MovieChat Forums > The Honeymooners (1955) Discussion > I wonder if feminists....

I wonder if feminists....

posted 9 years ago by LukeLovesFilm28
16 replies | jump to latest

I wonder if feminists get their skewed perspective of men and the patriarchy in the 1950s from watching The Honeymooners. I mean, Alice was abused compared to Mrs. Cleaver.

[–] JoeKarlosi 9 years ago

Alice was also way tougher, and more feminist than, Mrs. Cleaver. She stood up to Ralph, and was the real boss.

People take these things way too seriously today.

[–] lorenzb-2 9 years ago

That's the gag. Ralph tried to bully her, but in reality Alice wasn't the least bit intimidated by him. In fact she could be downright mean to him. Even though he mostly deserved it.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (49761343) 9 years ago

I wonder if feminists get their skewed perspective of men and the patriarchy in the 1950s from watching The Honeymooners.

Yes, it was a show that lasted one season on TV that launched feminism, not the real life stuff that women had to deal with at the time, such as being expected to be a broodmare, not being able to get an abortion, being raped and told most of the time that they had somehow asked for it, and all the other stuff that made the 1950s so pleasant for women.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Dragonsouls 9 years ago

I always say that this show started the feminist movement. Alice was tough as nails.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] RvaBread22 8 years ago

My Daddy is almost 82, and he was a teenager and young adult in the 1950s. He says it was a great time to be alive , especially in 1950's Virginia. He said society really went downhill after 1965.

[–] liscarkat (17114) 3 months ago

He's right.

[–] corey (745) 10 months ago

Actually, most women want to go to the moon. Right, Alice?

[–] millsey72 (9757) 2 years ago

The scenes when Ralph would make a fist and threaten to send Alice to the moon is very disturbing. I'm surprised that made it past the censors

[–] Owlwise (1513) 10 months ago

But viewers knew that Ralph was all bluster there. And both Ralph & Alice knew it, too. She'd let him bluster for awhile because he needed to vent, but if he crossed the line, she'd let him know it in no uncertain terms. He'd back down immediately and realize that he'd made a dope of himself again. And he'd sincerely apologize, because he genuinely loved Alice more than anything else in the world, and she knew it. Please note that she never flinches or pulls back when he does that. She just stands there patiently, giving him a look that's already letting him know that if he goes too far ...

[–] millsey72 (9757) 10 months ago

Please post spoiler alert next time. I haven't watched all the episodes yet and was wondering if Ralph was ever going to hit her

[–] strntz (11264) 10 months ago

LOL!

[–] PaladinNJ (20672) 10 months ago

To papraphrase Ralph: "She's the Greatest."

[–] strntz (11264) 10 months ago

The scenes when Ralph would make a fist and threaten to send Alice to the moon is very disturbing.

Agree, but as disturbing as that was, it was more disturbing to see Ralph emasculated by the misandrist Alice after he backed down!

[–] liscarkat (17114) 3 months ago

"I wonder if feminists get their skewed perspective of men and the patriarchy in the 1950s from watching The Honeymooners."

Ralph was based on a male stereotype that had already existed for a long time in 1955. He's a cartoonish sitcom caricature, not a reflection of what men were really like in the '50s. Most men weren't like that then, any more than they are now, and the audience of 1955 laughed at him just as much as the audience of the 21st century laughs at him.