Brose

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=What Would Allan Johnson Say?? =

Allan Johnson discusses that all patriarchal societies encompass: male dominance, male identification, male centeredness, and obsession with control. Allan Johnson would say that the popular 1950’s sitcom “I Love Lucy” is the epitome of patriarchy. Some might try to argue that there are aspects of the sitcom that challenge patriarchal society, like Lucy’s ambitions to go out and get a job, however, every aspect of the show is tied in to Lucy’s husband, Ricky, and his control over Lucy.

Johnson’s first aspect of patriarchy is the idea of male dominance. Johnson would say that male dominance is definitely present in Lucy and Ricky Ricardo’s relationship. Ricky is the “bread winner” and is an owner of a night club, and is a famous musician. He has the last say on EVERYTHING, and decides what all of the income will be spent on. There are many episodes where Lucy tries to defy Ricky’s authority, in a humorous way, and she usually fails and is saved by Ricky in the end from a huge disaster. Johnson would say that male identification is very present in the sitcom. Although the title of the show is “I Love Lucy” rather than something like “The Ricardos”, Ricky is still the primary character in the show. Johnson says that power looks sexy on men but not on women. Ricky would be considered an attractive man in the 1950’s and Lucy would no doubt be described as an attractive women. The key is that in the show Ricky has all of the power and has the final say, while Lucy is just along for the ride, and to add in some laughter in the show. Johnson would say that the best example of male centeredness in “I Love Lucy” is the fact that every time Ricky returns home from work his first lines are “Luccyyy, I’m home!!!”. This is a famous line that people still say today. This statement that Ricky says each time he gets home from the club, or from spending time with his best friend and neighbor Fred, signifies that Lucy needs to drop everything and attend to Ricky. Johnson would say that male centeredness can also be seen by the need for Ricky to “clean up” whatever mess Lucy has made so that by the end of the half hour sitcom the Ricardos are happy. Ricky is always there “to save the day”. Male’s obsession with control is the final aspect that Johnson points out in patriarchal society. Johnson would say that the life that the Ricardo family leads is a prime example of male obsession with control. Every episode usually consists of Lucy scheming and idea that fails, and usually when she realizes that her scheme has failed, she makes a very recognizable face. This face usually happens because she realizes all of the trouble that she will be in when Ricky finds out what she has done. Lucy is usually never in control of the situation, and needs Ricky to be in control. In his article Johnson says that the male always needs to seem in control, which is usually the case on the show. However, Ricky often goes on tangents of yelling at Lucy in Spanish, his native language, which at times makes Lucy cry. Besides his outburst of angry Spanish, Ricky is usually calm and in control of the situation, that Lucy has managed to mess up.

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=What would Schrum say?? March 14,2010 =

