1960s Experimentation
Nov 11th, 2009 by cobash27
By the 1960s, television began to experiment with non-standard plot devices, storylines, character archetypes and representation. It is during this period that we see a reinvention of the female character. Gilligan’s Island had a particularly interesting take with the characters Mary Ann and Ginger.
Ginger, Mary Ann, and Lovey Howell
“If Ginger is the whore, the city, the knowing, and the sexual, then Mary Ann is the virgin, the country, the innocent, and the childlike. Together, they embody the angel in the kitchen and the devilish seductress in the bedroom.” (Morowitz 5)
Dawn Wells as Mary Ann
The Skipper, Ginger, and Gilligan
Also during the 1960s came the advent of fantasy situational comedies where traditional gender roles were challenged through the use of supernatural plot devices. Two very excellent examples from this period are Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie.
Major Nelson and Jeannie
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Samantha, Endora, Darrin
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