Rosebud, Here’s Looking at You Kid, and the Walls Of Jericho carry significant weight in Hollywood’s Classical films. Each one represented a director’s dream. Romantic screwball comedy, Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934), melodramatic film, Wells’s Citizen Kane (1941), and epic romance Curtiz’s Casablanca (1942) were all considered reflections of their reality while heavily driven by symbolism and motifs which resulted in stronger narratives. The camera angles themselves were symbolic in nature as you were lead from one scene into another.
The director, Frank Capra of It Happened One Night brought realism and a true life feeling into the film while adding visual jokes and amusing angles as a close up on a symbolic blanket and string which created the “Walls Of Jericho, a night time separation of the characters. He touched on the economical conditions by the tracking of Ellie in the shower scene showing poverty stricken people in wide angles and their living conditions. It was here that the director spoke volumes regarding poverty contrasting with the rich girl. Capra intended to make a movie that was full of emotion and also to make a statement of the current social and economic status ofAmerica. It was a film that utilized the camera angles to portray the rich compared to poor with fast paced, sweeping effects all while being quirky as a comedy and regarded as having a melodramatic feel. Following Columbia Pictures studio structure the production process created a studio look of laughter as Belton stated, “Columbia earned a reputation for witty and urbane screenwriting and served as the home base for much of the screwball comedy talent inHollywood.” (p.80).
In the analyzing of the three films, one motif was central within these movies establishing a character’s isolation and need to escape. In It Happened One Night, the opening scene was a wide angle of a yacht out at sea jump cut to a full shot of three characters standing on deck, one being the captain, Ellie’s father, seen in dialogue followed by a medium close up. All were dressed in formal seaman uniforms. The camera revealed the isolation of the water as two boats were close in the background, but no land. The father, authoritative figure, captain of the ship was captured walking out of the scene to the right and into a vertical wipe transition into a medium close up of three men staring at a door jump cut to a medium shot of father and Ellie standing towards the wall displaying the two characters at odds. A two shot medium close up of the two characters in dialogue revealed the window between them with the water reinforcing the flowing need to escape while showing the distance between the two characters. The camera moved as she paced increasing the tempo of the scene. Jump cut again to servers in a low light entering the scene through a doorway. This was followed by a medium shot of her throwing the food against the cabin wall, portraying a spoiled rich socialite who refused to eat, not getting her way. In a two shot close up the father slapped her in the face with a reactionary response shot and an over the shoulder as she exited the room. The passion of this scene was displayed through the medium close up and full shots of the protagonists actions. A close up revealed Peter drinking, laughing and on the phone quitting his job as a journalist, his friends stood behind him listening and cheering him on. Peter and Ellie met on a bus, Ellie was running away. The first shot portrayed her image as being conflicted as seen in a frame by the low light as she sat in the last seat. A medium close up depicted a fight for the seat ending in both sharing this small space as the adventure began travelling to New York.
Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz began as a news reel, giving the feel of a documentary bringing a sense of reality by incorporating the theme of the war and socio-economical issues. Wide angles, close ups and directing the eye were utilized to tell the story. The portrayal of the rich and poor are seen through wide angle camera angles as depicted in It Happened One Night. This film also established its main characters, Ilsa, and Rick through symbolic segregation, the need to escape and loneliness through the camera’s eye. The opening scene was a world globe revolving then dissolving into a wide angle refugee trail of helpless people agonizing on their journey with overlapping maps.
