The film grossed $103 million worldwide on a $90 million budget. No one should be excited that they're fulfilling the Stepford ideal of perfection and servitude unless it's something to which all parties have consented. Striving for the Barbie-doll ideal, forever dieting while their beer-swilling husbands packed on the pounds and lost their hair, required a discipline those husbands couldn't (or chose not to) understand. Hirnlose Blondinen mit Dauerlust auf Sex: Klingt wie der ultimative Macho-Traum, ist aber nur die Prämisse für Frank Oz' "Die Frauen von Stepford". Source: impawards.com. In Ira Levin's 1972 novel and Bryan Forbes' 1975 film, Stepford Wives were robotic versions of a woman, refitted to be a better version of someone's partner. So, we know that Joanna is very worried about the other wives in Stepford. There's a look to the Stepford Wife that was dreamed up in the '70s but survives in its own way today. The fact is, managing a household is complex, potentially soul-draining, and may have required more skill than the jobs the bread-winning men were doing. The Stepford Wives is a 1972 satirical novel by Ira Levin. Joanna then meets her ''The Stepford Wives,'' Frank Oz's madcap re-engineering of a dusty, second-rate thriller from 1975, opens with a montage of happy housewives and their household gadgets. The “Stepford Wives”, takes place during the second wave of feminism, when women were demanding social and economic equality. When they return, they are Stepford Wives. The last we find out, related to this scene, is that Bobbie has a knife and we fade to black. Jessica Leigh Hester. Did she come to her senses and realize she was being crazy and felt terrible for her husband and kids? Oh, I feel like Nancy Drew in the mystery of the mid-life crisis. and discovers that Bobbie has been replaced by a robot. In the years following the film's release it became a cult classic along the lines of Beyond The Valley of the Dolls and The Phantom of the Paradise. There are at least three iterations of The Stepford Wives and multiple, lesser, spin-offs, and while each version of the story packs its own specific punch it's the phrase that seems to stick with the population, not the story, not the harrowing images on the big screen. In 1972 Ira Levin wrote The Stepford Wives, a satirical novel about young wives in a fictional Connecticut suburb who are so submissive that they resemble robots and zombies. At the end of the book, Joanna goes in to Bobbie’s kitchen to see if Bobbie will bleed. We will make America great again." The other men who already had wives were ones that were modified with the microchips. Melania Trump Is What A Stepford Wife Looks Like In 2016 I am almost sure that Mrs. Trump is not a robot, unlike the women in the famous novel. Once there, she makes good friends with the acerbic Bobbie Markowitz, a Jewish writer who's also a … Author Ira Levin is no stranger to the horrors of suburban, middle class life. “At least” there is an external explanation for why we lose our individuality: we're brainwashed, supplanted by an alien life form—or, as in The Stepford Wives, literally turned into robots. Correction: As has been corrected at least twice so far, the women ARE robots. Rare Photos Of The Most Fascinating People Of Our Past, Classic Hollywood Stars Like We’ve Never Seen. Before revisiting it, I only remembered one thing: It’s the movie about perfect blue-eyed blonde wives who do anything for their husbands, and they’re robots … or something. A Stepford Wife isn't just perfect, she's too perfect. The Stepford Wives get their name from Stepford, Connecticut, the fictional town (based on Wilton) in which the eerie and attractive wives live. So much so that she is willing to leave her husband and kids behind to move away before she gets turned into a “Stepford Wife” or what she thinks is a robot. Does this cause her to become submissive to her husband Walter? Nicole Kidman and Bette Midler in The Stepford Wives. In Ira Levin's 1972 novel and Bryan Forbes' 1975 film, Stepford Wives were robotic versions of a woman, refitted to be a better version of someone's partner. The only way to do this was to become completely submissive. These characters were played by actresses known for their model-caliber beauty, including Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Nannette Newman and Tina Louise. With her husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) and their two children, they move from Manhattan to Stepford, a quiet Connecticutsuburb. Their makeup is shellacked and not one eyelash is out of place. Both works bind the reader's hands and force them to watch as unique, self assured women are undermined by their partners and crushed beneath the dreary weight of simple desires. Forbes' 1975 adaptation created the style of Stepford: perfectly coiffured hair and form fitting, outfits that are somehow sexy and conservative. Audiences may not have watched The Stepford Wives or Invasion of the Body Snatchers but those titles are the perfect shorthand for someone who's abandoned every shred of individuality for what they perceive to be a better life, even if that