| Do you pay attention to how the mom characters are portrayed on your favorite TV shows? Loathe the so-called "mommy wars" on which the news media love to focus? Each week, Meredith O'Brien's Working Moms in Pop Culture & Politics column provides a reality check on how TV shows, movies, and the media depict moms. A longtime journalist and mother of three, Meredith O'Brien formerly taught journalism at the University of Massachusetts, is the author of A Suburban Mom: Notes from the Asylum and writes the Picket Fence Post blog for GateHouse Media. Follow Meredith on Twitter: @MeredithOBrien |  |
Staying at Home the Modern Family Way.
I recently wrote in this space about how much I admire the freshman ABC comedy Modern Family, called it “off-kilter,” but in a good and witty way. Now I’ve found yet another reason to extol its virtues: Its writers were somehow able to address a woman’s insecurities about being an at-home mom without getting all preachy and super-serious. more
Ageless thirtysomething.
“Just getting through counts for something, doesn’t it?” -- Hope Steadman more
Politics and Family.
Politics have dominated the news during the past week, what with the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts ending in what major news outlets called an “epic upset” with the Republican defeating the Democrat. The media, excited by the Senate race then shined a tabloid spotlight onto Senator-elect Scott Brown’s family, while the gossip-filled 2008 presidential campaign expose Game Change, which took several potshots at candidates’ spouses, rocketed to the top of best seller’s lists. more
Game Changing Female Villains.
“Nothing you’ve experienced has prepared you for this, how ugly it can be.” -- McCain aide to GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin about presidential campaigns. more
Mid-Season Series Kick-Off.
The kick-off of the fall TV season gets all the glory, what with it coinciding with the start of a new school year, new football season, radiant autumn leaves and all of that. But over the past few years, network execs have challenged the traditional TV season formula, opting instead to launch some high-profile programs in January, February and March more
It's Complicated, or is it?
The weekend after Christmas, my best friend from college – who’s been married nearly as long as I have and who also has three kids around the same ages as my trio – went to see It’s Complicated, the comedy starring the Golden Globe-nominated Meryl Streep, and which snagged two other nominations for best comedy and best screenplay. more
Golden Women for the Globes.
When the Golden Globe award nominations were announced, after I looked to make sure my favorite TV show -- Mad Men -- got sufficient props, I scrutinized the list of female nominees to discern if this would be a year when women on small screens and big would be honored for their portrayals of women’s lives more
The Guys' Turn.
Dudes . . . did you know that thirtysomething and fortysomething dads don’t have it all that easy these days? The Desperate Housewives, The Good Wife and the divorced mom from The New Adventures of Old Christine aren’t the only ones being depicted on TV right now who are having mid-life angst issues? more
Discrimination Isn't Funny.
If you’ve tuned in to Desperate Housewives lately you’ve likely noticed that pregnancy discrimination has been played for laughs these days. Seriously. more
New Age Romeo & Juliet.
Boil it down to its very essence and it comes to this: The Twilight series is a tale of angst-ridden young love which makes the lovers feel as though they would absolutely, literally perish without the other. more