This technique transitioned to the open waters of the sea as a ship sailed conveying isolation, travel and passage of time. The open waters were used in this shot as a representation of freedom but also prison. The first established scene was a fade in to a wide angle crane shot of the city of Casablanca highlighting a tower then panning down the structure to a high angle of the Moroccan street revealing its vendors and showing the exotic and simplicity of the culture. Panning down to eye level we see the crowd and congestion of people, the isolation within the geographic location. A close up of Rick’s hand signing a voucher reflected the power he held in owning an American café in Morocco. As Victor and Ilsa entered the café in a medium shot a shadow was cast on the wall reflecting Victor’s inner torment. Ilsa’s close up revealed soft lighting, sadness, a broken heart and a sense of loss. As the movie progressed the characters representation changed to a more hardened look as in the medium shot with low lighting of her holding a gun risking everything for freedom. The final scenes opened up in a wide angle of an airport with low lighting. The plane in the foreground was in focus and highlighted but, the one in the background has a blurred haze to it representing freedom and the unknown as it sat in the fog. The ending narrative unfolded through medium shots, quick cut aways, and close ups. The two shot in the dialogue scene with Rick and Victor utilized over the shoulder shots similar to the scenes in It Happened One Night increasing the pace and the tension. Jump cut to the planes propellers getting ready for take off as the three shot position of Rick, Ilsa and Victor as they turn toward the plane for a unique point of view shot. Shot reverse shots and a two shot wide angle reveal the plane taking off. The actors look up as the plane point of view shot fades into the fog.
Warner Brothers was in the middle of other studios when recognizing their style. The war had begun and they chose the path of producing films that were underdog hero centered and based in reality for the lower middle class. As Belton commented, “Warner Brothers earned its reputation as the working man’s studio…looked hasty and rough and conveyed a gritty realism that suited the studio’s narrative interests.” (p.77).
Orson Welles directed Citizen Kane in production with RKO a company that did not follow suit as other studios in finding a unique style. They created musicals to horrors as different heads governed during the classical period. All three of these films camera angles not only developed the characters but, reinforced the theme of the films. In this sense, comparing Citizen Kane’s opening shot portrayed a narrative of Kane’s loneliness, symbolic isolation and escape of the protagonist. It began as a close up on a sign hanging on a wired fence stating, “No Trespassing” appearing cold, dark and mysterious panning upward into an out of focus background highlighting the fence conveying a prison like atmosphere and a state of confusion. A similar technique used in the shot of the closed sign in Casablanca. Over lapping and panning upward two more wired fences were shown in a sharp focus reinforcing the distance between the protagonist and the outside world. The dissolving shot lead into a super imposing of a large stark house in the upper right of the screen with close ups of a fence in a low angle. The balance in the frame was The letter “K” in the upper right hand of the shot portraying the powerful image of the individual who resided behind those barriers with an overlapping of a image of a cross panning down. The camera displayed images of the inner torments and self destruction of the main character followed by a misty dissolve of exotic monkeys leading into an eye line match of the tip of the Chinese boat resting on water linking it to a life preserver floating. The reflection of the house was upside down reflecting the turmoil and uneasiness that laid within the house. Continuous dissolves reveal the grounds of the property to be deserted, lonely and unkept. In each of the scenes the camera slowly closes in on the house. Each scene builds suspense and tension. Each time the house was portrayed, there was a window with a glowing light that stays stationary from shot to shot matching the scenes, an eye match to tell the narrative. The climatic moment in the opening scene was the close up on the window, when suddenly the light goes out representing the characters dark side and his impending death. Daylight breaks threw the window and dissolved into a snow scene. The final scenes were of wide angles revealing a lonely, deserted mansion filled with expensive tangible collectible items, all to be sold or burned. It portrayed a man’s life of trying to fill the unfillable voids in his life. A crane shot panned backwards to show the vast emptiness of a man’s life in boxes and crates, the depth of field was exaggerated heightening the dramatic events to follow. Damico summarizes the scene, scene:
And if at this point this fact has not been adequately established, it may just suffice to suggest a comparison between the unforgettable, chilling long crane shot over the cluttered rubble of Kane’s existence that comes at the end of the film, and the eye-level, 3.3-seceond shot near the opening of News on the March that begins a hesitant pan to the right over a pile of crates in Kane’s storage house before it is cut off and we are whisked on to another of the 38 shots in that portion of the sequence which are meant to convey something of the life of Charles Foster Kane. (p.58).