normalcy becomes a nightmare. Frills, white gloves, and big hats. Katherine Ross is choked to death with a pair of nylons by her robotic doppelgänger. Every sin committed against the women in this story is committed by a human hand. By making their wives into robots… I read up that the newest one (2004) ended with a happy ending which means it did not end with Joanna and Bobbie in the kitchen with Bobbie holding a knife. She said, "We will fight. The author says that these big, beautiful birds are everything that a would-be Stepford wife should be, graceful and tranquil. In Rosemary's Baby those strings are an eternity of servitude to Satan. Maybe I will get around to it sometime. Seeing the Stepford terminology so far removed from its source material is jarring, but not surprising. Required fields are marked *. In fact, the women become ‘robots’ – they may even be dead, and animated entirely by some form of animatronics and preservatives. There's an eerie, robotic quality to the way that she goes about her day and dotes on her husband. Joanna becomes friends with Bobbie Markowitz (Bette Midler), a … Viewers may not have sat through a two hour movie, but the imagery on the film's poster - Katharine Ross' head smashed like a porcelain doll accomplishes the same goal as the film but it does it in an instant. Did Bobbie stab her old friend Joanna? Then they decided to throw in Jon Lovitz at his douchiest in a prominent supporting role, an over-the-top gay sidekick and … The wives are in turn whisked off for a ‘weekend away’. It is based on Ira Levin's 1972 novel of the same name and is the second feature-length adaptation of the novel, following the 1975 film of the same name. The awful truth is that the men of Stepford are replacing their wives with compliant domestic sex robots. These films' titles are particularly useful because they describe a feeling for which words don't exist—the feeling that we've been overtaken by larger forces or gutted as part of a social plan or readied for the network or (and here the … Subservient and docile, the Stepford Wife is a thing that should not be. Eternally youthful and docile, the term is full of venom. In the meantime, I better go clean and cook supper…, Your email address will not be published. As for the rest of the bio? It all boils down to a desperate choice: choosing death or resigning yourself to life as a doll, pet, or robot. We Are In Complete Awe Of These Magical Photos From The... Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog… An Accidental Sensation! Even if you've never seen The Stepford Wives, the dark 1975 film sci-fi/horror film where wealthy suburban men turn their partners into subservient robots, you know what a "Stepford Wife" is. I just finished ready The Stepford Wives and I have to say that it is very thought provoking. It’s strange, but not outside the possibilities for human variety. Their bodies are sculpted and their minds are molded to be exactly what their husbands want. But having it all sounds a lot like doing it all, doesn't it? Let us know what you think in the comments below. The epilogue of the book has Joanna being the submissive wife she never wanted to be. There is no demon from the beyond controlling the machinations of the men of Stepford. household. For some reason this was the most difficult thing he’s written all day, and here’s the kicker – his girlfriend wrote the funny part of that last sentence. She felt so bad that she knew she had to make it up to her husband. Simple housework and motherhood become political in terms of the shared automation between the female human and her robotic counterpart in The Stepford Wives. And those seemingly perfect wives we all meet from time to time? She has seen, time and again, one of the wives in the town completely change their outlook on life to only please their husband. The bad guys win. Does Bobbie killed Joanna and the Men’s Association then turns her into a robot? Now, to be fair, any version of The Stepford Wives can be thought of as a very dark satire of gender relations. Another way of viewing the Stepford Wife is as a critique of the unfairness of traditional gender expectations. Check out the official The Stepford Wives (2004) trailer starring Nicole Kidman! Writing for Film Comment, Alissa Quart notes that many of the phrases we use to describe a group of people or a major event can be traced back to the social horror films of the '60s and '70s. Their husbands turning them into robot homemakers, could be seens as a metaphor for how some men reject this movement and try to maintain the inequality at any expense. Levin's work in these two novels explores the depths that one will go for personal comfort, for perfection. The Stepford Wife doesn't want anything more than to serve because that's how she's programmed. So much so that she is willing to leave her husband and kids behind to move away before she gets turned into a “Stepford Wife” or what she thinks is a robot. If you have seen the movies, let me know how they ended. Her psychiatrist advises that she take the kids and get "the hell out of Stepford", but the men are hiding Joanna's children. She