“//Seventeen// magazine was instrumental in developing the image of the teenage girl as a consumer of the magazine and the products advertised within its covers, but also as a member of society.” Seventeen magazine taught girls what they should wear, how they should act and how to be participate in society, it gave the average young women her gender role in society. Schrum goes on to say that “[t]he magazine cultivated concern about appearance, grooming, clothes, posture, figure and weight, and offered products and advice as remedies.” Just as //Seventeen// magazine was a go-to-guide for a patriarchal source for young women in the 1940’s, the popular sitcom //I Love Lucy// was a show that delivered the patriarchal ideals of what a housewife should be like in the patriarchal dominated 1950’s. Lucy Ricardo was the cookie cutter ideal, to a certain extent, of what a 1950’s housewife should be. She and June Cleaver, of //Leave it to Beaver//, entered peoples’ homes every week and instilled the patriarchal values that society followed at that time. Lucy was the cookie cutter housewife, to an extent, because of the outlandish schemes that she came up with weekly, which most husbands of the time may not have put up with. Schrum would say that as //Seventeen// was the go-to-guide for girls of the 1940’s, //I Love Lucy// was the same for suburban women of the 1950’s. //Housekeeping Monthly// published an article in May 1955 titled __The Good Wife’s Guide__ (It is not proven if this article was actually published in this magazine, however if it is a hoax, it still matches up well to Lucy Ricardo's roll as a housewife). This “guide” is a list filled with ridiculous duties that a housewife was expected to follow, and many of them were things that Lucy did every episode to please Ricky. Some of the items on the list include “[p]repare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people”, “[b]e a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it”, and “[l]isten to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first-remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.” This brief sample from the list of 18 tips shows the ridiculous mentality that housewives were expected to have, and Lucy is an example of a woman that followed this. On the episode “The Audition” Lucy wishes to make it onto a television show that Ricky is auditioning for, however, Ricky wants Lucy to have nothing to do with the show. When Lucy becomes upset Ricky tells her “I want a wife who is just a wife. Now all you have to do for me is clean the house for me. Bring my slippers when I come home at night. Cook for me. And be the mother of my children.” Lucy ends up auditioning on the show as a clown under disguise and is offered a contract while Ricky does not get an offer. Ricky is very sad at the end of the episode and once again tells Lucy “I want a wife who is just a wife. Now all you have to do for me is clean the house for me. Bring my slippers when I come home at night. Cook for me. And be the mother of my children.” Lucy responds by doing all of these things to please Ricky, besides having a child at that time of the show. Schrum would say that //I Love Lucy// was an ideal guide for how women of the 1950’s should behave and participate in a patriarchal society, just as //Seventeen// magazine was a guide for young women of the 1940’s. Shrum argued that girls looked to //Seventeen// magazine for inspiration and how to behave at that time, just as women in the 1950's aspired to be like Lucy Ricardo. Lucy was the ideal housewife, besides her outlandish schemes, and due to the fact that //I Love Lucy// aired weekly, millions of housewives across the nation saw the role model they were supposed to take after. Work Cited "The Good Wife's Guid." //Houskeeping Monthly// 13 May 1955. Schrum, Kelly. "Teena Means Business."

=What would Parsons say?? March 14, 2010 =

Linda Parsons states in her article “Ella Evolving: Cinderella Stories and the Construction of Gender-Appropriate Behavior” that “we are //surrounded// by the vestiges of fairy tales from the marketing of Disney products to the perpetuation of romance ideology, the binary positioning of women and men, and women’s and girls’ obsession to manifest socially defined beauty.” The ideologies of fairy tales can still be seen in society today for example in the sitcom //I Love Lucy.// Parsons lays out a series of guidelines that most patriarchal fairy tales follow and this includes “the message that women must suffer, if not be humiliated, before they are rewarded.” media type="youtube" key="43DDedjoYLo" height="312" width="583" Parsons would say that the episode “The Quiz Show” illustrates that the ideals of fairy tales are encompassed into many aspects of life, including popular sitcoms. In “The Quiz Show” Lucy becomes behind in her household accounts and cannot pay her bills. Ricky realizes that she is months behind on her bills and threatens to take away her allowance and all of her charge accounts. He tells her that if she can find a way to make her payments, then she will still be in control of the household account, and if not he would take it over. Lucy is desperate and goes onto a game show called “Females are Fabulous” to try and win the grand prize of $1,000. The host of the show announces that theory of the show is “any woman is willing to make an idiot of herself in order to win a prize”. Parsons would say that this goes along perfectly with the idea that women are forced to suffer. Lucy is sprayed in the face every time she says a word dealing with water, while she sings “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”, and then she has to play a prank on her husband, Ricky, to convince him that the strange man that just showed up at their apartment is her long lost first husband, which could compromise her marriage with Ricky. In the end, Lucy ends up carrying out the prank and wins the money. Which in the end means that she is rewarded because she is able to keep her allowance and charge accounts. However, through the process of this she is humiliated in front of a live audience, and a radio audience, and potentially compromised her marriage. She endures all of this so that she can keep the little bit of allowance her husband gives to her and so she can continue to manage the money in the house, something that she finds enjoyable. Parsons states that “the embedded messages of suffering in silence, attaining beauty, being chosen, and living happily ever after encourage young girls to adopt these desires, which are deemed appropriate within patriarchy”, the problem is that “The Quiz Show” is not the only episode in which Lucy is forced to suffer, later to be rewarded or happy in the end. In fact, nearly every //I Love Lucy// episode involves Lucy suffering in some sort of way and being saved by Ricky in the end. Usually Lucy comes up with some scheme that ends up getting her in trouble, and she is saved by her “prince in shining armor”, her husband Ricky. Parsons would say that because Lucy is forced to suffer nearly episode to be rewarded in the end patriarchal values are instilled in this sitcom. Due to the fact that many of the episodes fit the idea of fairy tales and women's suffering and rewards, //I Love Lucy// can be compared to a fairy tale because of the treatment that women experience in both. Work Cited

