What real women think of 'Desperate Housewives'
Television's campy prime-time soap has become a hit, but
do women buy the premise of frustrated wives and hunky plumbers?
We asked a group of suburban L.A. moms to tell us.
By Gloria Goodale | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
October 29, 2004
LOS ANGELES – "Desperate Housewives" defies
conventional wisdom in the TV business: It stars a handful
of middle-aged women at home, it does not feature a new dead
body each week (OK, there is a dead body, but it's the same
one each episode), and it has a jampacked, serialized plot.
But thanks to these Wisteria Lane residents, the most-watched
show in the fall lineup held its own Sunday night, pulling in
21.3 million viewers, even against Boston's triumphant second
win in the World Series playoffs.
What is it that makes this ABC show such catnip to viewers? To
answer this question, The Monitor gathered a group of five women
to watch and dish, appropriately enough, over afternoon tea and
scones.
What the girl talk reveals is that "desperate" may not
be that far off the mark. For most of these Los Angeles-area
women - all mothers, some married and some not - there's more
than a grain of truth buried in the outlandish plot lines of
"Desperate Housewives." In some respects, it's a
series about them.
"It rings bells with all of us," says Jenna Abouzeid,
an artist, neighborhood activist, and mother of a 7-year-old boy.
As a mom, she says, she can relate to the central theme: We all
live lives of quiet desperation.
"At any given time in your life," she says, "how
much do you wish you could have shared about what's really going
on?" A murmur of agreement ripples through the group as the
women alternately balance teacups and dessert plates.
"I especially love the name Wisteria Lane," says Cindi
Dale, a museum program director who now stays home with her two
young boys. "That vine is so pretty, but it's a creeper and
really strong, and ultimately it will take over and destroy your
whole garden."
The only one who's been watching the show from the start is Julie
Reynolds, a department- store public relations manager and single
mother of a 9-year-old boy. She says she can identify with the
character Lynette (Felicity Huffman), a corporate go-getter now
stranded at home with four children. Among other things, Lynette
struggles with a loss of self-image.
"I nearly lost my mind when I was married," Julie says.
"I was used to being in a boardroom with powerful people, and
losing that was hard."
But if many of the show's themes resonate, it also takes a few
critical punches, especially for its execution.
"This is Barbie- and 'Stepford Wives'-level writing," says
actress Susie Duff, a single mother of a teenage son. "This is
nothing but a bunch of men writing their fantasies about women."
(The show was created by Marc Cherry, who writes the script along
with nine others. Of the 10, six are men.)
Susie suggests the popularity of "Desperate Housewives"
may have more to do with the deterioration of network TV in general
than with the quality of this show in particular - though she admits
she doesn't watch television. "Come on, this is nothing but
vaudeville."
And Cindi "was particularly offended by some of the sexist
things in there." She cites a scene in which Carlos, a wealthy
businessman, orders his wife, Eva, to let one of his clients grab
her behind at a party because it will keep the client happy.
The Carlos-Eva incident sets off a tizzy of responses. "It's
crazy TV, we all know that, but all these things are happening to
all of us on some level, right?" says Lisa Tay, who has two
children under age 10 and teaches school part-time. "We've all
made compromises we have to learn to live with." Julie, laughing
ruefully, adds, "A lot of folks have had managers like that."
Susie, for one, does not appreciate the shallow stereotypes.
"This is nothing but a redone cartoon," she says, citing
the character Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross). "There's just
zero subtlety or character depth there." But Bree, who outdoes
Martha Stewart as a domestic diva, arouses sympathy from the other
women.
"There are plenty of people who are as extreme as Bree,"
says Lisa. "There is plenty of pain being expressed there."
"Let's get to her sadness, then," says Susie. "Now
that would be interesting!"
Julie is unapologetic about her commitment to the show.
"Sometimes you just need to bliss out with something funny
and close enough to home that it keeps you interested. I know
it's junk TV, but it's fun."
Several suggest that 9/11 has changed what TV audiences want.
"People want shows that will make them laugh, that are
like comfort food and not too challenging," says Lisa.
"There is a place for that; not everything has to be Shakespeare."
Cindi adds, "Don't you think it's interesting that all the
homes have family pictures in them?" Indeed, the camera
persistently scans the family photos in each home. Viewers,
especially women, are tired of all the cop and doctor shows,
she says. They want something about families and homes.
"Even if it's dysfunctional families, at least it's a
topic you care about."
© Christian Science Monitor 2004. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1029/p12s01-altv.html