| 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 |  |
Knocked Up.
Say, for argument’s sake, that you’re a behind-the-scenes entertainment journalist who’s given the rare opportunity to become an on-camera correspondent. You’re thrilled, of course, and pretend that the "suggestion" from the network brass that you drop 20 pounds (even though you’re already a stick) never really happened. You go out to celebrate. However your beer goggles get the best of you. And you go home with a stoner of an unemployed dude and get a little frisky. Okay, a lot frisky. more
The Working Mother as First Lady.
Four years have made little difference. Heck, 15 years haven't made a difference either. more
Working Mom TV Storylines: End of Season Wrap Up.
When the 2006-2007 television season began, there were plenty of reasons to celebrate. Storylines on several TV shows ("Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "Medium," "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "What About Brian" and "Brothers & Sisters") prominently featured working mothers. Throughout the season, fictional moms seemed to be on a roll.
Pregnant President at Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Nearly every time viewers saw Amanda Peet's character, Jordan McDeere, during last night's fresh episode of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," she had her mouth full of food. Not a dainty little bite, like one might expect to see from a super-skinny, type-A woman. But huge, heapin' loads o' food. It made perfect sense. For someone who's 12 weeks pregnant. As Jordan's character was. (Peet's pregnant in real life too, though I don't know how far along.) And it was so refreshing to see on television.
Grey's Anatomy: Doctor Mom
I was named chief resident. Plus . . . we decided to have a baby.
Opting In.
New York Times writer Lisa Belkin ignited a firestorm in October 2003 with her piece "The Opt-Out Revolution," about high-achieving career women who left their careers to be at-home parents. This past week, Belkin was back, touting a bookend to her controversial article.
Modern Moms on the Big Screen This Summer.
Summer movies.
The phrase brings to mind blockbusters, superheroes and epics. But this summer there are several films – mostly small flicks – that will feature or at least include, modern moms in their storylines. So get your gigantic tub of popcorn, your inhumanly huge bucket of Diet Pepsi and too-large-for-human-consumption box of Skittles. Here’s a peek at some of the new and upcoming summer releases destined for a theater near you: more
The phrase brings to mind blockbusters, superheroes and epics. But this summer there are several films – mostly small flicks – that will feature or at least include, modern moms in their storylines. So get your gigantic tub of popcorn, your inhumanly huge bucket of Diet Pepsi and too-large-for-human-consumption box of Skittles. Here’s a peek at some of the new and upcoming summer releases destined for a theater near you: more
Grey's Anatomy: Addison a Working Mom?
At first blush, the recent episode of "Grey’s Anatomy" (that two-hour extravaganza) seemed like it was expressing a retro kind of sentiment, as clichéd as the tired image of a cold, hard-charging, feminist, career woman who’s all sharp edges and attitude and blithely muses, "Oops! I was so busy working that I forgot to have kids." more
Put Your Money Where Your Sisterhood Is.
While reading the New York Times’ Arts section over the past week, two messages came across loud and clear: Mothers don’t read books about motherhood and, as the number of powerful women in Hollywood drops, the future for women-driven films is dim. more
