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The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
We Will Miss You, Bea Arthur

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BreeDMN
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
I just learned of her death tonight and it made me sad.
I watched groundbreaking shows like All in the Family and Maude as a young teen, and later watched reruns of Golden Girls while nursing my first child who is now in college. God, I feel so old lately! RIP Bea...
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topsy
04/26/09

@BreeDMN: I'm right beside you on the old folks bench. I loved 'Maude' because it gave an alternative to the other women on TV at the time. Like 'All In The Family', 'Maude' was not only funny but it had a point of view, a message. It also showed that even the most strident feminist could attract a man (if she wanted) and happily fuck in her forties. I don't think there is a female character today who is fit to polish her NOW button. Rest in peace, Bea and THANKS.
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DorothyZbornak
04/26/09

In reply to We Will Miss You, Bea Arthur
Obviously, I am devastated. Bea was (and still is) my hero and she will live on in my heart, on my TV and in my Jezebel user name.

DorothyZbornak 4-EVA!

RIP, Bea. :(
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MarissaExplainsItAll
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
Like I said yesterday, Bea Arthur made me feel ok about aging and Maude is first an foremost a feminist show. Hey, maybe today no one will make fun of me for being affected by this!
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Mediokra
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
I've been YouTubing clips of Maude, Golden Girls and those episodes of All in the Family she was on all day. Love that woman, love the characters she played. I am devastated.
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IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
She was one of the funniest women ever. What a talent. She will definitely be missed.
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hello.kitty
04/26/09

@IBleedGlitter: But I really wanted to see her suck face with Abe "Fish" Vigoda!
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apocalypse-nowish
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
The fact that Maude had an abortion and it was noted on the show is proof enough of that.
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Laulau
04/26/09

@apocalypse-nowish: This is the only redeeming feature of Sex and the City for me. And given the ridiculousness of plots in Friends, Knocked Up, etc, it really meant a lot to me. Though, of course, Miranda decides to keep the pregnancy and all of the abortions occurred before met the characters.
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Eeva
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
I know nothing about Maude or this TIME writer, so I just want to know if I'm misinterpreting the last line of this or if it strikes anyone else as being a little...snide, maybe?

"...she created a legendary character in her own right by showing Maude wrestling with serious issues for a TV sitcom-alcoholism, drug abuse, and famously in 1972, abortion, as her character decided to terminate a pregnancy late in her 40s. (Even today, it's extremely rare for a TV female lead to make that choice.) What endeared Maude to us, beyond her quick wit, was the fact that she was a person with doubts, not just a paragon of liberal rectitude."

I mean, why the use of "liberal"? Is he praising the character for having doubts about her abortion?
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Laulau
04/26/09

@Eeva: I read it more as, "she was a very liberal figure, but not a totally pig-headed zealot". Now, I am more of a pig-headed zealot, and I think that kicks ass, but I think characters like Maude - and really all of the Golden Girls - were a way of inviting people to consider more open-minded opinions and ways of life, people who might otherwise simply close themselves off to those sorts of changes.

I'm trying to put this quickly, since I literally had an hour long conversation about this yesterday (I'd been rewatching Golden Girls this last week, not knowing Arthur was sick) - in the episode, for example, where I believe it's Blanche's daughter wants to get IVF, all of the ladies are totally grossed out by the idea. And yet, they reason through their disgust, and though still somewhat uncomfortable, decide that this is a solid option that will end up with a lovely result (happy daughter, new grandchild). I think that sort of openness and willingness to reconsider one's own opinions is sadly lacking in contemporary culture.
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hello.kitty
04/26/09

@Eeva: I mean, why the use of "liberal"? Is he praising the character for having doubts about her abortion? Bad juxtaposition of two sentences I think.