Parsons, Linda T. "Ella Evolving: Cinderella Stories and the Construction of Gender-Appropriate Behavior." //Children's Literature in Education// 35.2 (2004).

What Would Kearney Say? March 15,2010 = = In her article Producing Girls, Mary Celeste Kearney discussed the idea of girls as cultural producers rather than them solely as cultural consumers. Kearney investigated the final products of girl produced zines, to popular teenage girl magazines like //Seventeen// and //Sassy.// Although Kearney focused on adolescent girls’ emergence as cultural producers, she would say that Lucille Ball’s, Lucy Ricardo, emergence as the President and CEO of Desilu Production was revolutionary for the times she was living in. Desilu Productions the production company in charge of her television show //I Love Lucy,// and other hit shows like //The Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek,// and //The Dick Van Dyke Show.// Desilu Productions was originally founded by Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, Ricky Ricardo. The name of the production company came about from a combination of Desi and Lucy’s name. The production company was an innovator in many ways, including their use of a multi-camera set up while in front of a live studio audience. Although Lucille’s contribution at the start was focused solely on the artistic aspects of the production company rather than management, Kearney would say that this was still revolutionary for the 1950’s.



In 1960 Lucille Ball took complete control of the production company after her and Arnazs divorce. Lucille had another show, //The Lucy Show//, under production with Desilu, so it was decided that she would take control of the company. This was landmark for the time, Lucille Ball was the first woman to head a major production company and she became one of the most powerful women in Hollywood at that time. However, in 1967 she sold the company to Paramount Pictures, but she then opened another production company with her new husband. In 2006 only 10/500 CEO’s of fortune 500 companies were women, which is only 2%. The fact that Lucille Ball was a CEO of a major production company in 1960 is amazing. She was revolutionary in Hollywood because of the fact that she was the first woman to lead a major production company. Kearney would say that Lucille Ball emerged as an active participant of a woman as cultural producer. The fact that she was so successful in Hollywood as an actress and a co-owner, and later sole owner and president, of a major production company show that Lucille Ball was ahead of her time. She paved the way for other women in Hollywood to take on more challenges and to not strive only to be actresses but possibly be CEOs or presidents of companies. Kearney would say that Lucille Ball was an innovator off of the sitcom and opened the door for women to be looked at more so than just actresses.

 (This is a photo of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz signing a contract for Desilu Productions)

Work Cited "Desilu Productions." //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desilu_Productions>. Kearney, Mary Celeste. "Producing Girls." Key Concepts and Terms for WOM 101 PowerPoint

=<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">What would Brumberg say? April 15, 2010 =

