As the norms of marriage and divorce have changed over the decades, so has the portrayal of them on television, most recently on shows like George & Tammy, Best Things and Divorce.
On January 26, 1992, Hillary Clinton gave an interview to 60 Minutes. Cabaret singer Jennifer Flowers recently opened up to the tabloids about her longtime relationship with then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. Sitting on the couch next to her husband, Hillary was dressed in a blazer and hijab, and her prim appearance was indicative of her independence.
“I’m not a little woman sitting here, standing next to my man like Tammy Wynette,” she told the interviewer.
As she put it in an open letter, Wynette was a country music legend at the time with a streak of #1 hits, and she was furious. “Mrs. Clinton, you insult every woman and man who loves this song,” she wrote. “I believe you have offended every true country music fan and every ‘independent’ person.”
Of course, this is a big irony. Clinton is literally standing next to her man on this cream couch. She still stood aside. Despite what her letter might suggest, Wynette came to Nashville as a single mother and got two divorces and one, but didn’t.
Wynette’s history — musical, marital — is revived in “George & Tammy,” a limited series, airing on Showtime, which stars Jessica Chastain as Wynette and Michael Shannon as her third husband, the country star George Jones. Wynette’s history – musical, marital – is revived in “George & Tammy,” a limited series, airing on Showtime, which stars Jessica Chastain as Wynette and Michael Shannon as her third husband, the country star George Jones. Wynette’s story—musical, marital—is resurrected in the George & Tammy limited series on Showtime, starring Jessica Chastain as Wynette and Michael Shannon as her third husband, country music star George Jones. Wynette’s story – the musical, the marriage – resurfaces in the Showtime limited series George & Tammy, which stars Jessica Chastain as Wynette and Michael Shannon as her third husband, country music star George Jones. In its nuanced depiction of marriage and divorce, “George & Tammy” is one of several recent shows — the HBO remake of “Scenes From a Marriage,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” “Better Things,” “The Split” — rethinking and complicating the representation of how a marriage ends and what might come after. In its nuanced depiction of marriage and divorce, “George & Tammy” is one of several recent shows — the HBO remake of “Scenes From a Marriage,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” “Better Things,” “The Split” — rethinking and complicating the representation of how a marriage ends and what might come after. In its subtle portrayal of marriage and divorce, George & Tammy is one of several recent shows – HBO’s remake of Scenes from a Marriage, Fleischman in Trouble, Better Things, Split – reimagining and complicating the notion that how marriage ends and what can happen after. In its subtle portrayal of marriage and divorce, George & Tammy is one of several recent shows – HBO’s remake of The Marriage Scene, Fleischman in Trouble, Better Things, Split – reimagining and complicating the idea of how it ended. marriage and what can happen after it.
“It’s interesting every time we change the way a family looks,” Abbie Morgan said of her screenplay, Split, about a family of divorced lawyers in London, which was published in a three-season issue that ended earlier this year. year. “Because then we can reveal our ideals.”
The first divorced protagonist to appear on a scripted TV show was probably Vivian Bagley in “Vivian Vance” on The Lucy Show, which premiered in 1962 (The Lucy Show). The source material for the show, Irene Campin’s novel Life Without George, centers on two divorced women, but despite this—despite Ball’s real-life relationship with Desi Arnaz having diverged—her character was portrayed as a widow, which was thought to was to evoke more sympathy. Carol Brady of The Brady Family may have been divorced, but the show began in 1969, the same year that California accepted legal divorce, and her identity was never explicitly mentioned. The Mary Tyler Moore Show star Mary Richards was originally advertised as divorced, but the network insists the engagement has ended.
However, as the women’s liberation movement expanded and divorce rates rose, divorced women became more common both on and off the screen, and creators sought to explore the narrative potential and socio-economic consequences of divorce. “Television in the 19-70s was very interested in exploring social issues,” said Ann Burke, author of The Best of Their Own Writing: Women Writers in Post-War Television. “Divorce is a social problem.”
Why are there so few divorced male protagonists, with the exception of the sad and impoverished protagonist in A Strange Flowers Story? Perhaps because divorce meant lower financial barriers for the male characters, who presumably were already working and enjoying life away from home for a long time. The possibility of new impressions is reduced to a minimum.
In addition, divorced men are often perceived as lacking empathy. (Want sympathy? Write about a widower.) If a woman is taught to want marriage, the conventional wisdom is that the wife must have good reasons for leaving the marriage. And if the marriage ends for her, then she seems to deserve more sympathy. Male emancipation had fewer social consequences.
In the 70s and early 80s, divorced and divorced women were the subject of numerous sitcoms such as One Day at a Time, That’s Life, Alice, Maude, and Rhoda. -off “Mary Tyler Moore”. In these shows focusing on working- and middle-class urban women, divorce is often an economic and social harm that the heroine, heroine, or partner endures courageously.
In the early 2000s, a new type of divorced woman emerged. From “Charlotte” in “Sex and the City” (premiered in 1998) to “We Got Married” (2007-2008) and “The Girl’s Guide to Divorce” (2014-18), the portrayal of divorce has become more glamorous and privileged. is a major plot point, the breakup gives the women an opportunity to rediscover themselves, though their release is often limited to luxurious lifestyle choices and finding new partners. This suggests that women are not only divorcing their spouses, but also with broader political issues. (One key show: The Design of Women, which ended in 1993, featured one divorced character, Annie Potts’ Mary Jo, who was heavily invested in women’s liberation, and another, Delta Burke’s Suzanne, who wasn’t.)
