Lifetime+Rules

You know those times when you’re feeling like you’re just tired of life and just need to take a break from it all? Well most people escape to television as their outlet. Lifetime is the network where women want to get away from the drama in their lives and focus on other people’s drama. Lifetime consists of three networks. The main Lifetime channel, The Lifetime Movie Network or LMN, and Lifetime Real Women or LRW, each of them are all geared to mostly women. However, if Lifetime focuses on uplifting the spirits of women towards independence, then why do they continue to broadcast media following gender stereotypes? On LMN, I watched two different movies. The first one was called // When Innocence is Loss //. Erica French decides to keep the baby she conceived in high school. However, she never thought that one day she would be fighting for custody against the child's father, Scott Stone. This movie shows a different side of womanhood, when a young teenager has to learn how to be an adult while still managing college and parenthood at the same time. Although this movie follows a clichéd storyline of a woman fighting for her resolution, the ending contains a twist where Erica actually loses the trial to Scott. The next movie that I watched was called // Coyote Ugly //. This movie had an entirely different essence from // When Innocence Is Loss //. Violet Sanford goes to NYC to pursue a dream of becoming a songwriter. Violet gets a "day" job as a bar maid at a nightclub called Coyote Ugly. Coyote Ugly is the city's newest hot spot where the employees are a team of sexy, resourceful women that provoke the clientele and press with their mischief. Instead of tumbling down from the spotlight, Violet actually becomes extremely successful because of Coyote Ugly. Both characters, Erica and Violet, struggle with their own situations. Erica relies on her mind and knowledge while Violet uses her looks and body image in order to reach their own goals. Both women are “small town girls” who are trying to be well known in the “big city.” They both have to learn how to “come out of their shells” in order to prove to other people what they are capable of. Erica and Violet both go through a personality change from the beginning of the movie to the end where they learn that they have to stop being timid and start behaving boldly through their actions in order to get what they want. However, by working hard and fighting back against Scott in court, Erica ends up losing custody of her daughter because they believe that she still can't "handle" motherhood. While Violet ends up hardly working and becomes rich and famous because of her “business.” So how do you think that women viewing these two movies perceive the message to be? Both girls are traveling down their paths toward womanhood except they each took a different turn with their own choices on what they thought would lead them to be successful. Women might generally assume that the sexual nature of one’s self is more powerful than your intelligence, or at least that's what these two movies are proved to us. Also, the commercials that Lifetime broadcasts are based on sexual assumptions. The commercials that are played are geared toward anyone really, whether it be cleaning products, store sales, or health care plans. But, while watching the channel one day, I saw this State Farm Commercial about a couple who recently just got into a car crash. The woman is frantically worrying while the man is calm and says “Why don’t you call a State Farm Agent?” Directly after, he sings a little jingle that is the State Farm catchphrase: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!” With that, the car is instantly fixed. The boyfriend is amused and begins to take advantage of the situation by saying “with a new girlfriend.” The girl is instantly transformed into what society perceives to be attractive: a woman wearing a low-cut tank top revealing her breasts with her long hair blowing in the wind. The girlfriend was previously wearing a suit and had her hair tied up in a bun. Insulted, she also says “with a new boyfriend." Then the boyfriend becomes what the world considers a "hot" guy: a man with no shirt, displaying his toned abs.    Most people will probably remember this commercial because of those images and the belief that if you contact State Farm, not only is it possible for them to fix your car, but they can also turn your significant other into a model of today's stereotypical image of an attractive human being. If Lifetime is constantly trying to convince women to live above these assumptions, then why are they showing commercials depicting the gender stereotypes of how an attractive man or woman is // supposed // to appear? These contradictions are because companies want you to remember their title by what they believe viewers will find amusing in order to convince the audience to purchase whatever they're trying to sell.     In the mornings, Lifetime plays broadcasts advising women on how to start their day with shows such as // The Balancing Act //and // Cook Yourself Thin //. However, if the network focuses on telling woman to “be yourself,” they still play shows that advocate what society deems as a beautiful woman, meaning you have to be skinny. In the afternoon, Lifetime broadcasts shows such as // Desperate Housewives // which characterize each woman following stereotypical personalities. Susan is the single mother who tends to be scatterbrained and somewhat ditzy; Gabrielle is the sexy model-turned-housewife who enjoys the finer things in life; Bree is the perfectionist housewife and mother who defines prim and proper; Lynette is the supermom of the bunch, always juggling a million things at a time; And, Edie is the free-spirited real estate maven whose love life has everyone buzzing. Although I didn’t really get a chance to watch this show, the fact that // Desperate Housewives // created these women to be certain helpless types of people is pretty degrading. The message being that without a stable husband, you aren't capable of really anything except drama. Also playing in the afternoon is // Grey's Anatomy //. The staff of Seattle Grace Hospital may know their way around an operating room, but they still have a lot to learn about life. With all of the emotion, sex, fighting and making up, it's a wonder any surgery gets done! There was a scene where two interns were talking about having sex for the first time that night. The woman exclaims how the moment has to be perfect so when her shift is over, she’s going to shave her legs. The man comments how it’s really okay and he doesn’t mind if her legs aren't smooth. However, the woman is shocked and shouts that “You can’t have perfect sex without shaved legs!” Other women who probably watched this moment might agree because society expects women to do this menial job. But really, who defines what is "perfect sex?" Most people focus on the sexual aspect of it rather than the thought of expressing your pure love and affection towards another person. In the episode that I watched, there was another scene where these two women arrived in an ambulance together on two separate gurneys. They were arguing while tugging on to a wedding dress between them. Both women were severely injured fighting over this wedding dress for a competition. The winner of this store competition would win a cash prize that would help pay for their wedding. One woman had a dislocated shoulder, while the other had a small piece of her scalp missing. Both needed intensive surgery. However, both women were very determined to win and refused to release the dress, which was already stained with their blood. In order to settle this dispute, the store manager proposed they split the cash prize but neither woman would accept the offer. Both boyfriends' were cheering on their girlfriend to not let go of the dress. I understand that a woman’s wedding day is extremely important in a girl’s life. But there comes a point when you realize that you just have to let go, like when you end up on a gurney in the hospital room for example. Women viewing this entire disturbance unfurl before them might agree that the entire situation is ridiculous or even sympathize with these women. Although Lifetime did display these types of hypocritical media, I have to admit I did enjoy watching these shows. They were very amusing and I do believe that is the reason why Lifetime continues to broadcast these shows. In order to prevent these stereotypical Lifetime rules from influencing the people, we have to develop a type of media literacy in order to distinct what is reality and what is created to bring laughter on television. Women try to follow these Lifetime rules convincing them to do more with their lives, but the message that they are sending through their media is contradicting the views that they are attempting to portray. So I believe you should create your own lifetime rules and base your behavior and appearance on what's most best for you, despite the media and society today.