Bewitched Stereotypes

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BEWITCHED
Bewitched is a sitcom about a man who is married a witch. This show was featured in 1964 on ABC. Elizabeth Montgomery plays a good-hearted witch named Samantha. She is strong, independent, and wants to do things the mortal way by giving up life as a witch. She tries to live like a house wife, but she fails to perform household duties without her power. Darrin Stephens is her mortal husband played by Dick York. He is a talented advertising executive. He follows his set of socially masculine behavioral norms by earning a good living for his family. Samantha's dominant mother, Endora, played by Agnes Moorehead, is who Darrin constantly struggles with against because he disapproves witchcraft. Hegemonic masculinity refers to the dominant …show more content…

The Barbie of the 60s, she was a fairytale beauty that had it all: displaying the feminine characteristic of a beautifully balanced body, beautiful long coiffed blonde hair, and perfectly manicured nails. She demonstrated the icon of beauty and accomplishment that many of that generation aspired to follow. As the wife of a successful advertising executive, Darrin Stephens, Samantha had for the casual observer which describes by way of, that part of the individual's performance, which regularly functions in a general and fixed fashion to define the situation for those who observe the performance. Americans can observe that Samantha appeared to follow the stereotypical expectations of performance as the 60s wife with a beautiful, immaculate house on the right street, beautiful children, and an adoring husband who financially supported their middle-class lifestyle ranch culture. Her character is an empowering one in the way that she maintains both the social status quo and privilege: meeting the particular needs of her husband and children. This allowed them to perform within the commonly accepted standards by which they became accepted in their community and social circles. This is what the typical heteronormative American family is …show more content…

Darrin is so entrenched in the hegemonic discourse of moral normalcy that he is unable to even imagine the world where being mortal is possible. Hegemonic discourse is promoted within Darrin which is the dominant social position of men and the subordinate social position of women. Hegemonic masculinity subordinates other masculinities and femininities. In most Western societies today, hegemonic masculinity is associated with whiteness and heterosexuality. There are various ways of being a witch just as there are various ways of being gay. Hegemonic features can be shown in the fact that as a married couple they become the Stephens: as Darrin's surname is Stephens. Male dominance is shown here for most women take their husband’s last name. Also, Darrin often calls Samantha by the miniature

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