| 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 |  |
90210 Redo: The Adult Storylines.
It would be too easy to use their own words against them: “This sucks.” Those were the first two words uttered on the newly-retooled, updated version of Beverly Hills 90210, now truncated to just the zip code, 90210. And many of the professional TV critics echoed that sentiment. more
McCain & The Working Mom.
What drew my attention was not the first-term, 44-year-old Alaska governor who was standing at the podium proudly accepting the invitation to join a presidential ticket. My eyes were instead focused on a woman in the crowd. more
Michelle As First Lady: General Election Edition
They both did well in fulfilling their ascribed duties. One was supposed to explain why her husband and the family they’ve made together are just like everybody else’s, as American as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a plate of mac-n-cheese. The other was supposed to explain why her party’s latest change agent is the guy who deserves your vote. more
Tori & Dean.
When I received gentle nudging from my editor to write about one of her favorite shows, Oxygen network’s Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, I joked that in order to get through this mission -- watching 10, hour-long episodes of the show -- I’d need some major margarita action. At the very least. more
Moms Seeking Medals.
I know that I’m supposed to be inspired when I watch athletes from across the globe who are currently competing in the Beijing Olympics. And, this year, there have been occasions when I genuinely have been inspired, such as during the Opening Ceremonies. more
The Women of Mad Men.
When season one of Mad Men, the critical darling of a cultural time capsule concluded last year, the melancholy, all-American suburban mother/Grace-Kelly-doppelganger Betty Draper was coming to grips with her husband Don’s infidelities as well as the loss of what she had hoped would be the resurrection of her big city modeling career from which she retired after getting married. more
thirtysomething Stalker.
A while ago I bemoaned in this very space how very much I missed thirtysomething, the mid-1980s drama that is tragically unavailable on DVD and hasn’t aired on TV in many years. The TV series started as I commenced my college days and I’d never had a chance to watch it through a mother’s eyes. more
Moms: Celebrated & Snubbed by the Emmy Awards.
For some, watching a Hollywood awards show is akin to watching the NCAA basketball tournament. There are odds involved and favorites for whom you’re pulling for a variety of reasons. The winners wind up basking in the media spotlight, at least for a day or two. more
The Lives of Army Wives.
My initial feeling when I sat down to watch the freshman season of Army Wives on DVD and the new episodes from its now-airing second season on Lifetime was one of guilt. I’ll admit that as much as I love news and politics, I don’t frequently think about the lives of the family members who sacrifice their husbands, wives, fathers, mothers and siblings to the armed services in this time of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. more
Scarlet Letter.
Joseph Burkett. Casey Aldridge. Gloucester High School boys. Arthur Dimmesdale. Do those names ring any bells? Think . . . where have you heard them before? Perhaps these names will help: Lara Logan, Jamie Lynn Spears, Gloucester High girls and Hester Prynne. more