begins to suspect that the Coba-led Men’s Club is murdering the town’s women and replacing them with robots. As a counterpoint here's a video of a swan trying to attack someone in their car. There's a famous quote about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (reportedly taken from a 1982 Frank And Ernest cartoon) about how society perceives the accomplishments of men and women: "Sure, [Astaire] was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did, ...backwards and in high heels." By . The Stepford Wives is a 2004 American science fiction black comedy film directed by Frank Oz from a screenplay by Paul Rudnick, and stars Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken, Faith Hill, and Glenn Close. Unfortunately, Bobbie and Joanna discover that the village's wives have been replaced with … The women in the film are gorgeous even if they've been turned into literal automatons. When he’s not writing about culture, pop or otherwise, he’s adding to his found photograph collection and eavesdropping on strangers in public. Early on Joanna and Bobby look at these women and their presumably-chosen lives with laughter and a bit of scorn. Perfect doesn't exist without strings attached. But the ending of the movie shows that Were some of them robots and some not? I think that the only explanation was that SOME of the stepford wives were actual robots for the men who lack wives, and these were the ones with the ATM installed along with the more robotic features. Think Soylent Green, and The Manchurian Candidate, aren't we still calling people zombies thanks to George Romero? Perhaps the spread of the phrase is best explained by Mary Stuart Masterson, who plays the young Kim in the 1975 film: Jacob Shelton is a Los Angeles based writer. The husbands of Stepford are secretly replacing their lively, vibrant, independent wives with mindless robots expressing fake emotions who are indistinguishable from one another. For Levin, the promise of the perfect home, the perfect family, the perfect wife is a trap. In order to be the perfect wife, you'd almost have to be a robot. Gradually, Joanna begins to realize that all of her friends have been replaced, and that she is in great danger. We will win. The Stepford Wives is about a small suburb where the women happily go about their housework - cleaning, doing laundry, and cooking gourmet meals - to please their husbands. Although she now tries to escape Stepford, Joanna is tricked into entering the man-sion that houses the Stepford Men's Association, where the head of the association, Dis, explains that the men of Stepford have found the technological means to create perfect wives. October 26, 2016, 3:12 PM EDT In 'The Stepford Wives… When she said her first words at the Inaugural Ball, I was like, "what?" A Stepford Wife? Keeping everyone else happy and everything tidy requires a near abdication of self. Does Bobbie cut herself and Joanna realizes she is being crazy? The Stepford Wives is a 1972 satirical thriller novel by Ira Levin. Revisit Over 200 Beautiful Moments In American Culture ... 60 Iconic Groovy Moments Caught Behind The Scenes. It's every bit as harrowing as the final moments of Night of the Living Dead and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This is a psychological thriller that leaves a lot of stones unturned. She has seen, time and again, one of the wives in the town completely change their outlook on life to only please their husband. In 'The Stepford Wives,' Community Kills. Um, you did win. In The Stepford Wives it's killing your wife and replacing her with a robot. She, like all the other wives previously, went crazy thinking everyone was “robotic”. Also, if some of the Stepford Wives were robots and some just had microchips, then why would Faith Hill dance crazily as if she were a robot, and her boobs would get larger and smaller, but at the end of the movie she was only affected by a microchip, too? The irony is now that these couples are perfect for each other since they are both mindless robots expressing fake emotions who are indistinguishable from one another. In my opinion, Joanna finds out that Bobbie simply wanted to make her husband happy. Share. That’s pure Jacob, baby. In the newer version of the Stepford Wives (2004), it shows some of the "turned" wives doing humanly impossible things like placing a hand on a burning stove, spinning at high velocity, or despensing money like an ATM. What people missed at the time is that the film is a warning. Joanna Eberhart, a wildly successful president of a TV Network, after a series of shocking events, suffers a nervous breakdown and is moved by her milquetoast of a husband, Walter, from Manhattan to the chic, upper-class, and very modern planned community of Stepford, Connecticut. But the 2004 version went whole hog on that concept, bringing in CGI robotic dogs, Christopher Walken doing his thing and remote controls that don’t even make sense. He’s obsessed with the ways in which singular, transgressive acts have shaped the broader strokes of history, and he believes in alternate dimensions, which means that he’s great at a dinner