Mothers Through the Eyes, and the Years, of TV and Movie Makers

Professor Robert Thompson at Syracuse University in New York state is an expert on American popular culture. Fifty or sixty years ago, he says, the popular media image of mothers was the so-called perfect mother.

Mama hates "going to the bank" -- she means borrowing money. But she also recognizes the importance of staying in school. We listen as Mama and her family are sitting around the table, counting money.

SON: "Mama, mama, I'll be graduating from Valley School next month. Could I -- could I go into high, do you think?"
MAMA: "You want to go to high school?"
SON: "Well, I'd like to, very much, if you think I could."
MAMA: "Is good."

BILL: "Uh, that was a good joke on you, Dad."
FATHER: "Listen, young man. There's a time and a place for jokes and a time and place for spankings. And the sooner you learn -- get out. Get out!"
MOTHER: "Mercy Maude, Frank, I'll bet you jumped six and nine-tenths inches that time."
FATHER: "You're right, son. That was a good joke on me. By jingo, I'll bet I did jump six and nine-tenths inches. Oh these kids, these kids."
(HORN SOUNDS AGAIN)
MOTHER: "Excuse me, dear, I did it. It was accidental."

Daphne is supposed to be seen as one of those moms who mean well even if they make their kids crazy.

MAGGIE: "Mom, you have to leave her alone."

DAPHNE: "Fine, but I just want you girls to understand something about motherhood. It's the most impossible love. You tell me when it ends. You tell me when it stops!" 

"Mississippi Masala" was a nineteen ninety-one film about an ethnic Indian family exiled from Uganda when Idi Amin comes to power. The family lives in Mississippi, in the American South.

FATHER: "Are you alone?"
MEENA: "No, I'm with Demetrius. Pa, are you there? Ma, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Why did he put the phone down?"
MOTHER: "I'll talk to your father."