The beat goes on with my attempt to watch more of the Emmy nominees before the actual Emmy Awards ceremony airs on September 20th. So with that, I landed on FX for Hulu’s nine part miniseries, Mrs. America. Talk about a star-studded affair! Even the small parts were played by well-known actors!
The story follows the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment along with its strong opposition lead by Phyllis Schlafly. Honestly, watching the early stages of the ratification process seemed like it was going to be a breeze to pass. Women wanted women to succeed and men didn’t really seem think it was a big deal to get this thing off the ground. Sure, there were some politicians who were just doing it to essentially throw the women a bone, but it was also because they knew how powerful and influential the movement was.
All was fine and dandy until a group of women got nervous about being drafted or missing out on alimony if they got divorced. Clearly, these women didn’t totally understand all the fine print within the ERA, but that didn’t seem to matter to headstrong Phyllis Schlafly. She took the bull by the horns and pretty much successfully stopped the ERA from getting ratified by the 38 states it needed. It was a slow start, and she played a somewhat dirty game, but it just goes to show how strong party pride can be, too.
Honestly, the biggest thing I took away from Phyllis was that it seemed like she took on this crusade for something to do and to be listened to. It almost appeared that her involvement was an accident. And I agree with what Betty Friedan said in a later episode to one of the Stop ERA members and that was that Phyllis essentially helped those women become what they were fighting against in the first place: working women. Oof.
My favorite episode of the season belonged to the couples debate, where you see Phyllis and her husband pinned up against Brenda Feigan and her lawyer husband. They absolutely crushed Phyllis’ spirit and it also shed light on the fact that her husband liked having control over her and wanted her to be a bit embarrassed. I also liked the flip side of that episode where Brenda’s husband was totally accepting of her attraction to women. Totally progressive, even for the 70s!
Mrs. America managed to rack up quite a large handful of Emmy nominations including Outstanding Limited Series and Writing, along with a slew of acting nominations for Uzo Aduba, Margo Martindale, Cate Blanchett, and Tracey Ullman. All very well deserved, and I’m gunning for Margo Martindale to take it home for supporting – she’s the best! I was surprised to see Rose Byrne’s name absent from the ballot considering she was Phyllis Schlafly’s primary opposition, playing Gloria Steinem. It’s a shame, but there’s always the Golden Globes or the SAG awards for her chance to shine. If politics interest you in any way, then this is definitely worth checking out. Very well done!