Women Through Movies in the 'Fifties

‘Fifties society had been comprised of a sheer desire for security. The resulting fortification regarding traditional gender roles and family values brought about facades of protection for those who felt themselves defenseless against the threat of nuclear war. Soon, domesticity became key in the prosperity of suburbia throughout the United States, wherein movies were able to represent the conformity of sanctified domestic standards. In the movies watched in class, the three characters Deani, Nancy, and Lisa all represent the gender norms of the 1950s, all while battling various aspects brought on by the countercurrents of youth and sexual relations. America was able to further glorify domestic standards of the fifties.

As a teenager, Deanie’s character suffered through rapid, turnabout changes. Amiable and well liked, Wilma Dean from “Splendor in the Grass” first devotes herself to Bud Stamper’s happiness. At the beginning of the movie, Deanie decrees that she would do whatever he wished of her, simply because she loved him so much, and no matter what he asked she promised to obey. Due to her “love” for him, she promised to wait four years while Bud made the decision to attend Yale. Before she challenged the standards of society to become a flapper, she was ultimately wary of what the neighborhood thought of her, as she always had been. Sexual frustration soon led to her attempts at suicide, even though she had obeyed the oppressive societal standards of being pure until marriage. After all, Deanie’s mother had lectured her that nice girls don’t touch until they were married, and even then didn’t enjoy sex as its only purpose was procreation. From these niceties of meeting domestic standards to becoming a flapper, Deanie suffers through a change in her personality.

While Nancy’s personality doesn’t exactly change, her physical appearance surely does. At first glance, Nancy from “Attack of the 50-foot Woman” appears to be a crazy alcoholic. With her material needs far beyond met, Nancy never had to work or struggle to gain anything – which could arguably be a part of her mental issues to begin with. Although she lived in the lap of luxury, Harry was not meeting her emotional needs, even though she devoted herself to him. She soon came to realize that he did not love her, perhaps had never loved her, and was driven down into a severe state of depression. This misery caused by clinging and staying with the man after her money led to her alcoholism. Between the alcohol and her crumbling relationship, she lost credibility in the town she lived. When the sheriff and townspeople do not believe her, the only one she wanted to show the truth to had been Harry, trying to make him see she was not crazy. However, after her radiation poisoning, Nancy was driven mad from the coldness Harry showed her. As a giant, Nancy took her revenge upon the town, Honey, and Harry. Her transformation from a loved-confused woman to a fifty-foot “monster” marked the growing frustrations she had about her relationship.

Frustration continued to be a factor in the relationships of these women. Lisa Fremont from “Rear Window” resides as a wealthy woman in the high tides of fashion. No matter what the cost, she has the talent to attain whatever object she desires nearly instantaneously, such as a new outfit everyday. Having this capacity of wealth makes the stagnation of Lisa and Jeff’s relationship all the more frustrating for her, especially when the viewer realizes Jeff is as stubborn about his opinion as Lisa is about hers. When Jeffrey remains condemned in his apartment with a broken leg, Ms. Fremont first attempted to make his life the most comfortable and romantic as it could be before his cast was removed. Unfortunately, to please Jeff she would need to head out of her bailiwick, especially when he started to ignore her advances. By the end of the movie, Lisa has learned how to please Jeff through subjugating her own happiness. Though some actions seemed small compared to breaking into Mr. Tulford’s apartment, putting down Beyond the High Himalayas to pick up her Bazaar magazine actively shows the little changes she starts making for her lover. Suppressing one’s happiness for their man was common for women of the era.

Each of these women represents the common conformist themes regarding gender roles in the fifties. Most prominent of these themes was women staying home and taking care of the children, wherein they were supposed to deal with the issues of home life with a smile and undying love to the only man in her life: her husband. Each of the women showed also their devotion to only one man in their lives. Deanie loved Bud before she was pushed too far over the edge, Nancy needed Harry to continue surviving, and Lisa wanted to marry Jeff not matter what he argued. At the time, nice girls can only love one man and one man alone, even if he cheats on them. This obsessive love that these women felt sometimes made them irrational, to the point of double homicide and suicide. Love such as this echoed the ideal that a woman should devote herself to one man for eternity, and shouldn’t lust after him. No character questioned her roles as a lover or housewife, the woman simply conformed to the ideals of her society.

Women reveal the merciless gender standards of ‘fifties society. The anxiety of the era was exemplified in movies regarding women. Deanie suffered from sexual frustration that led to eventual insanity. Nancy was an alcoholic who wanted love. Lisa simply wanted marriage. All three devoted themselves to one man, sometimes pushing him away and sometimes bringing him closer. In the end, they all loved, no matter how twisted it became.