’ Sex and the city, the show still retains iconic status as a comedy which portrayed women in an altogether new and positive light.

The programme defied pervasive conventions about sex and age and showed female characters, all over 50, having the time of their lives. Men, though important, were certainly not the be all and end all and the value of friendship was given the utmost importance.

Back in Pakistan, Haseena Moin led the brigade in writing spirited and independent minded female characters for television. Heroines in serials such as, Ankahi, Tanhiyan, and Dhoop Kinaray, all paved the way for possible future trends in Pakistani television, as far as the liveliness of female characters was concerned. Sadly though, this has not been the case, and if anything, female characters on Pakistani television in the 1990s seemed to regress to incredible proportions. Pakistani television in the 1990s included a slew of pathos ridden and feudalistic dramas, where women had little else to do, but shed tears or be victimized.

The west, during the 1990s, was meanwhile experiencing a revitalized liberation. The mantra of the decade was one of ‘equal opportunities and anything goes’. In the wake of this fresh new mindset, shows like, Grace under fire (1993-1998), Cybill (1995-1998), and Ellen (1994-1998), made small, yet significant impacts.

Grace under fire tackled themes of triumphing over domestic abuse and alcoholism and depicted its female protagonist excelling in a profession usually noted for its lack of female participation. Cybill was again about the humour and determination, with which the central character braves new challenges. The show set out to prove that life for women after 40 was anything but downhill.

Ellen was the controversial show which treaded the murky and none too frequented waters of homosexuality on television, by portraying its main character as gay. This was indeed a huge step for mainstream television. However, make what you will of the fact that not too long after Ellen realizes she’s gay, the show got cancelled... go figure.

Sex and sexual identity were issues openly shown on American television in the 1990s. None more so effectively, than in the prominent adult comedy, Sex and the city (1998-still running). Circling the lives of four single women over 30, living in New York and experiencing all that New York has to offer, the show is especially indicative of its times, in the way its female protagonists are portrayed.

The women in it seem to suggest that there is no such thing as Mr Right, or one true love and that men can even be dispensable. Again, what we witness here is a role reversal — where sexual aggressiveness, the domain of men, is now carried out and owned by women instead.

The 1990s television woman, therefore, appeared to exude a hard edged practicality, devoid of unnecessary sentiment. This is not too accurate a description of the Sex and the city ladies, as it is of, let’s say Dana Scully, of The X Files (1993-2002). Remember that it was her, the woman who was the cynic and not Mulder.

The 1990s also saw the re-emergence of the female action hero — a genre which had been dormant for nearly twenty years. Unlike the 1970s, when shows like The Bionic woman and Charlie’s Angels could not make as much impact on greater society, than they perhaps should have, shows of female empowerment in the 1990s finally managed to change the way in which female action heroes were viewed.

Millions of men and women not only watch these shows because of their sexy and sassy heroines, but more importantly, because of what they have to contribute and offer to the world. The one show that is most responsible for this revolution in television is Buffy the vampire slayer (1997-2003).

Quick, glib dialogue, dark humour, and Jackie Chan moves from a five foot blonde marked the show as something new in television history. It remains one of the most critically acclaimed shows of all time, has the most websites on the internet than for any other show, and actually has entire courses of study based around it.

Its creator’s idea was to produce an icon of feminist agenda. The basic idea behind the show was the empowerment of women and the toughness of life. It is interesting to note that the inspiration for the show came from the premise of so many horror flicks, in which over and over the girl walks into a dark alley and gets killed by a monster. What would happen if the girl actually fought back, and emerged victorious? The show explored this theme, and subsequently made the television world a better place for self sufficient and independent minded heroines of various ilk.

Female portrayals have come a long way, in that the success of Buffy gave rise to a wonderful new trend of delightful action heroines in the new millennium, who now find wholehearted mainstream acceptance from audiences all over. Shows like, Charmed (1998-still running) and Alias (2001-still running) are testament to this fact.

Meanwhile, the situation of Pakistani television in the new millennium appears to be gradually improving. A particular serial that comes to mind is Zaibunissa (2000). The serial refused to compromise on the basic rights of women, showing its central character finally walking out on her abusive, cheating husband and with enough dignity and courage to rebuild a new life on her own terms. Still, serials with positive and strong female portrayals are few and far between. Too often we still see nothing but glammed up dolls, spouting impossible dialogues, and offering nothing substantial or inspiring to the average female viewer.

Considering how influential television is, let’s hope female portrayals continue to evolve progressively, and with the times, so enjoying that lazy Sunday afternoon becomes all the more fulfilling.

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