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In Joan Brumberg’s article “Sanitizing Puberty: The American Way to Menstruate” she discussed the fact that American society tries to “hush up” women menstruating, rather than celebrating the rite of passage that young women begin to experience. Brumberg goes on to discuss how the external image of girls is looked at much more than the actual maturation process that comes from menstruation. She discusses that “for contemporary girls, menstruation implies new concerns about hygiene, but does not imply fertility or reproduction as it did in the Victorian era.” At one point in time in our nation’s history menstruation and pregnancy were celebrated. However, as time went on, women began to not speak of things like this, even with their own daughters, and treated it as something that was a taboo. When Lucille Ball became pregnant, with her husband Desi Arnaz, they faced the dilemma of dealing with the pregnancy while continuing to film the sitcom while it was in it was reaching its peak in popularity. Up until this point pregnancy had never been dealt with on a sitcom. Rather than stopping the filming of the series Lucy and Desi decided to incorporate Lucille’s pregnancy into the show and have the character Lucy Ricardo pregnant at the same time. However, CBS required that they did not announce that Lucy was “pregnant” they were required to say that she was “expecting”. Steps were even taken that a priest, Rabbi and minister came and discussed the issue with Desi Arnaz and Desilu productions. However, they came to the conclusion that the pregnancy was acceptable to have on the sitcom, and that people would empathize with the couple rather than become angry. In the end, Lucy carried out her pregnancy while filming the sitcom. She gave birth to her son in real life, Desi Jr., and on the show gave birth to her son Little Ricky. The production company only received about 200 letters from people that were upset about the pregnancy being carried out on the sitcom, while the received millions of letters from pregnant women supporting the pregnancy. In fact, when Little Ricky was born on January 19, 1953, 69.2% of households tuned in to watch the event. Joan Brumberg would say that in some ways the way that the pregnancy was dealt with on //I Love Lucy// follows America’s taboo with menstruation and pregnancy. The fact that a Rabbi, priest and minister were brought into discuss it shows that this was a major issue that could have possibly ruined the sitcom had the public not accepted it. Brumberg would also say that the fact that they were required to say “expecting” rather than “pregnant” also encourages the taboo of pregnancy and menstruation, rather than celebrating it as a maturation process and rite of passage. But, because this was the first sitcom to go through the pregnancy of a woman illustrates that the sitcom was revolutionary. Work Cited Brumber, Joan. “Sanitizing Puberty: The American Way to Menstruate.” "Censorship and Scandals." //TV Acres//. 12 Apr. 2010. [].

=What would Zipes say? April 15,2010=

Jack Zipes discusses in his article “The Phenomenon of Harry Potter, or Why All the Talk?” that <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">“[f]or anything to be a phenomenon in Western society, it must become //conventional;// it must be recognized and categorized as unusual, extraordinary, remarkable, and outstanding. In other words, it must be popularly accepted, praised, or condemned, worthy of everyone’s attention; it must conform to the standards of exception set by mass media and promoted by the culture <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">industry in general.” The sitcom //I Love Lucy// can be described as something none other than a phenomenon. In the six years that the show was releasing new episodes, they never ranked less than third in popularity. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Ricardo family took the nation by storm as people tuned in every Monday night to watch the television show. Stores across the nation would shut down Monday nights posting singes that said <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">"We're closed. We love Lucy, too." (Zandt) <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Ricardos invented the rerun due to the popularity of their show and the demand for it. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz received countless awards from the sitcom. These include Emmy awards for <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Best Comedienne, 1952; Best Actress in a Continuing Performance, 1955. The show also won Motion Picture Daily Awards for Best Comedienne in 1955 and 1957, Most Promising New Star in 1951, Best Performer in 1952, and <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"><span style="color: #f71852; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msoasciithemefont: minor-latin; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msohansithemefont: minor-latin;">Best Comedy Team with Desi Arnaz in 1954. TV. <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">The birth of the Ricardos’ son Little Ricky, took the place of the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the front page of the nation’s papers. 40,000,000 people tuned in Monday night to watch the birth of Little Ricky, while only 29,000,000 people tuned in the next day to watch the inauguration of the President. //I Love Lucy// is currently playing somewhere in the world. At every moment of everyday it is playing in one of the 77 countries it is aired in, in one of the 22 different languages it is aired in. <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//I Love Lucy// currently has countless numbers of merchandise out that still allow the sitcom to live on even though it premiered over 50 years ago. This merchandise includes Barbie dolls, board games, Christmas tree ornaments, calendars and countless other things.

