Ideology in Desperate Housewives

Ideology In Desperate Housewives Every day, the public is unk flatingly expose to countless ideologic messages. They come from all around, but the media remains ideologys primary agent. In places such as magazines, commercials, billboards, movies and television shows, one can find evidence of ideological messages. According to theologiser Louis Althusser, ideology places individuals into a certain position in society by a process called interpellation, where a specific subject (or group of people) is called out, or hailed.Althusser claims that ideology does this in target to help people to reside their own conditions of existence, to perform their assigned tasks, but also to bear their conditions. An example of this can be anchor in television dramas aimed at American middle-aged women, as found on ABC or Life season. One potent example comes from the drama Desperate Housewives. This show may seem like a glorified soap opera, as it primarily depicts the lives of four dynamic hom emakers living in the same cal-de-sac in suburbia.However, the shows purpose is not solely to entertain, but also to hail its reference of middle-aged women by telling them what kind of behavior is acceptable for their role in society. In the episode You must Meet My Wife, each firmwife struggles with a personal conflict as their natural desires and tendencies conflict with the slip of behavior expected of them as spouses and mothers. We see these discrepancies unfold as the char deporters are confronted by sexual temptation, marital infidelity, discontent with their husbands and gender roles regarding family finances.In the end, we will see ideological norms reinstated by these women resisting their true feelings in order to act appropriately. On the surface, Bree Van de Kamp looks like the ideal woman of the house. Her house is always spotless and she cooks gourmet delicacies for her familys dinner party every night. However, as the series progresses, we learn that there is a lot more to Bree (as there is to every person). In this episode, Bree is seduced by her much younger and very attractive contractor. Bree is single, so this is not a social occasion of infidelity, but of general sexual urges.The narrator explains that Bree was brought up traditionally, learning to hide and suppress her desires in order to be a lady. thitherfore, Bree denies her urges because she recognizes that as a woman, society does not approve of her being sexually outgoing. This turn on is hit home when she fires her contractor so that she is not tempted by his company. She lies and tells him she is letting him go because he is doing a sloppy job, unable to admit to him (or anyone) that she is having fantasies about him.Brees display of weakness makes the plot relatable and entertaining to the audience, since it is make up primarily of middle-aged women who feel the same impel to be almost inhuman sexually. Ironically, that pressure is being reinforced by the ideological lesson that this episode teaches. Gabrielle Solis profiles a different kind of housewife. Her conflict arises when a nurse informs her that her daughters blood type indicates that she could not possibly be the child of gossipy and her husband, Carlos.Gauging Gabbys reaction, the nurse assumes that the child must not belong to Carlos, and judgmentally implies that Gabby was unfaithful. The nurses actions are head up proof of the ideological message if a housewife cheats on her husband, she loses worth. Panicking, Gabby concludes that she must have cheated on Carlos during a weekend by with her girlfriends when she was blackout drunk. Several ideological violations arise here. First, her role as a housewife does not permit weekends away with her friends where she gets wildly intoxicated. Second, cheating on your husband is of the utmost offense.Although women now have equal rights to match their equal capabilities, our society is still predominantly patriarchal. Gabby pays for her indiscretions in this episode. panic-struck and deeply ashamed, she must deal with her overwhelming wrong-doing. Her struggle reinforces ideological norms, teaching her (and consequently, the audience) that she should have been home with her family kinda than out for a fun weekend with her friends. It turns out to have been all a mistake, and Gabby was not unfaithful, however her ideological lesson was learned the hard way.Yet another ideological message is presented through the life of Lynette Scavo. Strong, clever and opinionated, Lynette is the feminist who equates to (if not exceeds) her husband in most areas. However, she is not immune to the ideological restraints of being a housewife either. In this episode, her husband turkey cock is diagnosed with Post Part-um Depression due to the recent birth of their daughter. There is a comical quality to this, as Post Part-um Depression is mostly known as a disease for women. This works to make Tom look weak, while Lynette is exh austed taking care of the house and the kids.She laughs at Toms diagnosis, and he becomes offended, stating that she is always too critical. Lynettes friend Renee becomes involved, telling Lynette that she demand to demonstrate her abilities as a wife and make it up to Tom. Renees character provides insight to the ideological belief that wives should be supportive and nurturing towards their husbands, heretofore if it means sacrificing their own comfort or opinions. In the end, Lynette apologizes and listens to Tom complain for hours, just as a proper housewife is expected to do.The domestic role of women is reinstated over again through Susan Delfinos storyline. Unlike Bree and Gabby, Susan lives more of a working class lifestyle, and recently work has been purblind for her husband Mike. Tight on money, Susan decides to pick up another job to supplement her income as a teacher. She does this by agreeing to do housekeeping in lingerie for a live-feed stream on the internet. Alth ough this side-job is harmless and proving to be quite profitable, ideology tells her (and consequently, the audience) that this job is something she should be ashamed of.She lies to Mike and tells him shes been selling homemade jewellery (more of a lady-like hobby) for unnecessary money. It might make sense if Susan felt ashamed because the job might be degrading the sanctity of her body, but that is not the reason. She lies to Mike because if he knew she was using her body to make extra money for them, he might be embarrassed, upset, or even angry. As the ideology of a housewife maintains, a husband should be the main source of finances and his wife should keep him comfortable and happy. Susan breaks these rules, and it burdens her with guilt throughout the episode.She should not be ashamed to be making money in a time where finances are low, but since society does not deem it appropriate, Susan sacrifices her good conscience to be a good housewife. In conclusion, Desperate House wives reinforces ideological norms of middle-aged women through every main character in the show. The audience might think they are only being entertained for an hour, but what they take away from it is so much deeper. They are impressed with the ideology that women of a certain aged should act, talk, and feel this way. The audience learns lessons through the characters.This particular episode taught us that fulfilling your role as a housewife is of the utmost importance, even if it means sacrificing your natural desires, freedoms, opinions, or capabilities. Desperate Housewives is not the first television show to promote this ideology. passim history, the ideal housewife has been depicted as static, obedient, asexual, and sometimes seemingly inhuman. However, a show centered on such a character would be dull. So Desperate Housewives takes some liberties, letting the characters run rearing and make mistakes, only to recoil back into their rightful places inside of their homes on W isteria Lane.