The show, MAUDE, covered many topics. Maude wasn't the only character who challenged the status quo, but she was the main 'mouthpiece'. However she wasn't just a mouthpiece, but a very real fully fleshed character as written by the brilliant Norman Lear.
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chritter is a nocturnal feminist mancatfish
04/26/09

@Eeva: Maude was created to be the "liberal" foil to the conservative Archie Bunker, so I think he's just saying that the character evolved beyond that into a real, complicated person with conflicts and doubts, not just a mouthpiece for knee-jerk political mouthings.
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chritter is a nocturnal feminist mancatfish
04/26/09

@hello.kitty: Heh. Does a pair of mouthpieces beat a lone mouthpiece plus a mouthings?
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brendastarlet is on it
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
I found it fascinating that she had an entire Broadway career, avec Tony awards, before she even went to television. Bea Arthur deserves to have the lights dimmed in her honor. Let's start a campaign.
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poires et poireaux
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Bea Arthur by artist John Currin.
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chritter is a nocturnal feminist mancatfish
04/26/09

@poires et poireaux: I... I...

I just don't know what to make of that.
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drinkyrose
04/26/09

@chritter: You could make a hat, or a brooch, or a pterodactyl!

In all seriousness, I think Bea would be flattered. I know I'd be.
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chritter is a nocturnal feminist mancatfish
04/26/09

@drinkyrose (the commenter formerly known as rose0red): Hee. I think the Airplane! reference snapped me out of my confusion, many thanks.

I had to google John Currin to see what his stuff was all about. I would not suggest doing an image search on him while at work.
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drinkyrose
04/26/09

@chritter: Oh my. Now I iz curious!
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chritter is a nocturnal feminist mancatfish
04/26/09

@drinkyrose (the commenter formerly known as rose0red): You have been warned: NSFW!
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cupcakefauxpaws
04/26/09

@drinkyrose (the commenter formerly known as rose0red): Ha! Hearting you for hilarity amidst my sad.
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
I'm still in denial about Paul Newman. I'm not doing so well.

*sob*

(lovely tribute, hortense - thanks for this)
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Pocahaunted
04/26/09

@Rooo sez BISH PLZ: PAUL NEWMAN DIED?!?!

Seriously, I get none of this news from European newspapers. If it's not on Gawker media or in the Guardian or Independent...when I'm at school in England I simply will not know about it!
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
04/26/09

@Pocahaunted: I'm terribly terribly sorry, darling - I'm a bit of a media geek and, though I live in NYC, do read the Guardian and Independent, so I'm kind of surprised they didn't have anything on it.

Close to my birthday last year (at least he was still alive the actual day), so I did no celebrating. I'm so sorry.

[gawker.com]

[en.wikipedia.org]
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Pocahaunted
04/26/09

@Rooo sez BISH PLZ: Wow. My roommate just told me that it was reported in the Guardian, too, in the obituaries though.

I feel like an idiot. A really sad idiot.
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hello.kitty
04/26/09

@Rooo sez BISH PLZ: I am still mourning him. Cannot bring myself to drive by his house anymore.
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hello.kitty
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
Oh MAUDE, what a show. It was practically taboo in my house. How my immigrant mom railed about that show, that character, which only made me curious.

So my 8 year old self would sneak down to the basement to watch it in secret. I didn't have a full grasp on the issues, but I knew that they were somehow important.

Of course a decade later my mom loved THE GOLDEN GIRLS.

And another thing Bea Arthur and the costumes are the only things worth watching in the remake of MAME.
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cupcakefauxpaws
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
Every detail that comes out about Ms. Arthur makes me miss her all the more. What an amazing woman. She knew how to live life and make it count.

Thanks, Hortense.
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drinkyrose
04/26/09

@cupcakefauxpaws: Personally, I learned that she was a medical tech and one of the first female recruits for the US Marine Corps.

