Interesting article by Margaret Talbot in Atlantic Monthly about the upcoming remake of The Stepford Wives, a film I honestly have to say I've only seen in bits and pieces. Talbot's primary point:
A Stepford Wives that worked as social satire today would be different from its predecessor: It would be at least as much about the project of perfecting children as that of perfecting wives. It would be about the collaboration between ambitious fathers and mothers who believe both in the meritocracy and in doing what it takes to rig it in the interest of their own offspring's Ivy League prospects. It would be about shameless string-pulling to get kids into the right nursery school. Status anxiety about three-year-olds. The subtle assessing of other people's children in relation to one's own.
While I agree that the "perfect children" syndrome so frequently exhibited by many upper middle class families is a deserving target, I must say that there are probably some battle of the sexes visions that could still probably offer a bit of satiric bite. For example, perhaps "The Stepford Wives" should no longer be merely robotic domestic goddesses, but rather representative of the VISA commericals that boldly proclaim "You Can Have it All." Perhaps a modern "Stepford Wife" is the immaculate master of the boardoom as well as the kitchen, the flawlessly effecient woman only hinted at in the Charlie commercials of the same period as the original Stepford Wives: "I can bring home the bacon/fry it up in a pan/and never let him forget he's a man." I don't doubt that there could be some biting social commentary related to the two-income household, the pressures faced by women who have to work a full-time job and then come home to face the laundry and the cooking and the cleaning and the whining (of the kids and hubby to boot, no doubt).
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Article comments
1 - Gloria
hmm, agree with just about everything you said, but I think that instead of Robots, their dna would be altered or some kind of microchip would be installed in their brain to make the tech of the movie more up to date, as well.
2 - Bill Wallo
Interesting point; I think you're right. Gotta update the tech too. Probably the microchip route for the older crew, possibly genetic modifications for the new generation. :)
3 - Eric Olsen
I have found quite a few upper class suburban women who are quite happy and proud to be "Stepford Wives." They see it as a compliment.
4 - Cindi Bates
To quote from Eric Olsen: "I have found quite a few upper class suburban women who are quite happy and proud to be "Stepford Wives." They see it as a compliment."
That is because they are without a doubt shallow minded & obviously don't know there is a real other world out there. Who would want to be married to a Narcissist like those guys?