The Stepford Wives (1975)

Work Title: The Stepford Wives (1975)
Medium: Film
Episode Title:
Year: 1975
Writer(s): Ira Levin
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): William Goldman
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No

Summary:

Ira Levin's scary novel about forced conformity in a small Connecticut town made for this compelling 1975 thriller. Katharine Ross stars as a city woman who moves with her husband to Stepford and is startled by how perpetually happy many of the local women seem to be. Her search for an answer reveals a plot to replace troublesome real wives with more accommodating fake ones (not unlike the alien takeover in Invasion of the Body Snatchers). The closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she faces--not to mention the likelihood that the men in town intend to replace her as well. Screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and director Bryan Forbes (King Rat) made this a taut, tense semiclassic with a healthy dose of satiric wit. (from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005ASOL/103-3541105-7519830?v=glance)


Era/Year of Portrayal: present_day

Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

The wives walk around in a trance-like state because they are actually empty-eyed androids that their husbands created to replace their independent-minded wives


Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: android wives
  • Description of the technology: The technology is represented by the cloned/robotic wives. Obviously, they look very real because they are played by actresses. But their expressions are often vacant and they spend all their time talking about the joys of baking and cleaning--and, of course, pleasing their husbands in bed. The robots blend in with the other towns people, to the point that the two main characters are fooled until the climactic ending of the film. The social realism, therefore, is very authentic. Only the passive nature of the robot wives and their constant happiness tips off the viewer that something is quite wrong with these "women."
  • Nature of task or activity: The android wives are 100 percent dedicated to cleaning their kitchens until spotless, baking and applying makeup to look pretty for their husbands. They have no career ambitions or interests beyond their homes/families.
  • Performance of the Technology: Yes, the technology works. It doesn't rely on the computer-generated images or special effects that are common in most thrillers today. Instead, the suspense builds up as a result of the dialogue, the sound track and the performances. Together, these elements effectively create a creepy alter-world.
  • Description of creator(s): That's the ironic part. The creators of the technology are apparently loving husbands. They live "normal" suburban lives and have admiral careers. Yet they are capable of murdering their wives and replacing them with Ideal" copies.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): The husbands of Stepford replace their wives with robots because they prefer to be worshipped by their partners, rather than deal with women who place demands on them. The film was produced in 1975, just as the feminist movement took hold in the United States.
  • Description of users of technology: They are in their early 30s, generally. They are attractive and ultra-stereotyped housewives.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: It is one of being vacant and mindless but, apparently, a true feeling of being content.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: Clearly, these women don't realize they're clones of their true selves.
  • Valence of experience: Again, they aren't suffering. The women believe they are living ideal lives with wonderful husbands.
  • Specific responses: The wives transform from free-thinking women to "perfect" housewives after their husbands replace them with identical robots. They appear happy with their empty lives of ironing, cooking and cleaning. One of the android wives exhibits socially inappropriate behavior (talking to herself, etc) and blames it on drinking too much.
Long-term consequences:

In the end, the main character, Joanna Eberhart, catches on to what is happening. But even she is powerless to stop it and ends up being replaced. In the final shot, Joanna is grocery shopping with the other wives, who all wear vacant smiles and move through the aisles like, well, robots. The long-term consequences suggest there is little hope for womankind. It is dismal and spooky.

Other:

This film was re-made as a comedy and released in 2004.

Coder name: Gwen Shaffer
Coder email: gwen4@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA