TBOE imdb Review titled "A Hedonistic, Though Flawed, Delight"
"I am still trying to figure out why I like this film, when in truth, the submissiveness of females and their dependence on the love of a man really sickens me. . . . . I inexplicably continue to watch this film, every so often. . . . . . even though politically I'm quite liberal, my own social mores lean far more to those of a Rules Girl."
Maybe your subconscious mind is trying to communicate something to you. i.e., That there is a cost to having too much freedom (too many options) and perhaps you feel Buyer's Remorse at the price. See Harvard professor Dan Gilbert's research into happiness (too many choices can be worse than too few).
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"The depiction of women in this film is perhaps a bit more progressive than that in other films of this genre . . . ."
Progressing toward what? An androgynous society?
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"...so, it's a bit contradictory, and frustrating."
Believe it or not, Contradictory And Frustrating sometimes occasionally happens with young people starting out in the adult world.
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"And he, of course, says it's wonderful when she agrees with him that it would be quite satisfying for her to get her feet wet in publishing for a year or two to prove what she has to prove, then marry a doctor or lawyer, and have babies."
Sometimes the things that are good/fun for the individual are not good/fun for the overall society in which they live, and vice-versa. This fundamental truth is no longer taught in first-world Western societies, where the advertisements in ubiquitous mass media has turned us into narcissists.
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"Maybe it's the women's clothing...I love suits, and I miss dressing up for work. (Business casual has been one of several downfalls of today's workplace, as far as I'm concerned. Even though I'm a die-hard liberal, I definitely appreciate and enjoy conservative dress)."
There are no solutions, only trade-offs. (Thomas Sowell)
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". . . when she rhetorically asks her slime-bucket hometown beau Eddie 'what is it about men that they think they deserve the most refined, cultured, respectable women from the best schools and the best families only part-time, for only fun, but ignore all of the attendant responsibilities that would turn frolic into long-term, serious relationships.'"
The title of the movie applies to men's dreams ("The Best of Everything") as well as women's.
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"Having spent some time lately with various dating services, I've run into more slime-buckets during the past year than I have in my entire life."
Men just want their CCLS (cooking, cleaning, laundry, and sex) taken care of. It's what we wanted in 1959, and it's what we want in 2015. Some men are bad businessmen, who see a wife as an 'efficient' one-stop-shopping fulfillment of those needs. Other men are good businessmen, who know that diversity* in their supply chain -- with NON-exclusive contracts -- protects their negotiating power. Labeling them 'slime-buckets' is a psychological shield that prevents you from recognizing your petulant "I don't offer what someone else wants, so the fault must be theirs" rationalization.
* Never tie all your needs to one source: One dame for cleaning, a 2nd for laundry, a 3rd for sex, plus restaurants for food.
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". . . I need to laugh that it's Johnny Mathis singing the title song . . . . who else would be singing this song for a 1950's movie . . . ."
I'm surprised you didn't criticize TBOE for having a Negro (that's what they were called back then) sing the title song for a movie that has no Negroes in it. And you call yourself Progressive!
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"Joan Crawford's boss is in many ways no different from some of the tyrannical maniacs I've worked for today . . . ."
I wonder what your bosses would say about you.
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"Joan Crawford's Amanda Farrow was more or less a direct, no holds barred, right-in-your face bitch . . . ."
I guess you didn't see the whole movie. In the 3rd act, she mellows and learns a thing or two about herself (and others).
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". . . . telling Hope Lange that she does not have what it takes to become a Reader, much less an Editor."
This is how you separate the wheat from the chaff (who can accept a challenge and prove the challenger wrong).
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"And, she did it in front of the rest of the typing pool (how unprofessional is that?)."
Thick skin is a prerequisite for rising to the top.
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"I found it inconsistent how the Suzy Parker character started out as an independent, career-minded, aspiring actress, who prided herself on never having needed a man ("to love, and to let go...that's me"), but ended up becoming the most debilitated by the rejection of a man with whom she had fallen in love."
The purpose of Suzy Parker's character was not to exhibit the perfect decision-making you envision all women capable of. It was to demonstrate the folly of ignoring the lessons that older generations can teach the young (Joan Crawford warns her about the folly of falling for Louis Jordan's lies).
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"And of course, it's also amazing how Diane Baker, fresh from being thrown out of a speeding car and losing a baby (out of wedlock, no less, in the 1950's!) manages to attract the attention and heart of a young, studly doctor when she's still wearing bandages and no make-up in her hospital bed. Wonders never cease in a 1950's melodrama!"
Watch a modern Nancy Meyers Romantic-Comedy movie. The same contradiction-strewn fantasy worlds are still being created for (and consumed by) modern women.
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"If you hedonistically enjoy . . . . Written on the Wind . . . ."
You need to read between the lines better when you watch Written on the Wind & the rest of Douglas Sirk's 1950's melodramas. He was planting the seeds of rebellion against 1950's conformity. Seeds that would bloom in the 1960's (Progressive's favorite decade!).