Feminism and the media - Target Audience

During the time of the feminist movement the media had to adapt to the changes. Women began to be portrayed in a different way, stronger and more dominant, to satisfy a larger target market. Before the movement many media like movies and television programs were used to encourage women to stay in their “rightful”gender roles. The government had a large influence on this as back then women and their families were the main audience. Shows like the Brady Bunch portrayed the female characters as being weak and better off in the home. Such characters were used in the hope of being role models for house wives.

 

-          The first 30 seconds of the clip it quickly shows that the mother has to deal with the children’s problems and the father cannot be disturbed whilst playing golf. The children look to the father as having more power to sort out the issue. 

With the changes, and in most households, in society today the mother is seen as being the dominant parent.  Although Norman's mother controlled his life, there was no balance of a male role model.  This is in contrast to how Marion was portrayed.