Mildred Pierce, Pleasantville, and On the Beach

             Women's roles in American society have been changing since America was founded, but some of the most profound changes have taken place between the 1950's and present day. The films Mildred Pierce, Pleasantville, and Breakfast at Tiffany's all deal with these changes that women have made. In the 50's, women were "supposed" to be housewives and weren't expected to work outside of the house. Many women were also thought of as property of men in the 50's and had very little individuality because of this. As the years past, women attempted to break this mold and women have changed countless amounts since the 1950's. The women of today and the women of the 50's have many similarities, but the women of the 50's struggled to define women and built today's women from scratch.
             The early 1950's in America had a strange idea for women, the film Mildred Pierce deals with these ideas. Mildred is a housewife, who wants to become independent and make something of her life. She leaves her husband to pursue a career of her own. Mildred finds that Americans in that time don't have much respect for an independent woman. Mildred has a business idea and gets two men to fund her idea. Her business is very successful, but she is funded, Mildred isn't really independent. The film portrays Mildred this way to show the attitude of American's in the 1950's. Mildred's business becomes very wealthy, but her investors, who are men, sell her out and she loses everything. The film had a very negative attitude towards women and tries to portray them as nothing but housewives. After Mildred's business is sold, she is bankrupt and isn't sure what to do. Mildred's desire is crushed and she considers returning to her husband and living with America's "role" for women!
             . Mildred Pierce is the beginning of women's changing ro
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Mildred Pierce, Pleasantville, and On the Beach . (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 10:59, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/68037.html