In the recent video we watched for Race, Gender and the Media, it focused on how the media has portrayed different races and gender throughout television history. Through shows such as I Love Lucy, the media portrayed Ricky Ricardo as a mean husband who always found fault in his wife, Lucy. But I must say, the comedy in I Love Lucy is great, even if they portray Ricky as a mean husband and Lucy as the generic housewife who always gets into trouble.
Although television still plays old shows like I Love Lucy, the media has evolved from portraying females as housewives to extraordinary women who find jobs in the corporate world. Such as the show, Sex and the City. Carrie Bradshaw is a renowned writer for a small newspaper in NY who makes a decent living and can afford her fabulous lifestyle. Far from the female role, Lucille Ball played in I Love Lucy.
Though people may find I Love Lucy humorous, times have changed. Women don't play the ordinary housewife role anymore, and to even think that the media would put women in such a bad light as only being able to be a housewife, they should be ashamed of themselves.
Women nowadays are capable of picking the lifestyle they choose, but the media still hits the nail on the head when they place beauty as the number one priority for women. Through make up ads and clothing ads directed towards women, they have caused an outburst of teenagers who think they have to look a certain way and act a certain way all of the time.
I guess the times haven't really changed, they've just placed different ideals into the media for women to catch on to. Back when I Love Lucy aired, it was common for women to be the housewife who take care of the kids. In our modern era, women are now shown as sex symbols and that beauty will get you far. But I really don't believe beauty should be the main priority of women, but because the media has placed such a demand that a woman must put so much effort into their already busy schedules, women believe that without beauty they will not find a husband or a job.
In the end, we're the one's who make our decisions, but when the media is throwing ideas out such as these, how are we supposed to do our own thing if everyone else expects a certain image?
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