Every now and then we like to introduce our kids to things we loved when we were their ages. It’s funny to see their reactions to things we used to wear or do. One thing that we’ve kind of bonded over has been the stuff we grew up watching. We have introduced them to Thundercats, She-Ra and He-Man and of course, Tom and Jerry. Moving on from cartoons, they’ve seen lots of the Cosby show, Family Matters and Different Strokes. Recently we were sitting down flipping through the options of what to watch and I saw Bewitched. I was excited because I LOVED this show as a kid and could watch it sun up to sun down. Little did I know that it’s all trash. Maybe?
Do you remember the show? It’s about Samantha (a witch) navigating her marriage with Darren (a mortal). The whole show revolves around her trying to be a “normal” mortal wife and not use her magic. So, we turned it on and immediately my kids were into it. They thought it was funny. The more I watched though, I couldn’t help but think of how problematic some things were.
As an adult, I’m looking at the relationship with Darren and Samantha with new eyes. It was really about her struggles to suppress who she is to please him. There was the issue of her telling him that a client of his was getting too frisky with her and so she turned him into a dog. He was only concerned about losing his client and told her she was overreacting. Problematic.
The Real MVP
Then I noticed something about Samantha’s Mom, Endora. She was always kind of seen as the troublemaker mother in law being mean to Darren. Watching now, I see her as the hero of the show. Once Darren married Samantha and found out she was a witch, he asked her to never use her powers. He told her to take care of the house and be a good suburban housewife (his words) to which she agreed. Problematic.
This is where Endora shines! She asks him why he has such a problem with her daughter being who she is. Bingo! I see why she doesn’t like him, I didn’t see it as a kid. As an adult and a Mom, I see her stance so clearly now! I, of course, had to make the point to my own kids that no one should ask them to be someone they are not. Someone asking you to disregard the thing that makes you special and unique is someone you don’t want in your life.
As excited as I was to watch this relic from my childhood and share it with my kids, I was just ready to turn it off. Things have changed so much in terms of our awareness. We are vocal now about equality and patriarchy and with good reason. The shows that I loved had all of these subliminal messages and stereotypes that wouldn’t fly today. Watching the show was a good lesson in the importance of self love. I have to say though, now I’m nervous about watching anything else I used to love when I was younger!
