Feminist View

My curiosity behind the appealingness of That 70s Show became prominent when I first decided to invest myself into starting the beloved sitcom. The show incorporates the progression of opinions during the 1970s and has a strong political charge attached to it. The show circles around a male teenager, Eric Forman, and his group of friends going about their day-to-day lives. While most of the episodes revolve around the theme of a group of teenagers trying to avoid getting in trouble by their parents, the show addresses deeper themes of the 70s time period. The cast is centered upon Eric, the son in a nuclear family, which consists of his dad Red, his mom Kitty, and his sister Laurie. As the name implies, this show reflects on the 70’s time period when many women were still under the control of their husbands. It is filled with humor to show the incongruities that existed between men’s and women’s roles during this time period and is an attempted method to address problems within society during this time. Hartnett states in her research paper, “Injustices towards women, like those that actually occurred during the 1970s, are portrayed in That 70s Show as jokes.” The show uses dark humor to become more buoyant in order to cover up the faults of the past. The comedic aspect also overpowers the political turbulence as well as the social challenges mostly affecting women, which is shown during and in-between laughs. The structural problems during the time period are also exposed in the show as the families dealt with drug issues, divorces, and lack of financial stability. Women during this time period became more independent and far more empowered as shown by Midge and her daughter Donna. At the same time, a lot of women were still stuck in the societal trap. For example, Kitty was often portrayed as more inclined to only be a mother, and care for her family while placing her children and husband’s needs in front of hers. On the other hand, the parental men in the show represent the issues of this time period as they often do not agree with the changing of gender and social norms and often object to the idea of women’s rights and empowerment. In addition, they do not believe in women being able to have their own job as it would give them power to leave their husbands. Instead, they find satisfaction in providing for their wives as a form of control over them. This differs from their children’s perspectives as they are more free-spirited and less concerned with negative consequences especially revolving around drugs and sex. In nearly every episode the group of teenagers are pictured smoking marijuana in Eric’s basement where they hang out regularly. Although the teens oppose their parents, they still resemble the major gender stereotypes of the 1970s. The show truly exploits the sad reality of women during the 70s.