Bryan Forbes The Stepford Wives Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Bryan Forbes The Stepford Wives - Movie Review Example The TV show Desperate Housewives clearly references the film in its depiction of one of the main characters, Bree Van De Kamp, due to her 1970s-era standard of wifely and motherly perfection. But while the novelty of the concept of wives being turned into robotic versions of themselves may be exactly what is needed to affirm the 1970s genre of horror cinema-as evidenced by Carrie, The Exorcist, The Omen, and many others-the social implications of the film were not always welcomed by concerned parties. In particular, the undeniable strengthening of the feminist movement in America in the 1980s that gave women even louder voices in societal issues did not find much significance in The Stepford Wives, despite the clear commentary on the prevalent patriarchal norms being followed by general American societies. The analysis then would be centered on this issue, from the communication of female-related concepts and the subsequent interpretation made; the statement about women, after all, is much more pronounced in this text than in the author's previous work, Rosemary's Baby. The film is quite curious from the very beginning, with the ominous perfection of a scene showing a young couple, Joanna and Walter, moving their family from busy, noisy New York City to the peaceful suburb of Stepford. As many horror stories would have it, the idyllic situation slowly starts changing, mainly due to the peculiar behavior of some of the wives in the community. They were strange in their demeanor and ideals, akin to TV portrayals of perfect mothers and wives who spent all their time cooking and cleaning with nary a hair out of place. Subsequently, the transformation of Joanna's friend Bobbie and Joanna herself reveals how the community is controlled by the men, who apparently discard their wives for mechanical look-alikes that would function exactly as expected. But the image created by the film with regard to the epitome of womanhood-specifically in women's roles in the home, such as cooking, cleaning, and maintaining an appearance that conforms to standards promoted by media-is largely within the stereotype of the Caucasian female married to a Caucasian man of stable economic means, enough to provide for a home equipped with the necessary elements that would allow for the keeping up of the image. Children would not be more than two, and are well-dressed and well-behaved. Husbands would leave home and return at very specific times, during which the wife must be ready to attend to his every wish. As this cannot be possible in the frenetic environment of cities and urban addresses, it essentially finds its setting in the suburbs of America, taking from the afterthought to the phenomenon of urbanization, which is the contrary suburbanization. Joanne and Walter's move from New York to Stepford is typical of this occurrence, as more and more problems become associated with living in cities. The growing concern for less substantial economic costs and adhering to a lifestyle denoted by family and community time is at the core of suburbanization, which led many to move back to the suburbs. One of the major influences of this change is "the preference for