Mrs America review: A smart tale of an anti-feminist icon
4 years, 9 months ago

Mrs America review: A smart tale of an anti-feminist icon

BBC  

Mrs America review: A smart tale of an anti-feminist icon FX/Hulu This star-studded biopic of leading conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly sees Cate Blanchett shine in a role that requires her to become progressively meaner, writes Caryn James. If Mrs America were landing in more normal times, it would instantly seem potent, delivering a resonant message: women’s rights and other issues surrounding the ERA are still unresolved. FX/Hulu The team of pioneering feminists battling for the Equal Rights Amendment includes Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan The series’ structure works brilliantly. Tracey Ullman creates a nuanced portrait of the headstrong Betty Friedan, author of the groundbreaking book The Feminine Mystique Blanchett subtly allows Schlafly to become harder and meaner as she becomes more powerful and power-hungry.

Women Rights Congress America Series Era Rose Byrne Gloria Steinem Friedan Tracey Ullman Schlafly Mrs America Betty Friedan  schlafly  antifeminist  smart  america  rights  icon  schlaflys  gloria  steinem  friedan  series  review  women  era  mrs  tale

History of this topic

Column: Why this former Ms. staffer says ‘Mrs. America’ may be bravest show in history of TV
4 years, 7 months ago

Column: Why this former Ms. staffer says ‘Mrs. America’ may be bravest show in history of TV

LA Times  

America” is quite possibly the bravest show in the history of television. And for many years, the ongoing popularity of Steinem notwithstanding, even liberal women have shied away from the word “feminist,” except perhaps to use it in the now famous phrase: “I’m not a feminist, but.” Because feminists are too radical, too humorless or, in the words of a …

"The patriarchy will not shift": Cate Blanchett and Uzo Aduba discuss the "Mrs. America" gut punch
4 years, 7 months ago

"The patriarchy will not shift": Cate Blanchett and Uzo Aduba discuss the "Mrs. America" gut punch

Salon  

Prior to playing conservative firebrand Phyllis Schlafly, the poster model for FX on Hulu's "Mrs. America," Cate Blanchett admitted that she knew absolutely nothing about her. In the five weeks since its debut, "Mrs. America" has stoked discussions on multiple fronts about a woman's role in the home, in politics, and in the world in general. All the while, series …

‘Mrs. America’ review: Cate Blanchett is sublime in this compelling look at the battle for women’s rights
4 years, 8 months ago

‘Mrs. America’ review: Cate Blanchett is sublime in this compelling look at the battle for women’s rights

The Hindu  

From its onset, the events that make up Mrs. America, Hotstar’s new political miniseries, seem very familiar. “Who the hell is Phyllis Schafly?” asks feminist writer Betty Friedan at one point, and that remark captures the flippancy with which the “libbers” initially treats the conservative activist’s “STOP ERA” movement. Mrs. America Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, …

Cate Blanchett deserves better than ‘Mrs. America’
4 years, 8 months ago

Cate Blanchett deserves better than ‘Mrs. America’

Live Mint  

No one likes feminists,” a lawyer says, dismissively, on the new historical drama Mrs. America, streaming in India on Disney + Hotstar Premium. “They’re no fun.” As she says this, we cut from their stuffily elegant home to a woman wearing iconically tinted aviator sunglasses and addressing the press about her new magazine, which they believe has an “octopus lady” …

What 'Mrs. America' get right and wrong about Phyllis Schlafly
4 years, 8 months ago

What 'Mrs. America' get right and wrong about Phyllis Schlafly

LA Times  

If you’ve watched any of “Mrs. “Overall, they have done a very good job,” said historian Marjorie Spruill, author of “Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values That Polarized America.” In episode one, it’s 1971: The women’s movement, led by the newly formed National Women’s Political Caucus, is ascendant and the Equal Rights Amendment looks like …

What 'Mrs. America' gets right and wrong about Gloria Steinem
4 years, 8 months ago

What 'Mrs. America' gets right and wrong about Gloria Steinem

LA Times  

If you’ve watched any of “Mrs. “Overall, they have done a very good job,” said historian Marjorie Spruill, author of “Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values That Polarized American Politics.” In Episode 2, Steinem launches Ms. magazine and faces criticism from within the feminist movement — particularly the prickly Friedan — as well as its …

Women of 'Mrs. America' in their words: Phyllis Schlafly, more
4 years, 8 months ago

Women of 'Mrs. America' in their words: Phyllis Schlafly, more

LA Times  

Second Wave feminism is finally getting the prestige-TV treatment with “Mrs. But I’m just a happy, even-tempered person and I don’t let an obnoxious crowd ruin my day.” —Schlafly to Sally Quinn, Los Angeles Times The woman Newsweek once called “the first lady of anti-feminism” was far from the unassuming housewife lionized in her political rhetoric: Before Schlafly turned her …

FX’s Mrs. America is a vast, complicated look at the history of American feminism and the defeat of the ERA.
4 years, 8 months ago

FX’s Mrs. America is a vast, complicated look at the history of American feminism and the defeat of the ERA.

Slate  

Mrs. America, FX’s new drama about the real-life battle to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, begins before there even is a battle. Mrs. America trains its other eye on the sprawling women’s movement itself, closely following boldface second wave names like Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan. As successful as Mrs. America is, with the women’s movement …

How ‘the most liberated woman in America’ became TV’s next great antihero
4 years, 8 months ago

How ‘the most liberated woman in America’ became TV’s next great antihero

LA Times  

If your knowledge of 20th century American history comes from pop culture, chances are you know next to nothing about Second Wave feminism. “There’s no point in delving into this period unless it’s going to reveal something about where we are now,” says Blanchett, who is making her first appearance in an American television series with “Mrs. America.” She’d read …

In "Mrs. America," Cate Blanchett shines as a frigid firebrand who challenges the feminist movement
4 years, 8 months ago

In "Mrs. America," Cate Blanchett shines as a frigid firebrand who challenges the feminist movement

Salon  

This was supposed to be the Year of the Woman... again. With such a cast working out the struggle to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and illustrating the role women played in both fighting the rise of right-wing religious conservatives and, for Schlafly's part, buckling it in for the long ride, "Mrs. America" is a giant-karat TV project designed to …

‘Mrs. America’ review: Cate Blanchett shines in a fascinating look at the battle for women’s rights
4 years, 8 months ago

‘Mrs. America’ review: Cate Blanchett shines in a fascinating look at the battle for women’s rights

CNN  

CNN — Despite looking back to the 1970s battle over the Equal Rights Amendment, “Mrs. Cate Blanchett heads a sensational cast as conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, in a limited series – premiering on Hulu, but produced sibling network FX – that’s among the very best of both. On one side, there’s Schlafly, an expert on Cold War-era strategic concerns regarding …

Mrs America: First look of Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem from FX series released
5 years, 5 months ago

Mrs America: First look of Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem from FX series released

Firstpost  

The first look of all characters in upcoming FX series Mrs America were recently unveiled. The series stars Cate Blanchett as conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly in her first major US TV project. According to Entertainment Tonight, other cast members include James Marsden as Republican politician Philip Crane, John Slattery as Phyllis’ husband Fred, and Elizabeth Banks as White House assistant, …

Discover Related