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Zipes would say that //I Love Lucy// was and continues to be a phenomenon. Due to the fact that it won so many awards, it took the place of the President’s inauguration, TV Guide named it the most important television series of all times, and people are still purchasing merchandise from the show it is a phenomenon that will continue to live on. //I Love Lucy// pushed the envelope in the 1950's for having an interracial couple on televsion. This was something that had never been seen before and Zipes would say this is what allowed the sitcom to become a phenomenon. There were aspects of the show that were unheard of, like Lucy's pregnancy and the interracial couple aspect, but there were also age old aspects of society that tied the sitcom together, and this is the ideals of patriarchy.

Work Cited //Lucille Ball "I Love Lucy" Fact Sheet//. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. <http://www.lucy-desi.com/news/ill_facts.html>. Zandt, Billy Van. "Why I Love Lucy." //The Hall of Fame Network//. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. <http://www.hofmag.com/content/view/324/62/>. Zipes, Jack, “The Phenomenon of Harry Potter, or Why All the Talk?”.

<span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">What Would Do Rozario Say? May 11, 2010 In the article The Princess and the Magic Kindgom: Beyond Nostalgia, The Function of the Disney Princess, author Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario discusses the function of the princess in Disney movies. Do Rozario discusses that male power is reduced or erased in Disney movies. Do Rozario would say that the sitcom I Love Lucy completely goes against this. In the show Ricky, Lucy’s husband, has all of the power. If Lucy has any power, Ricky still has the complete authority over it, like balancing the check book. Do Rozario would say that although there are aspects of the sitcom that go against her ideas of the formula of Disney princess movies, there are also aspects that are identical to situations on the sitcom. Do Rozario states that “the greatest tension is created between women” (pg 42). Basically every time that there is tension on the show it is between Lucy Ricardo and her best friend Ethel Mertz, who lives in the next apartment. Lucy is portrayed as a beautiful, wacky woman who is the main character of the show, while Ethel is portrayed as Lucy’s best friend who is a dumpy woman. Lucy is married to the handsome night club star while Ethel is married to Fred Mertz, an old, heavy set man that was a Vaudeville star. Fred is very stingy and cheap and won’t spend money on anything, let alone Ethel. It is obvious that there will be automatic tension between the best friends because of their major differences in appearance, personalities, income, and husbands. There are times when Lucy will put Ethel down and will get mad at her if she receives anything better than Lucy. In one episode Ricky brings home a mink jacket for one of the performances at the night club. Lucy comes into the apartment after Ricky has explained this to Ethel and Fred and Ethel is wearing the jacket. Lucy becomes outraged because she does not want Ethel to have anything better than her, especially a mink jacket which is something that Lucy has always wanted. Do Rozario would say that this tension and competition was created between Ethel and Lucy intentionally and goes along with the mindsets of the 1950’s, when Walt Disney was releasing many of his princess films. There are rare times when Ethel does have “better things” than Lucy does. When this happens Lucy becomes upset and usually cries. Ethel is a great piano player and singer and often her and Fred and Ricky sit down around the piano and play and sing. Lucy always wants to join in and begins to sing. When she starts singing everyone makes pained faces because she is tone deaf and has a horrible singing voice. This alienates Lucy and creates tension between her and Ethel because Ethel is allowed to sing with the boys. Do Rozario would say that the tension between these women is created for entertainment purposes. It goes along with the ideologies of the 1950’s that was incorporated into the typical Disney movies of the time. Although I Love Lucy does not go along with Do Rozario’s idea that male power is reduced or erases, however it does go along with the idea that all tension is created by women, which can be seen through Lucy and Ethel’s interactions with each other. <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

