Cinematic Satire and "Stepfordization" of the American Left?

The Stepford Wives, starring the beautiful Nicole Kidman, opens today, June 11th, in all U.S. theaters. Showtimes are available through Amazon.com, below.

In response to my earlier review of the classic 1975 Stepford Wives video (here, related article on perceived censorship in America; photo of right-wing "Stepfordized" vandalism in America) and the long cinematic tradition of using robotic and brainwashed characters, Eric Olsen sparked some debate (here) when he suggested that "Stepfordization" could apply to the left as well as the right.

Of course, the political spectrum is actually circle. The extreme far right like to vest all political power upon single individual; this is fascism. Similarly, the extreme far left would like vest all power upon the state to the point that independent attempts to challenge the powers that be (by elections or other means) become impossible, so that whoever controls the state effectively becomes a permanent dictator. This is called communism, and ultimately becomes just a minor variant on fascism, with which it shares its totalitarian goals if not its precise ideology. Thus, I would agree with Eric Olsen and say that "Stepfordization," at least in principal, can apply equally to the left as well as the right.

In practice, however, it is a different matter. However, when used in political debate, the term "Stepfordization" from the classic 1975 film has traditionally been used as a metaphor for the American Right. This makes sense, given the social satire evident in both the 1975 classic film and the novel, which are clearly social commentaries on anti-feminism, authoritarianism, and other aspects of 1970s American conservatism.

Moreover, the metaphor of constructing robots to replace individuals is inherently associated with corporate wealth and conservatism. (Just think of the R&D costs of building these robots!)

The idea of replacing beautiful women with replica robots to be controlled by men (or the powers that be) is not new to the The Stepford Wives. It is an old idea that goes back at least to the 1927 silent classic Metropolis, if not to ancient stories such as the Hebrew Golem and Russian "Snow Maiden" fairy tales. (A modern remake of Metropolis is available on DVD from Amazon.com. The original 1927 film was also retinted in color in 1984 with a rock sound track by Moroder of Donna Summer fame; the audio CD is available from Amazon.com.) The 1927 silent Metropolis is a film replete with early twentieth century Luddite and Christian Socialist propaganda. The futuristic city's main capitalist (who owns everything and also represents God) is persuaded by the city's inventor (also representing the devil) to replace a beautiful girl (not coincidentally named "Maria," after the mother of Christ) with a robot replica. The robot is ordered to persuade the workers to destroy the city (as they are no longer needed once the capitalist's army of robot replicas is in place), and the plan succeeds until the son of the Capitalist (also symbolizing Christ, or Christian Socialism) intervenes. The robots are clearly associated with the early 20th capitalist masters, who, in Socialist or Marxist thought, forced workers to become subservient slaves to the new machines of the burgeoning industrial revolution.

Article Author: E.E.A. Eaton

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