Fucking loved her. LOVED HER!!!!
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cupcakefauxpaws
04/26/09

@drinkyrose (the commenter formerly known as rose0red): I did as well. If only we could tribute people like Bea before their passing in the same awesome way we tend to do after.
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tomatoheart
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
Did Arthur call herself a feminist?
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ginger rant
04/26/09

@tomatoheart: I'm dying to know this too. And I bloody well hope so ... or maybe this is just another example of TV viewers conflating a beautifully rendered characterization with an actress's essence? I know it killed me to find out that Dixie Carter (who played kick-ass feminazi on Designing Women) is a conservative Republican in true life ...
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YourScreenplaySucks
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
What's unfortunate is that it is highly unlikely that The Golden Girls would air on a major network today.
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Ms. Crankypants
04/26/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: I know, I was thinking that with the thread last weekend and I don't think we'd get Designing Women either. These types of shows were instrumental in me having the confidence to be outspoken and an unabashed feminist.
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deeemer
04/26/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: Exactly. Golden girls? We're lucky if someone who's 37 makes it on screen. As a grandmother.
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brendastarlet is on it
04/26/09

@deeemer: nope, it would take AMC or USA to produce a show like this. Then it would be critically acclaimed and win dozens of Emmys.
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chritter is a nocturnal feminist mancatfish
04/26/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: And Maude? Even less likely.
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cellardoor
04/26/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: Yes, now we have, "The Cougar," "Lipstick Jungle," "Cashmere Mafia," and I hate to disappoint everyone, but the crappily written, stereotypical, mouthpiece for what gay men think women are, "Sex and the City."
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PilgrimSoul
04/26/09

@cellardoor: OMGOMG NOT THE SACRED COW!
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iloveastone
04/26/09

@cellardoor: Ah, you're just all over my favorite person radar today. For the record, though, two of those awful shows did get canceled. I really think networks are out of touch with what we want to watch.

@Your Screenplay Sucks: I think you're exactly right. I can't think of one sitcom that really deals with issues of any sort (at least on the big 4..or 5..whatever).
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YourScreenplaySucks
04/26/09

@cellardoor: @iloveastone (soon to be a TX jezzie!): Unfortunately, the failure of Lipstick Jungle & Cashmere Mafia to attract viewers has been taken as "people don't want to watch shows with primarily female casts", not "people don't want to watch cinematic refuse" (while men in general are less interested in watching female-headed shows, these shows failed because they could not attract enough female viewers).
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misspell
04/26/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: Or Murphy Brown? That would never get aired today either. Hell, even something like Cagney and Lacey wouldn't get aired. Women on television these days are in a sad state.
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YourScreenplaySucks
04/26/09

@misspell: Almost every fucking script I saw for pilots featuring female ensembles for the next season were SATC ripoffs: SATC - with spies!, SATC - with teachers!, SATC- with college students!, SATC - with werewolves! Lightning struck once with the original SATC, so when it comes to airing shows about women's lives, that's what networks are interested in right now.

And storylines aside, the actresses on Murphy Brown & Cagny & Lacey are either too old or plain to play leads today. Same goes for movies - it's unlikely that actresses who look like Linda Hamilton or Sigourney Weaver would be handed billion-dollar franchises today.
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misspell
04/26/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: Yeah - was it in the Dirt Bag from earlier, the thing about Mischa Barton doing some show that she described as "like Sex and the City, but younger"? That phenomenon is driving me crazy.

I could've sworn that just a few years ago, I could think of respectable, strong female characters on television (and film, where I think it's only slightly more possible) that are known for a reason other than their knockers or heart-shaped kisser, and at this very moment I'm hard-pressed to think of any. All the characters that could possibly fit into this category are crazy.

The last really strong showing was the Frances Conroy-Patricia Clarkson-Kathy Bates triumvirate on Six Feet Under. They were problematic, for sure, but independent, unpredictable and well-written.

I miss Dianne Wiest. Her character in Parenthood was monumental.
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andonthatnote, JOC
04/26/09

In reply to The Internet Celebrates The Feminist Legacy Of Bea Arthur
I am STILL inconsolable about this.
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cupcakefauxpaws
04/26/09

@andonthatnote: I know. Same here.
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