What Would Hassel Say? 5/11/10 In the article “Susan Murphy, Ginormica, and Gloria Steinem: Feminist Consciousness-Raising as Science Fiction in //Monsters vs. Aliens//” author Holly Hassel discusses that sci-fi used to be focused on male-centered roles and “unflattering roles” for women. However, as sci fi has evolved women have received more empowering roles, like the character Susan in the sci-fi Monsters //vs. Aliens.// Susan progresses from a timid woman reliant on her overbearing fiancé, to Ginormica, the same woman just much larger from the effects of a meteor. Throughout the movie Susan goes on a journey of self discovery that makes her realize that she does not need to go back to her normal size, which she had been wishing for the whole movie, and that her relationship with her fiancé Derek was unfair. Sci-fi is creating more empowering roles for females which is starting to change the patriarchal gender roles that women are given in movies, literature and the media. Hassel would say that the sitcom “I Love Lucy” goes against everything that empowering women roles in sci-fi movies stand for. Lucy is engulfed in the patriarchal lifestyle that many lived with at the time of the TV sitcoms airing. Hassel would say that popular sitcoms that millions tuned into only helped empower people to continue to allow patriarchal ideologies when they should have been hindered. If Lucy would have been more empowering and took on more authoritative roles rather than stereotypical roles, popular culture may have started to shift its ways to less of a patriarchal society. People like to have the picture perfect life, and they saw these lives they desired when they tuned into popular sitcoms once a week. If shows like “Leave it to Beaver” and “I Love Lucy” had women that stood up to men more and went out and had steady jobs, rather than being the housekeeper, cook, daycare provider, and everything else, women of the 1950’s would have been empowered to do the same and patriarchy could slowly have been eliminated. However, this is not the case. Hassel would say that the empowering roles of women in sci-fi that are starting to emerge are vastly different from women’s roles in movies and television shows of the past. As mainstream genres of movies and sitcoms start to pick up on the ideas that sci-fi movies have started to create, slowly patriarchy can be eliminated from popular culture and also from the home. Although “I Love Lucy” was a land breaking show, it was a “cookie cutter” example of patriarchal society that hindered the empowerment of women. Hassel would say that our society can overcome that by following the sci-fi genre’s example of women’s roles.

<span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> What Would Lamb and Brown Say? May 11, 2010 In their article “Pretty in Pink” authors Lamb and Brown discuss the gender socialization from infancy to adulthood. They discuss that gender is identified in infants by the color of clothing that their parents dress them in, and by the time of adulthood personality and preferences are identified by the clothing that people choose to wear. Lamb and Brown argue that girls identify with the color pink in their clothing and boys with the color blue. They also point out that parents have begun to separate play clothes from school clothes for children which seems impractical when seven and eight year olds should be wearing clothes that are accessible for them to play in. Due to the fact that the sitcom “I Love Lucy” is in black and white, it is difficult to analyze the color of the clothing that Lucy wears, but the styles and the choice of outfits at certain times can still be identified. Lamb and Brown discuss the issue of children having too constricting of clothing that does not allow them to play and do activities that young children are encouraged to do. Lamb and Brown would say that this not only applies to children, but can be applied to Lucy Ricardo on “I Love Lucy”. Lucy is always dressed well, in nice dresses, or slacks with her hair up and make up on. Even when Lucy goes to bed her hair is still up and curled. There are times when Lucy is in outlandish outfits, like a potato sack, but at these times she is supposed to look outlandish because she is usually attempting to land a performance at Ricky’s nightclub. In one episode, Lucy is trying to lose weight to fit into a costume, once again to make it into one of Ricky’s shows, and Lucy can be found running laps in her apartment with Ethel. While Lucy is working out, she is wearing high heels! Something that is very impractical and dangerous. There are also times when Lucy is cleaning the house and she can be found wearing a dress, with her hair up and make up done. There are many people that typically clean their houses in clothes that they don’t mind if they get dirty, for the simple reason that you are CLEANING. Lamb and Brown would say that it is very impractical for Lucy to be wearing high heels when she is exercising and also to be wearing a dress with full make up on when cleaning the house. Lamb and Brown would argue that Lucy is always portrayed in this way to the viewers of the sitcom because a woman should always still look “womanly” when she is cleaning and exercising. She needs to uphold this image because this is how she is socialized by her gender. She should always look appropriate and ready for her husband to return home.

