“1960s TV Censorship and The Monkees” gives a brief overview of where censorship standards were in the era – and how The Monkees pushed the envelope with its mentions of the Vietnam War – and Sunset Strip riots – and even with the outrageous storytelling behind “Frodis Caper”, the episode that celebrated the saving of an alien plant that very closely resembled a marijuana plant…
Writer Treva Silverman said the staff got away with such jokes because the network executives were just old enough not to understand any of the references. Presented at Stephens College MFA in Screenwriting classes on Friday, August 5, 2016
Transcript:
I have Andrea Zuckerman from 90210 because when I worked on that show, I wrote the episode where — as a pregnant college student — she went to Planned Parenthood to think about it, but at the time, we knew she wasn’t going to be able to make that choice. We argued about it with the network, but then they said “No. That’s not going to happen.” And the real life actress (audience comment) No, she had the baby and lived with it — the baby. And it was because Gabrielle Carteris, the actress was actually pregnant and rather than write around the pregnancy they wanted to have it happen to her character So, this is the kind of stuff that changes with what’s allowed. Thirtysomething, which of course now I am moving into the 80’s, just to give us an overview and folks from last year recognize, the writer from thirtysometing? Winnie Holzman! She didn’t write this particular episode, but what’s interesting about it is this is the first time on television you saw two men in bed together, Post having sex. We didn’t see them have sex, but here they are. This episode was banned in several states in the South. They didn’t run it at all.
Dr. Rosanne Welch is a professor in the Low Residency MFA in Screenwriting Program from Stephens College, California State University, Fullerton, Mount San Antonio Community College and Cal Poly Pomona. In 2007, she graduated with her Ph.D. in 20th Century U.S./Film History from Claremont Graduate University. She graduated with her M.A. in 20th Century United States History from California State University, Northridge in 2004.
Welch is also a television writer/producer with credits for Beverly Hills 90210 , CBS’s Emmy winning Picket Fences and Touched By An Angel . She also writes and hosts her own podcasts on 3rdPass.media, her first one titled “Mindful(I) Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch.”
“1960s TV Censorship and The Monkees” gives a brief overview of where censorship standards were in the era – and how The Monkees pushed the envelope with its mentions of the Vietnam War – and Sunset Strip riots – and even with the outrageous storytelling behind “Frodis Caper”, the episode that celebrated the saving of an alien plant that very closely resembled a marijuana plant…
Writer Treva Silverman said the staff got away with such jokes because the network executives were just old enough not to understand any of the references. Presented at Stephens College MFA in Screenwriting classes on Friday, August 5, 2016
Transcript:
This is really scary. How much different things get censored and you don’t know why. Judgment at Nuremberg is a very famous play. It was on Playhouse 90. It was on television. It’s about the Nazi death camp trials. In the entire run of that play on television they never used the word gas, because the American Gas Association, which advertised on television, asked them not to or they would pull their advertising. So we never mentioned that that was the way that many thousands of people were killed. So that’s the kind of censorship you don’t even think is going on. Likewise, and now I’m moving a little into the 70’s with Maude, but just to think about it, Maude was the first character on television to ever have an abortion by choice. Because it had been legalized in New York. it was not yet federally legalized, but in New York at the time it was. And she was about 44 years old and they went though the whole “I feel like I’m too old to have a baby. It’s not going to safe, etc, etc.” No one had an abortion on television until Christina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy just a few years ago. No one was going to allow a female character to make that choice.
Dr. Rosanne Welch is a professor in the Low Residency MFA in Screenwriting Program from Stephens College, California State University, Fullerton, Mount San Antonio Community College and Cal Poly Pomona. In 2007, she graduated with her Ph.D. in 20th Century U.S./Film History from Claremont Graduate University. She graduated with her M.A. in 20th Century United States History from California State University, Northridge in 2004.
Welch is also a television writer/producer with credits for Beverly Hills 90210 , CBS’s Emmy winning Picket Fences and Touched By An Angel . She also writes and hosts her own podcasts on 3rdPass.media, her first one titled “Mindful(I) Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch.”
