To be honest, I can't really think of anything I wanted to say in class that I have not said already. However, there is one discussion in particular that I feel stood out from all the rest.
Our first student-led discussion I felt was really strong, probably because it was a more general discussion about women in the media as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I love our discussions on the different groups of women in the media, but our first discussion just seemed like everyone had something to say about each and every person's reading.
I really meant what I said when I mentioned how much the show Roseanne influenced me to become the person I am today. The show touched on so many subjects of an everyday life in a family home. Subjects that were taboo, such as masturbation and pre-marital sex, and even racism on modern times were just some of the things that the show touched upon throughout the series.
Roseanne is such an inspiration to me, because she was the one that ran things in the house. It was not one of those typical American sitcoms, where the husband was the one in charge in the home, and the woman stayed home all day to care for everyone. It was her way or the highway, and everyone in the Connor home knew it. Roseanne was a loving mother, but was also the type of mother to get in her kid's face if they were out of line. She also didn't care what everyone else thought of her. She lived her life the way she wanted to, and wore the clothes that she felt most comfortable in.
Our class discussions are something I look forward to each and every week. The possibilities in our discussions are endless, and I love that we can share our personal thoughts and experiences amongst each other.
Our discussion of "Roseanne" was certainly one of my favorite moments from this semester as well, Lemonia. Once you get past the terribly sloppy and unrealistic final season, the first eight seasons are something of an anomaly. To think that a show like this premiered 25 years ago and featured a woman in charge of her household, it's astonishing, and it was far ahead of its time. The series holds up well today, not just because of its impeccable cast and relatable storylines, but because it never painted an unrealistic view of a woman's place as an authority figure in her household. Sometimes, especially later on in its run, the show would find humor in Roseanne trumping Dan in the parenting department, but in reality, there's probably never been a more believable and honest marriage on TV, once again, not counting the final season. Except for the occasional bickering, Dan and Roseanne treated each other with respect, and he welcomed her as an equal partner. The series also did a masterful job of juxtaposing Roseanne and Dan's marriage to the flawed marriages of their parents, neither of which worked out because the husbands in those marriages never treated their wives with the same respect that Dan treated Roseanne.
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