party. So, what did happen in that kitchen? Who wouldn't give up their personal freedom, private thoughts, and any semblance of humanity to live a perfectly wholesome life? So, did the Men’s Association turn her into this robot type wife? Since watching the 2004 adaptation of The Stepford Wives, I've been hankering to know the secrets to The Stepford Wives' style. She has this bizarre dazed and faraway look in her eyes, and she is almost always expressionless. Early on in the film, before we know they’ve been replaced by robots, several of the women Joanna and Bobby encounter around Stepford seem extremely devoted to their housework and role as wives and mothers. The 1975 thriller riffed on the anxieties of suburban life. Is it possible that it was all part of the plan to make certain that Joanna did turn into a robot wife for her husband? Nanette Newman, who starred as Carol Van Sant in the 1975 adaptation described the robotic women to Entertainment Weekly in 2017: The 1972 novel and 1975 adaptation of The Stepford Wives lay out all we need to know about these nefarious automatons who've invaded normal life. This happens all the time in the real world. Your email address will not be published. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a photographer and young mother who suspects the submissive housewives in her new idyllic Connecticut neighborhood may be robots created by their husbands. Maybe they really are robots. How did the title of a critical and commercial failure become the de facto term used to described docile, unthinking housewives? Their … The Stepford Wives was neither a critical or commercial success. She is fired after her latest project, a show called I Can Do Better, where spouses choose between each other or prostitutes, results in one of the jilted men going on a shooting spree. The sinister husbands in the film don't really want wives -- they want unquestioning multi-taskers who look and behave perfectly and appear to be happy about it. But it's The Stepford Wives that proves to be darker and prescient. In the '70s the Stepford Wives wore pastels, skirts, and ruffles, but there's a version of that you can still find today. The Stepford Wives, like his 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby, warns of the menace hiding behind the fake smiles and well constructed architecture of the good life. Each film offers its own perverse pleasures at a price. There was the condescending idea that women should aspire to "have it all" -- a perfect home, perfect kids, perfect marriage and perfect appearance -- and that this would bring satisfaction. Joanna and Bobbie are examples of women who supported this movement and desired to be seen as equals to men. Once entrenched in the system, women were treated much as the Stepford wives are—as machines or robots. To put it simply, a Stepford Wife is a submissive woman who puts her husband's wants and needs ahead of hers while maintaining an immaculate personal appearance. Their bodies are sculpted and their minds are molded to be exactly what their husbands want. Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman) is a successful reality television executive producer. Is Melania Trump a robot? The Stepford Wife doesn't want anything more than to serve because that's how she's programmed. Joanna has a nervous breakdown. In a 2015 blog entry on the seemingly defunct website Stepford University, the anonymous author writes that modern Stepford women should be "swans." All in the Family… “THOSE WERE THE DAYS!”, Katharine Ross as depicted on the poster for 'The Stepford Wives.' Furthermore, a higher emphasis was placed on women's appearance; they were expected to look put together at all times, and to "keep" their figure -- important to "keeping" a man. Decades after the film's initial release and slow journey to cult status, the term "Stepford Wife" has nestled into the vernacular at large to describe anything that's too perfect, or too good to be true. I will go ahead and say there will be spoilers in this post so if you haven’t finished the book or watched any of the movies, stop reading now. Feminism challenged the the traditional view of gender roles -- that men were the smart ones, the ones who belonged in charge, doing things of great consequence, and women were subservient by nature, fit to do easy and less consequential tasks that were denigrated as "women's work." Were they gutted and filled with machine parts? Earning only $4 million at the box office in 1975, the film was derided by genre film averse critics and second wave feminists who felt that the film was attempting to co-opt their movement with a shiny, beautiful facade. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a photographer and young mother who begins to suspect that the frighteningly submissive housewives in her new idyllic Connecticut neighborhood may be robots created by their husbands. What are you talking about? Therefore, The Stepford Wives presents as dark satire the harmful effects of the ‘ideal’ domestic function women were forced to play in 1970s suburban American society. 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