Mrs. America and Arch-Conservative Phyllis Schlafly w/ Eileen Jones

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED:

On this edition of Parallax Views, 2020's  began the "Prestige TV" season earlier this year with FX's Mrs. America leading the charge. This show, based on the battles of the feminist Women's Liberation Movement of the 1970s, centers on the anti-feminist arch-conservative Phyllis Schlafly. The show gained a lot of attention upon it's release for being "timely" in regards to the American political moment of polarization and dealing with the fights between the right (Schalfly) and the left (Gloria Steinem, who is also features in the series) that echo today. Eileen Jones, a film critic at Jacobin, however, has a different take on the series that is decidedly more critical.

Eileen, J.G., and Casey discuss the real Phyllis Schalfly and her contributions to the American right wing in the 20th century as well as her often covered-up ties to the fringe John Birch Society. Then we begin to discuss the portrayal of Schlafly in Mrs. America as well as the portrayal of Gloria Steinem. Additionally we discuss the contradictions in Schalfly own life. We also talk about Schlafly's involvement with the Barry Goldwater movement and the role she played in promoting the elite Republican or RINO (Republican in Name Only) narrative within conservative circles through her book A Choice Not an Echo.

Eileen and J.G. also note that Schlafly was a huge part of integral part of movement conservatism up until her death and, in fact, even after - her last book, The Conservative Case for Trump, was published posthumously after her death. Eileen expresses her issues with the way Mrs. America doesn't tackle the grotesqueness of Schlafly's legacy and the attempts to psychologize Schlafly and the liberal use of fictionalized dramatization. J.G., on the other hand, notes the conservative backlash against the TV series. This leads us into a discussion of the show's repeated "poor Phyllis" trope to explain Schlafly's politics and what Eileen considers the lame symbolism utilized in the series. And, of course we address the conservatism criticism of the show that claims Schlafly's is portrayed as a cynical operator rather than a true believer, anti-communist ideologue and the racist element of Schlafly's career and activism that is often overlooked. All that and much more on this previously unreleased edition of Parallax Views.