As the camera dolly followed the reporter, it captured a close up of woman taking a photograph of what was the demise Kane. The flash of the camera transitioned into a medium high wide angle displaying the enormous space and clutter. The drama of the film was driven by a reporter in search of Kane’s dying word, Rosebud.
The closing scenes in It Happened One Night began with a wedding. The medium close up of Ellie and her and her father walking down the isle as the depth of field in the wedding march added a heighted dramatic importance. As in Citizen Kane where the depth of field in Xanadu revealed a cold, lonely place with a hidden secret never to be told. As the wedding progressed a high angle shot balanced the frame of guests on each side. As she steps in front of the priest, her image was uniquely captured by a framing of candles, symbolizing being trapped in an unwanted situation similar to Casablanca’s character Rick and Victor’s shadow’s reflected on the walls. For a moment, a cross had completely covered the actress representing doing the right thing. Medium shots and close ups led into a wide angle of the bride running off revealing the mass confusion behind her. Jump cut to a couple in dialogue with point of view shot to a cabin, the couple, honeymooning inside. Then a cut away shot with a close up of the symbolic blanket “The Wall Of Jericho” falling to the floor, revealing a happy ending. Iris out.
Each film contained strong willed characters utilizing wide angles yet, the narratives contain very diverse techniques. The sweeping motion giving an actor more freedom to move around within a scene: It Happened One Night; The low angles shots representing power/status, sharp focus and direct eye matching: Citizen Kane and shadows reflecting a characters inner suffering: Casablanca. The reason they are called Hollywood Classics was not only the glamour of the time but the political, economical and social issues in which were imbedded in them.
References
Belton, J. (2009). American Cinema American Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.
J. Damico, K. (1977). News Marchesin Place: Kane’s Newsreel as a Cutting Critique. Cinema Journal, 16(2), 51-58. Retrieved April 23, 2010, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1225384
…actually, the title was a mistake. When the book came back from the typesetter’s, it had on the cover “Massage” as it still does. The title was supposed to have read “The Medium is the Message” but the typesetter had made an error. When Marshall McLuhan saw the typo he exclaimed, “Leave it alone! It’s great, and right on target!” Now there are possible four readings for the last word of the title, all of them accurate: “Message” and “Mess Age,” “Massage” and “Mass Age.[1]
McLuhan contends that all media—in and of themselves and regardless of the messages they communicate—exert a compelling influence on man and society…[2]
In researching Marshall McLuhan and his writings it was obvious that he had shaped the way we look at media today. He left his mark as a philosopher of communication, poet, and Life magazine called him “The Oracle of the Electronic Age” while critics ridiculed and described him using the phase, “The bringer of doom.” His eccentric thinking could be seen for example, when discussing literacy, he commented, “Literacy is on the skids” hence his reputation.[3] McLuhan was a genius with his command of the English language using metaphors, analogies and aphorisms as he introduced wordplay into his writing and lectures. The media, which McLuhan predicted would shrink the world and our intellectual systems which seemed to be the foundation of his theories.
In order to understand the controversial theory on the topic of understanding the media, I would like to examine two metaphors for McLuhan’s life. The first will be Edgar Allan Poe’s story, A Descent into the Maelstrom, in which McLuhan referred to numerous times.
Throughout his career he presented the story by evoking the effects of technology on all aspects of life such as our social values, homes and bodies. Wanczyk (2004) described the connection as being, “…one of his guiding metaphors…the visceral image of information and innovation swirling around us with uncontrollable force is a theme McLuhan taps into in his writings, and lectures” (p.14). The second metaphor connected with the fisherman’s solution on how to survive the lethal situation. McLuhan coined the phrase “Escape into understanding” yet, understanding was only half the battle. Media was an extension of man and therefore man was able to gain control over the media. It is true that the medium is the message but, in order to understand the message we must first understand the medium. In utilizing the second metaphor it related to the fisherman who viewed the nautical vortex of the storm as did McLuhan view our chaos within society regarding various media and the effect on man with a glimmer of, how to survive it. According to Strate (2002) who reflected on McLuhan’s sentiment:
The huge vortices of energy created by our media present us with similar possibilities of evasion, or consequences of distraction. By studying the pattern of the effects of this huge vortex of energy in which we are involved, it may be possible to program a strategy of evasion and survival.[1]
As we escape into a deeper understanding of media we see the most famous McLuhanism, “the medium is the message” which was the cornerstone of his theories and was the title of the first chapter of his book, Understanding Media: The extensions of man. McLuhan, a prophet in his own time explored the concept of human societies being shaped by
the nature of their communications media. He spoke on the division of media for instance, television was a cool medium that would be the dominant form of communication in the twentieth century and therefore, the media itself which society communicated through had more impact than the content of the messages being sent. McLuhan explained this concept by stating, “By stressing that the medium is the message rather than the content, I’m not suggesting that content plays no role—merely that it plays a distinctly subordinate role.” (as cited in McLuhan, 1969, p.9). It is the cool medium that McLuhan described as being one that the audience filled in informational gaps or low definition and was multisensory whereas, hot media or high definition such as, books or radio concentrated on one sensory organ for instance, the eyes or ears.
As Berger (2008) commented, “It is this difference between the amount of data given by the television image and the screen image that led McLuhan to suggest that differences in media are more important than the differences in the programs or genres they carry” (p.170). This idea of examining the media itself rather than what its message had been the first step in understanding the effects on society. McLuhan’s (1969) hypothesis was that the media drastically altered contemporary lifestyles and initiated new and observable stages in human development:
…television is primarily an extension of the sense of touch rather than of sight, and it is the tactile sense that demands the greatest interplay of all the senses. The secret of TV’s tactile power is that the video image is one of low intensity or definition and thus, unlike either photograph or film, offers no detailed information about specific objects but instead involves the active participation of the viewer3 (p.8).
In my opinion, the relationship between the medium and the message is one of full circle. They live, breathe and fuel each other to the point of becoming extensions of our own abilities that reshape the same society which created these technological advancements as seen throughout history. I agree with Logan’s (2009) concept of extensions, “If we accept McLuhan’s notions that media are extensions of man and man is the servomechanism of his media then it follows that humans and media are extensions of each other and share certain similarities” (p. 8).
In addition, this was narrowed down to three basic technological innovations which revealed societal changes, “the invention of the phonetic alphabet…the introduction of movable type in the 16th Century…and the invention of the telegraph in 1844.” (as cited in McLuhan, 1969, p.1). We are the content of our media via the way we receive information and since we take in this information through a medium which gives a new message, the results have the potential to create a new individual and emotional responses as Berger (1995) stated, “Print, he suggests, leads to uniformity, continuity, individualism, and nationalism. Electronic media leads us in the opposite directions” (p.155). McLuhan’s theory reflected on the print revolution beginning by Gutenberg as the forerunner of the industrial revolution resulting in fragmentation. He observed the powers of technology and its consequences while studying the effect on uniformity and repeatability which were complimentary to individualism and nationalism. (as cited in McLuhan, 1960, para 2). It was through these advancements that technology began to change the thought process, of how people acted, dressed or even felt. Through our history we have gone through four “ages” according to McLuhan; the tribal age representing an audio community, the age of literacy incorporating the alphabet leading to detachment rather then collective actions, the print age and printing press leading to an individual being reliant on images which produced nationalism/fragmentation, and the electronic age which created a global village.
Change and transformation were inevitable for society as McLuhan stated (1969), “Because all media, from the phonetic alphabet to the computer, are extensions of man that cause deep and lasting changes in him and transform his environment.” The onset of new technologies described by McLuhan concluded that, “We shape our tools and they in turn shape us”.[1] Within this interaction of man and technology, he and his son revealed TheMcLuhan’s Laws of Media where simultaneously four things happen in media: enhance, reverse, retrieve and obsolescence. McLuhan felt these laws represented the best method for exposing the effect technologies had on individuals.