The Monkeesmost often interact with and fall for young women with careers and always ‘nice girls’, never druggies or drop outs. The lesson became if girls wanted to marry a Monkee, a common dream for the huge female fan base, they should strive to be feminists, not floozies. ‘
For many, that lesson lasted most of their lives with former Monkees’ fans becoming everything from PhDs to fashion designers (Stella McCartney) to politial commentators (Rachel Maddow)
The majority of women on the program were in the age range of the lead characters so it is noticeable that the various young women the characters of Davy, Micky, Mike and Peter fall in love with are almost all feminists, defined by their interest in academia, their working for wages and the fact that they are active, not passive, in the various storylines in which they appear.
As the landscape of storytelling on film, television and the web evolves and changes, more women are leading the charge in breaking down gender walls in the industry. Each has her own story and a perspective about the challenges that women face as writers and creators in the field.
The Writers Guild Foundation and Stage 32 are partnering on this special event, which invites writers to discuss their careers and their experiences working as a woman in the industry, from where they started and how they got their material noticed to what the future for women in media looks like and what inspires them to write every day.
Panelists:
Lauren Schuker Blum (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK)
Jessica Mecklenburg (STRANGER THINGS, BEING MARY JANE)
Deborah Schoeneman (HAND OF GOD, GIRLS, THE NEWSROOM)
Kirsten Smith (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, LEGALLY BLONDE)
More panelists to be announced. Stay tuned!
Doors open at 7pm. Event starts at 7:30pm. A networking reception will follow directly after the panel from 9pm to 10pm.
Stage 32 is dedicated to educating and empowering creatives from all walks of life, and as a continued commitment, we will provide every attendee with a free Stage 32 Next Level webinar (a $49 value), to help sharpen your skills and pave your trail in the industry.
About Stage 32:
“Stage 32 is LinkedIn meets Lynda for film and TV creatives” – Forbes Magazine
Stage 32 is the online platform connecting and educating film and TV creatives worldwide. Stage 32 provides over 1,000 hours of online education taught by some of the industry’s most prominent development, executives, managers, agents and producers.
All events advertised on our “Events” page are open to anyone who wants to buy a ticket – not just WGA members!
Proceeds benefit the Foundation’s library and archive and other outreach programs
“1960s TV Censorship and The Monkees” gives a brief overview of where censorship standards were in the era – and how The Monkees pushed the envelope with its mentions of the Vietnam War – and Sunset Strip riots – and even with the outrageous storytelling behind “Frodis Caper”, the episode that celebrated the saving of an alien plant that very closely resembled a marijuana plant…
Writer Treva Silverman said the staff got away with such jokes because the network executives were just old enough not to understand any of the references. Presented at Stephens College MFA in Screenwriting classes on Friday, August 5, 2016
Transcript:
They could not choose to kiss one another. It had to be a forced kiss. For the actors, who did not want to insult each other, because they did not want to look like they didn’t want to, they came at it from the attitude — ” I am — work for you — right, because he’s Captain Kirk and she’s the communications specialist. We shouldn’t be doing this because it’s not proper in our relationship as professionals.” So that’s how they came at it, not “we don’t want two people of different races kissing.” But that’s all the kind of stuff that’s being talked about in what you can’t do on television at this time.
Dr. Rosanne Welch is a professor in the Low Residency MFA in Screenwriting Program from Stephens College, California State University, Fullerton, Mount San Antonio Community College and Cal Poly Pomona. In 2007, she graduated with her Ph.D. in 20th Century U.S./Film History from Claremont Graduate University. She graduated with her M.A. in 20th Century United States History from California State University, Northridge in 2004.
Welch is also a television writer/producer with credits for Beverly Hills 90210 , CBS’s Emmy winning Picket Fences and Touched By An Angel . She also writes and hosts her own podcasts on 3rdPass.media, her first one titled “Mindful(I) Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch.”
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