"Edith's 50th Birthday" article

[Flea]

This is a blast from the past. Perhaps a little dated, but not by much.

If you were a fan of "All In the Family" back in the day, you may remember a 1977 episode where a man forces his way into the Bunker household while Edith was alone with clear intentions. I watched it as a kid (probably way too young for it,) and I remember how agonizing it was as she tried every psychological ploy she could think of to get rid of him before finally forcing him out the door.

The article has the full episode embedded. I was pleased to find out that the writer deliberately wrote it to make a social contribution, in close partnership with a rape crisis center, and that it took him a whole year to perfect the script before they started filming. The wisdom at the time was "think, yell, run, fight, tell," and Edith demonstrated each step clearly. Most importantly, when she did tell her family was very supportive at the end. Which is cathartic for the viewers but not usually grounded in reality.

Here's the link for the article. It goes into the "steps" listed above, and how the episode was received at the time. It's a fantastic read.

 

[Buka]

I remember that episode like it was yesterday. I was a black belt with a few years experience. I rember how it angered me back then.

Just watched it. It angered me even more this time around.

 

[Flea]

Yeah, I can't bring myself to watch it. I saw it once with my mother (I was maybe 8 years old at the time?) and of course came away with SO MANY QUESTIONS. My mother tried her best to field them in an appropriate way, but it left me feeling much more confused and vulnerable. I can't believe she let me watch it at that age. Very unhealthy.

Still, Strong Women are such a rarity in mass media that I always feel blessed when I find one. In fairness I could be talking out of my butt since I chose not to watch it today, but I am curious about what angered you with this episode?

 

[AndreaLola]

I remember how painful that episode was.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Buka]

Yeah, I can't bring myself to watch it. I saw it once with my mother (I was maybe 8 years old at the time?) and of course came away with SO MANY QUESTIONS. My mother tried her best to field them in an appropriate way, but it left me feeling much more confused and vulnerable. I can't believe she let me watch it at that age. Very unhealthy.

Still, Strong Women are such a rarity in mass media that I always feel blessed when I find one. In fairness I could be talking out of my butt since I chose not to watch it today, but I am curious about what angered you with this episode?

Bad people, bad actions, at times elicit strong emotional feelings within me. Even if it's fiction. That episode was a classic case in point. It's something I keep in constant check professionally. Always have, always will.

In my private life I sometimes let it run a bit. Just because.