The tetrad of the effects of technologies were related to the laws of media and ranged from enhancement, meaning that all technology was an extension of the user. Another effect was obsolescence since there was balance as one experience had been heightened while the other was diminished. Reversal could be seen in all forms being pushed to the limit as it reversed individuality. And last, retrieval where behind the content of every medium was an older medium. An example of these laws being applied could be seen in reviewing the internet: the enhancement is obvious through electronic communications and virtual communities; the obsolescence could be seen as distance and face to face interactions. The reverse might be isolation and information overload. And last, retrieval could be seen through tribes or villages and writing.
McLuhan’s theories connected the electric media and the concept of a global village as a utopian return to community, stability, and interdependence. This was considered his version of the United Nations exhibiting representatives sitting around in a circle listening to one another before making decisions of global importance. (Soules, 2007, para 3). He felt that the global village would be created due to the old fading and the new taking its place, “The electric media will create a world of dropouts from the old fragmented society, with its neatly compartmentalized analytic functions, and cause people to drop in to the new integrated global-village community.” (as cited in McLuhan, 1969, 18). His forecast spoke of the internet in detail and how it would be possible to link individuals from all over the world as Berger (2008) explained, “It seems that Marshall McLuhan’s prediction that communication technologies were creating a “global village” has come true” (p.229).
In my opinion, as well as McLuhan, there was one case in which a message was not affected, in significant ways, by the medium that carried it. McLuhan’s concept of the content over the medium playing a subordinate role could be heard as he remarked, “By placing all the stress on content and practically none on the medium, we lose all chance of perceiving and influencing the impact of new technologies on man, and thus we are always dumfounded by—and unprepared for—the revolutionary environmental transformations induced by new media.”(p.11)[1] He discussed the medium as being invisible and compared it to electric light as it was also invisible to the naked eye, “The electric light is pure information.” As Theall (2001) explained, “In Understanding Media McLuhan stresses the unique role of electric light in being
“pure information” and thus a medium without a message” (p.180). Therefore, light is information without content. It is a medium without a message as McLuhan declared, “The content of electric light is anything it happens to be shining on…whether the light is being used for brain surgery or night baseball is a matter of indifference” (as cited in McLuhan, 1964, 10).
McLuhan’s theory can be applied to current issues in visual culture and communication or in creating a business or organization. There many factors to consider and developmental planning to be done from the beginning to end. But, its the effects that will never be truly understood to the fullest extent due to our limitations as Federman (n.d.) commented, “…we are completely unable to perceive all of the dynamics of our environment because our conception limits our perception. Our intense focus on precisely what we have been trained to do controls what we believe. And what we believe controls what we are able to see.” (p.2) This can also be said for our contemporary visual culture and communication. As man and technology continue to search for a happy medium (no pun intended) so do we learn more about human nature and its internal as well as, external environment. In bringing together today’s technically advanced world and McLuhan’s theories the result could be the mixing of the hot and cold media bringing us to the next level of multimedia events. The School of Communication and the Arts (n.d.) posted on their website, “If print is hot and linear, and electronic broadcast media are cool and interactive, hypermedia on the Web is “freezing” and 3-D.” [1]
In conclusion, from the 1960’s up to today’s electric media , McLuhan has opened the door not only to science, the arts and society as a whole to a new way of viewing the term,
“the medium is the message.” Not only does the media types effect society but, it’s the transitional journey we travel as man effects the media with its technological advancements. With the explosion of electronic technologies and on line communication, his theories and countless others regarding culturally significant ideas, are more pertinent than ever as technology has evolved through the years.
Berger, A. A. (1995). Cultural criticism: a primer of key concepts: Foundations of popular culture. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://books.google.com/books?id=Pf- LRjZcQBQC&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155&dq=What+effects+does+a+medium+have+on+t he+messages+it+carries&source=bl&ots=9B4NAs4MUR&sig=qo2ONdaEIWrHeDfIlPA 6v6Wkb- U&hl=en&ei=xcMTTf_qFML78AaW6JWBDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resn um=5&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=What%20effects%20does%20a%20mediu m%20have%20on%20the%20messages%20it%20carries&f=false
Berger, A. A. (2008). Seeing is believing: An introduction to visual communication.New York: McGraw-Hill.
