Podcast Recap "Mrs. America"
Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 11:42AM 
Over at Sundays With Cate I’m recapping the first three episodes of Mrs. America which are currently available on Hulu. We dig into Blanchett’s performance and the all star cast. The show is structured so that each episode highlights one of the figures in the fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The first episode is about right wing polarizing organizer Phyllis Schlafly (Blanchett) and how she came to oppose the ERA. The second highlights Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne) at the time she launched Ms. Magazine and the third takes place at the 1972 Democratic National Convention when Shirley Chisholm (Uzo Aduba) became the first African American woman to run for president. My guest on this episode is writer and filmmaker Tayler Montague. Have a listen!
Reader Comments (13)
I still haven't watched. *SETS URGENT REMINDER TO SELF*
It's really well done. Enjoyed the first 3 eps a lot.
Uzo Aduba is virtually guaranteed the Supporting (or Guest?) Actress prize for the Shirley Chisolm episode. She is terrific -- totally blows her (slightly) overrated "Orange is the New Black" performance out of the water.
Blanchett and the underrated Bryne must win the Emmys.
Only watched the first episode tonight (we were finishing up a lot of other TV this weekend) but I thought it was fantastic. Really looking forward to the rest.
I have to say, in some of the online comments I've read elsewhere on the series, it's been interesting to me just how visceral a reaction I've seen among many older (liberal) women who lived through that era to the effect of "I refuse to watch anything about that awful woman, may she rot in hell forever," etc. Whereas, perhaps because I'm a generation removed, I've actually been kind of fascinated by how a woman who was so clearly smart and ambitious could turn her smarts towards such terrible ends, precisely *because* of her ambitions. Cate did a terrific job letting the mask slip just enough, but not too much. I can't wait to see more of the other cast, though.
Two of my favorite, most wrenching moments from the first episode: Phyllis taking her makeup off and contacts out and staring at herself in the mirror; and her sister's crumpling face (good to see Jeanne Tripplehorn again) as Phyllis goes on her new rhetorical warpath at the D.A.R. luncheon.
I had high expectations for this series, but so far, it has exceeded them. The last 10 or so minutes of the second episode, regarding the consequences of Steinem's abortion, are incredibly moving (and accurate, per her memoir, My Life on the Road). I had to watch them a second time.
Lynn- yes those moments you mention are, what Phyllis does to Eleanor and how Tripplehorn reacts that really tell us a lot about the character Of Schlafly.
jules - they weaved Gloria's personal story well into the ERA fight and agree those moments were v moving - we talk about them on the podcast.
Murtada - I will definitely listen! I have been "saving" episode 3 because I don't want to watch it too fast, it is too good, so I'll wait until I've seen all three of the first episodes.
Blanchett is doing spiritual penance.
Playing women who sell out other women, and people who do not do right by their daughters.
Trying to wash away the taint of having won her biggest prize for having portrayed the slanderous version of (women Woody Allen has known) in Blue Jasmine.
Rose Byrne is fantastic and totally new to me; I may have seen her before but don't recall her specifically.
I question the series use of Uzo, though I am in awe of her work in OITNB. Shirley Chisholm was tallish and thin. I guess they will shoot around Uzo's body. But I wonder if they couldn't use someone like Viveca Fox.
The subject matter is fascinating, even though I was alive at that time, as a man I didn't have much interest in what was going on, and so learning the history is fascinating. Also, I love that each episode (so far) focuses on one woman and her part in the history.
Lovely episode of the podcast. Thank you Murtada for the great and entertaining work you do.
I really loved the costume design of the show, especially how it tells a story of social schisms by using broad, but not necessarily unreal, contrasts. The scene with the different factions going up the steps of Congress isn't subtle at all but it works wonderfully. Like you say regarding acting, about enjoying a gesture that calls attention to the craft, I too feel that way about costuming and the stairs moment was perfect that way.
Also, the color choices in the costuming and set design are perfectly in tune with the cinematography. All those burnt oranges, blues and browns not only emulate 70s fashions but they also recall the film stock used at the time in American cinema. It looks great and I can't wait for the next episodes, both of Mrs. America and Sundays with Cate.
I can't tell if Byrne and Aduba are good or caricatures in this. Needless to say, Blanchett is a revelation, but I think people will be wary to award her for portraying Schlafly.
Murtada:
Gloria Steinem is the stepmom of Christian Bale. She was married to David Bale untill his death in 2003