| 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 |  |
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
Sarah Palin: Rogue, not Rouge.
As I waded through the chapters of Sarah Palin’s life in her new book, Going Rogue, I couldn’t help but think of another high-profile political woman whose
personal life, offspring, career accomplishments and body has been
ripped to shreds by haters: Hillary Clinton. more
It's the End of the World.
Get the feeling that people are a little on edge these days? No, I’m not talking about the epidemic of swine flu, the lousy economy, the fate of the mega-health insurance reform bill, horrific shooting incidents, or whether more U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan. more
In the Time of Swine Flu, What’s a Parent to Do?
One of my children was recently diagnosed with swine flu and missed a week of school. That’s just the icing on the cake as far as sickness and kids go in my house these days. Between my swine flu kid (who’s one half of an 11-year-old set of twins), and my 8-year-old, at least one child has been out of school due to a cold or some kind of health ailment during almost every week of this young school year. more
