Gender And Cultural Aspects In Elizabeth Montgomery's Bewitched

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Elizabeth Montgomery was an American actress who lived from 1933 to 1995. Of her five decades of work in the entertainment industry, her most renowned role was as Samantha in the comedic-fantasy TV series Bewitched which aired from 1964 to 1972. During the period when Americans were experiencing trying events such as the assassination of President John Kennedy and the civil rights movements, Samantha’s magical powers and almost perfect life served as a means for the stressed public to periodically dismiss reality. In real life, Elizabeth Montgomery was an empowered activist. However, this paper will explore the influence of social and cultural aspects in regards to gender and women’s leadership roles as observed through the character Samantha, which Elizabeth Montgomery developed and brought to life.
In the series Bewitched, Samantha is …show more content…

For instance, regardless of her level of anger, Samantha was always respectful. She was also good-natured and well intentioned for in her world, those with corrupt intentions usually suffered immediately. She also boasted the “Big Five” characteristics- Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism as identified by Eagly and Carli (2007). She asked the right questions at the right time and always remained calm during testing situations. Additionally, in line with the suggestions of Grant and Taylor, Samantha becomes a quick thinker as her interaction with the human world increases (2014). In addition, Samantha consistently projected warmth from the pilot episode to the finale, which according to Grant and Taylor may have contributed to her effectiveness in leadership (2014). In addition, Samantha routinely utilized her sense of humor together with her female charm to cover-up any unfavorable situations. Noteworthy is the fact that Samantha also smiled a

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