​ <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">What Would Inness Say? May 11, 2010 In the article “Anti-Barbies” author Sherri Inness discusses the industry of American Girl dolls in the United States. Inness discussed the industry that focused on the upper-middle class’ pocket because of the high price of the dolls. The industry is trying to create toys appropriate for young girls to look at as role models. However, Inness argues that these dolls are not worth the price and all the things that come along with it like historical museums, school books, and literature on the dolls to socialize young girls. Inness discussed Robert Sutherland’s ideas on hidden persuaders in children’s literature. Inness argues that this can cross over to children’s toys, like American Girl dolls, and it can also be linked to popular sitcoms. __<span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Politics of Advocacy __ <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sutherland argues that children literature is “pleading for and promoting a specific cause, or upholding a particular viewpoint or course of action as being valid and right” (pg 171,172). Sutherland also goes on to say that “the politics of advocacy serves the aims of indoctrination, //urging// a particular value system or course of action, or attempting to enforce to a set of behavioral norms. Inness and Sutherland would say that the sitcom “I Love Lucy” follows the idea of politics of advocacy very well. The show upholds the patriarchal ideals that are instilled into all cultures. Ricky Ricardo is the “breadwinner” for the family and provides all of the income for the household, while giving Lucy an allowance. Every morning there is a warm meal sitting at the breakfast for table along with a newspaper for Ricky. Inness would say that the “I Love Lucy” show is promoting a specific cause, which is patriarchal ideals, and Lucy continues to uphold these ideals by catering to Ricky’s needs and allowing him to rule over her. __<span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Politics of Attack __ <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sutherland argues that politics of attack encompasses when the writer encounters something that is counter to their beliefs about right and wrong. This involves stereotypes and how they are examined. Sutherland and Inness would say that politics of attack can be seen in a few ways in “I Love Lucy”. The first way that politics of attack can be seen in the sitcom is with Ricky Ricardo’s accent. Ricky is a native from Cuba and has somewhat of a thick accent, and there are certain words that he says differently due to his accent, and this is always pointed out by Lucy. Inness would say that the fact that Ricky is a Cuban immigrant is brought up time and time again, but only when dealing with his accent and his mispronunciations of words. In another episode Lucy wants to take dancing lessons so that Ricky will put her in a number at the club, she hires a French man to help her dance. The man is a huge flirt and will not leave Lucy alone and tries to seduce her even though Lucy continues to turn him down. Inness would say that this stereotypes all French men to being big flirts that don’t leave women alone and this popular sitcom advertises this idea to the millions of viewers that watch the show. In another episode a homeless man is sent to the Ricardo’s apartment for something, and every time the Ricardo’s turn around, the homeless man is stuffing valuables from their apartment into his jacket. Inness would argue that this is portraying all homeless people to be lying, stealers. Along with the French men stereotype this stereotype is portrayed to millions of Americans to give them deceptive ideas about homeless people and to generalize that they are all dishonest and steal. __<span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Politics of Assent __ <span style="color: #f71852; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sutherland argues that politics of assent is often hidden and it confirms the status quo and also reinforces it. The politics of assent is somewhat tied in with politics of advocacy but it is more hidden than that. Inness would say that politics of assent is apparent in “I Love Lucy” because the idea that if you are a hardworking, enterprising young male you will succeed in life. Ricky always is the one spending large amounts of money, he buys a brand new car, when old, chubby, balding Fred Mertz buys and old jalopy that barely runs, even though Fred owns the apartment building that he and his wife live in and the Ricardo’s live in. The Mertz’s always receive the Ricardo’s hand me downs. When Lucy wanted new furniture, the Mertz’s got the old furniture, and when they bought a new washer, the Mertz’s got the old one. Inness would say that the sitcom projects the idea that to be wealthy in life, one needs to be a handsome, young man with a booming night club business.