McLuhan E. & Zingrone, F. (1995) Playboy interview from Essential.
McLuhan, M. (1960). Effects of the Improvements of Communication. The Journal of Economic History, 20( 4), 566-575. Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2114396
Theall, D. F. (2001). The virtual Marshall McLuhan. Retrieved December 21, 2010, fromhttp://books.google.com/books?id=MF0gMccuPEkC&pg=PA180&dq=mcluhan+19 64+electric+light&hl=en&ei=i_UUTfLYD8G88gavl6jvDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=r esult&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=mcluhan%201964%20electric %20light&f=false
The frame of reference in this paper entails historical information pertaining to women’s roles changing in social status during World War II as they had to face many hardships during the war, just as the women of today contend with their own battles. The rationale for this comparative paper is to explore the many similarities yet, not so similar experiences in the workplace of women that affected their lives, past and present. The topic was chosen to pose the question, “How have the female gendered roles within the workplace changed throughout history?” I shall argue that the statement “women’s place is in the home” is flawed.
Prior to the war period, cultural divisions and segregation of labor by gender placed women in the home and men in the workforce. The principle roles of women were as wives and mothers since a women’s place was in the home taking care of the family although, some women did work who were minority and/or in the lower class. Women were looked upon as mothers and nothing more. It was a woman’s job to keep the family together due to the economy crash and high unemployment rate before the war took place. Unfortunately, women were discriminated against as they were viewed as taking men’s jobs away from them. People who thought that women were supposed to stay at home and raise the children didn’t approve of women going to work outside the home. Hymowitz & Weismann (1978) commented on society’s reflection of women working, “In the 1930’s, the message to women had been “Don’t steal a job from a man,” and twenty six states had laws prohibiting the employment of married women” (in Douglas, 1995, p. 45). Similarly, discrimination is still prevalent today as in the glass ceiling and the wage differences. According to Ragins, Townsend, & Mattis (1998), “The glass ceiling, the glass wall, and the sticky floor still prevent a large percentage of women from advancing to the top of organizations and being paid equitably” (Sullivan & Mainiero, 2008, 34). Furthermore, gender segregation of labor appeared to lessen the opportunities for decision making as Bonvillain (2007) commented, “Gender Segregation in the workplace generally relegates women to jobs with low social prestige, low financial compensation, and few opportunities for decision making, control, and advancement” (p.251).
The government decided to launch a propaganda campaign to sell the importance of the WW II effort and to lure women into working. According to Rupp (1978), “The United States government had to overcome these challenges in order to recruit women to the workforce. Early in the war, the government was not satisfied with women’s response to the call to work.” (p. 98). Women were then called on, by necessity, to do work and to take on responsibilities that were outside their traditional gender role during World War II. Although, in today’s world women join the military voluntarily for a variety of reasons, but not because of a propaganda campaign. In 2009 the passion of these women showed through the number of females in the United States in the military was 155.8 million.[1]
Half of the women who took war jobs were minority and lower class women who were already in the workforce. They switched from lower paying traditionally female jobs to higher paying men’s factory positions. As Acemoglu & Lyle (2004) stated, “As evocatively captured by the image of Rosie the Riveter, the war drew many women into the labor force as 16 million men mobilized to serve in the Armed Forces, with over 73 percent deploying overseas…only 28
percent of U.S. women over the age of 15 participated in the labor force in 1940. By 1945 this figure exceeded 34 percent” (p.499).
