During the 1970s, women’s role in society differs considerably from their position in today’s world. A pilot episode of Charlie’s Angels changed the way how females had to be viewed and treated. According to a radical feminist, Vivian Gornick, the 1970s was a turning point in human history, when the world was able to see what women saw (ColumbiaLearn, 2019). The analysis of the chosen television series shows that it was possible to incorporate and negate social relevance, applying to the progress of cultural tastes and realism notions. The producers of Charlie’s Angels raised one of the main conflicting objects, female representation, comparing women’s power, intelligence, and spirit to their charms and men’s biased attitudes.
There is an opinion that Charlie’s Angels is a story that incorporates and negates social relevance. One should admit that despite the fact that there are three main female characters in the series, the creators try to add a number of supporting characters for comparison. The concept of social relevance explains how a product might become related to the current cultural tastes and interests. Therefore, to stay connected with reality, this narration introduces several women with different purposes. A conflicting object of female representation is viewed through the angles (Jill, Sabrina, and Kelly), a villain (Rachel, Vince Le Maire’s second wife), and a neutral character (Janet, Vince Le Maire’s daughter).
One of the major goals of Charlie’s Angels’ pilot is to demonstrate a shift the women of the 1970s could experience. Jill, Sabrina, and Kelly follow a clear formula “the smart one! the strong one! the one with the big hair!” (as cited in Mizejewski, 2004, p. 68). The girls break all the rules and the already established biases. Instead of cooking, parenting, or cleaning, they drive motorcycles, shoot straight, and cheat (Roberts et al., 1976). Their unpredictable behaviors make male villains confused and unprepared for such interruption. At the same time, the producers negate certain social relevance of power and strength by underlying the power of oversized hair, dressing up, getting wet, and the presence of a male leader in their team.
Another example of popular cultural taste in the pilot episode is Rachel’s dependency on a foreman, Beau Creel. On the one hand, she is a murderer of her husband who does not want to share money with other family members and uses a man as an assistant for her crime. On the other hand, she is represented as a weak woman who does not know what she wants from this life and remains under the male influence. She does neither perform any hard work nor participate in night affairs on the swamp.
Finally, there is a slight mention of Janet, a supporting daughter who tries to find out the truth. She does not participate in the investigation and observes everything distantly. Janet follows her heart, puts loving relationships first, and allows a man to drive a car, which is unacceptable for the angels. The presence of such a character negates the intention to incorporate one-side feministic issues in the movie but helps recognize the shift in popular cultural tastes.
In conclusion, Charlie’s Angels’ pilot episode may be called a successful attempt to describe the conditions under which women could change their representation in society. The main characters are strong and smart women who are not afraid to resist villains and gain justice. They are doers who are ready to put everything at risk, which proves social relevance and new cultural preferences. Still, men’s power cannot be neglected, and the creators of the show underline realism in their narration, relying on man-woman loving affairs and male leadership. The progress of feminism was evident in the 1970s, and the opportunities that modern women have today are the best evidence of this movement’s success and the impact of the TV show.
References
ColumbiaLearn. (2019). MOOC WHAW2.4x | 18.1 feminism in the 1970s with Vivian Gornick part 2 | The second wave in action. YouTube. Web.
Mizejewski, L. (2004). Hardboiled and high heeled: The woman detective in popular culture. Routledge.
Roberts, B., Goff, I. (Writers), & Moxey, J. L. (1976). Pilot [TV series episode]. In A. Spelling & L. Goldberg (Executive Producers), Charlie’s angels. Spelling-Goldberg Production.