Suzanne Leonard, professor of English at Simmons University and author of Company of Wives: The Business of Marriage in the 21st Century, sees such shows as examples of post-feminism or “choice feminism,” which is an ideology in which any woman does is seen as potentially expanding rights and opportunities. “During the second wave of feminism, there was a lot of talk about the financial implications of divorce,” she said. “And those consequences are really hushed up.”
This emphasis on the woman’s personal liberation has continued in shows such as The Amazing Mrs. Maisel, whose character became a comedian after a breakup, Grace and Frankie, about life after a divorce from her husband, an extended curse, and Good Afternoon. The Wife, in which the politician’s wife thrives after her marriage falls apart (and exposes her own dubious ethics).
But over the past five years, more and more shows have begun to explore the side of the divorce process. (Male liberation? Your time has come.) Sharon Hogan (“Catastrophe”) created Divorce, which aired on HBO from 2016 to 2019 while her own marriage was still alive. But even so, she was determined to show both sides of the divide. In a recent phone interview, she said she was interested in “exploring the trigger in terms of who you root for or worse off and which characters would like to return.”
“Divorce” and its contemporaries – “Fleishman in Trouble”, “Love”, “Scenes from a Married Life” – show that divorce does not have to be a disaster or a relief. (The New Adventures of Old Christina, whose heroine was as confused before her divorce as she was after, was a controversial predecessor.) Divorce, these shows argue, will solve some problems, but not necessarily others. rarely means the final end of a relationship, especially when it comes to children.
“This is the secret that no one will say: Once you love a person, you don’t stop loving them,” Abe Sylvia, the creator of “George & Tammy” said. “This is the secret that no one will say: Once you love a person, you don’t stop loving them,” Abe Sylvia, the creator of “George & Tammy” said. “It’s a secret no one will tell: if you love a person, you won’t stop loving them,” said Abe Sylvia, creator of George and Tammy. “这是没有人会说的秘密：一旦你爱一个人，你就不会停止爱他们，”“George & Tammy”的创作者Abe Sylvia 说。 “这是没有人会说的秘密：一旦你爱一个人，你就不会停止爱他们，”“George & Tammy”的创作者Abe Sylvia 说。 “Here’s a secret no one ever reveals: once you love someone, you never stop loving them,” says George & Tammy creator Abe Sylvia. “You can have a lot of anger and rage, but it all comes from a communication core that is actually blocked.”
“George & Tammy” depicts divorce as necessary, a consequence of George’s alcoholism. “George & Tammy” depicts divorce as necessary, a consequence of George’s alcoholism. “George and Tammy” portrays divorce as a necessary consequence of George’s alcoholism. “George & Tammy”将离婚描述为必要的，这是乔治酗酒的结果。 George & Tammy “George and Tammy” portrays divorce as a necessary outcome of George’s alcoholism. But the decree did not sever the bonds between the two, which were now and then intertwined both personally and professionally. Divorce doesn’t free Tammy. Her subsequent marriage to songwriter and producer George Rich (Steve Zahn) has been described as the worst. The same issues that plagued Tammy before her divorce — a heavy work ethic that eventually took a toll on her health and her intense attachment — stayed with her.
“Do people find this power in the third act? I think it’s a lie,” says Sylvia. “We all always carry the baggage of all our relationships. George and Tammy are honest about it.”
Divorce rates have declined in recent years, in part because the number of marriages has also declined. (According to the latest census, 5.1 out of every 1,000 Americans are married and 2.3 are divorced.) At the same time, some corners of the culture seem to feel that traditional family structures need to be saved—TikTok, for example, promotes life Video or Republican Rhetoric Condemning No-Fault Divorce Divorce, however, may provide an opportunity to rethink these structures in a healthy way, as it does.
“There are many ways to start a family,” Ona Gulanik, a psychoanalyst and star of the Showtime improv series Couples Therapy, said in a recent phone interview. “Husband and wife in a certain marriage is just an option.”
Some of the earlier shows offered alternative family structures. In The Golden Girls, which began in 1985, Dorothy’s divorce from Stan leads to her new living arrangements. “Kate & Allie,” which began the year before, presents a beautiful fantasy in which two divorced women and their kids are able to share an entire West Village brownstone. “Kate & Allie,” which began the year before, presents a beautiful fantasy in which two divorced women and their kids are able to share an entire West Village brownstone. Kate and Ellie, which began a year earlier, is a beautiful fantasy in which two divorced women and their children share an entire West Village brownstone house. Kate & Ally, which premiered last year, is a beautiful fantasy in which two divorced women and their children share an entire West Village brownstone house. More recently in Better Things and Split, divorced women can lead rich and meaningful lives without having to seek new partners.
In Better Things, which concluded earlier this year, Pamela Adlon plays Sam, a single mother and professional actress whose background matches Adlon’s own. With three growing daughters, a dynamic group of friends, and a mother across the street, Sam’s life is just too busy.
Leading up to the show’s third season, she remembers answering questions from the media about who Sam might be paired with, further strengthening Adlon’s determination to leave Sam single. “It was then that I realized how important it is to stay on track and reflect on my own life and the lives of many other women who have never rebuilt their families,” she said.
This is certainly one of the greatest gifts of television – the ability to reflect our own life to us, opening up the possibility for a new one. For example, the ending of “The Split” emphasized the relationship between Hannah Nicole Walker and her family rather than pushing her towards a new partner.
Morgan filmed two endings, one of which hinted at a romantic future for Hannah. “But actually, when I saw it, I was blown away,” she said. “I think of all my friends who have gone through divorce, and for some reason I repeat the phrase: “You are not perfect until you have a new relationship.”
Morgan is not against love, she explained, and not against marriage. She was with her husband, writer Jacob Krichefsky, for 22 years. But she believes in other forms of love, partnership and family.
“People always want a happy ending,” she said. “We’re just changing the idea of what a happy ending is.”