The war resulted in the women running the house by themselves and had to act as a mother and father after the men were sent to war to defend their country. These women automatically became single mothers. Lewis (1978) stated that during World War II, “Bringing up children alone was one of the greatest stresses that women had to cope with” (p.55). Single parenthood was a complete reversal of the dependent prewar life that most women knew. Comparatively speaking, in today’s society, single mothers running a household by themselves are considered the norm. In 2010, there were 2,234,000 single parent families with children under 3 maintained by the mother, (91.5% of all single parent families with children under 3). 53.4% of those mothers were employed.[1]
Thousands of women began looking for employment as the war progressed. Women decided to leave their kitchens and learn new skills quickly to become successful. Women took on various jobs helping in war production in the nation’s factories such as, welders, drill pressing, riveters, electricians, painters, crane operators, machinists, truck drivers, making gun barrels, and other jobs in war material manufacturing.[1] The choices were limited on career options as other women found jobs within the war itself as nurses and in other fields such as, journalists and teachers who began to work for fewer wages in order to keep the education system going for the children. They were shipyard workers with many struggles as Goodier (2008) described, “as qualifying and obtaining jobs in the shipyards, the challenges of working in traditionally male occupations, struggles to obtain pay equal to that of men, efforts to obtain more lucrative positions, sexual harassment, and especially, the thrill and pride the women took in their work” (p.446). Whereas, today’s women the sky is the limit on education and career options. In addition, in both time periods, women learned to balance home, family and career and in today’s culture, the roles have reversed as both men and women are in the workforce while other individual’s male/female is a stay at home parent.
Instead of focusing on their careers and pursuing higher education during the war, it was expected of them to put their needs on the back burner. For some, women postponed having children in order for the main goal to be achieved: survival, while mother’s and young women worked outside the home. Women of the middle class or lower class had limited choices for good jobs, because society knew that their men would not want their wives to go out to work again after the war.
Whereas, in today’s society more women are attending college to further their careers as Tyson, (2011) commented:
The dramatic increase in college education among women is one major reason that the earnings of female workers have increased, that the gap between male and female earnings has fallen and that, in recent recessions, the unemployment rate for women has been lower than the rate for men.
Even though the gap was closing which was good news, the reasoning was bad news. It was because men were losing jobs faster than women according to economist Drago (2010), research director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “…women make up 49.7% of the workforce…men have been losing jobs at a faster rate than women in the recession because of troubles in manufacturing, construction and other industries…”
In both time periods, society viewed women becoming accustomed to the wages and fulfillment of outside employment and set out to regain it in their own right. Women enjoyed working outside the home because it gave them a sense of being independent, a contributor to the home, a sense of having more rights and the capacity to make their own decisions. In today’s economy unemployment is on the rise and for these single parents as the BLS website (2010) reported, “In 2009, families maintained by women with no spouse present were less likely to have an employed member (72.8 percent) than were married-couple families (82.4 percent) or families maintained by men with no spouse present (79.8 per-cent)…The share of families with an employed member declined over the year for all family types.”
During WWII, over 6 million women took wartime jobs in factories or filling in for men on farms, 3 million women volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 women served the military.[1]Though women survived many hardships when the war was over another battle had begun. As Douglas (1995) expressed hardship of the women’s workforce, “ Fueled by the fear that wouldn’t be enough jobs for returning servicemen and that depression conditions might return, the campaign to get women out of the workforce began immediately: in 1946, 4 million women were fired from their jobs” (p. 47).
In conclusion, both periods of history have proven that in patriarchal societies women were able to break out of the stereotypical traditional attitudes and modes and succeed far beyond any man’s expectations. The struggles we face today are the same as in WW II. Discrimination and segregation of gender still exists. Wage and salary between men and women are still not considered equal. The statement “women’s place is in the home” is flawed as women have proven to be a great asset not only in the economy but, in society as a whole contributing daily in the home, family and the workplace.
Sullivan, S. E. & Mainiero, L. (2008). Using the Kaleidoscope Career Model to Understand the Changing Patterns of Women’s Careers: Designing HRD Programs That Attract and Retain Women. Retrieved March 8, 2011 from http://adh.sagepub.com.library.esc.edu/content/10/1/32.full.pdf+html
Tyson, L. D. (2011). Education and Women in the Labor Market. Retrieved March 10, 2011 from http://economix. nytimes.com/tag/women-in-the-workforce/
I am the eternal student...but I am not alone 