Is Ambition Still a Dirty Word for Female Characters? ‘Hacks’ Shows How That Perception Is Changing (Guest Column)

Ambition has almost always been a thorny issue for television’s fictional females. When Mary Richards applied for a secretarial job at a local television station in Minneapolis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in the 1970s, she ended up as an associate producer by the end of the interview. News director Lou Grant gave her the elevated title so he could pay her less, implicitly signaling that there was a price for women moving up the career ladder. It was an ingenious way for the writers on the show to set Mary on a career path without making her appear overly ambitious and thus, less feminine. Mary didn’t negotiate and was grateful for the unexpected promotion.

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Approximately 50 years later, stand-up comic Deborah Vance, played by the inimitable Jean Smart, on “Hacks” finds herself navigating a similar conundrum when she discovers that her dream job, a spot as a host on a late night talk show, is opening up. Despite Deborah’s decades-long career and reputation as a survivor, she initially voices concerns that could just as easily have been uttered by Mary Richards a half century earlier.

In the program’s third season, currently nominated for armloads of Emmys, Deborah tells her writer and confidante Ava, played by Hannah Einbinder, that she has wanted the position since she was a kid. Deborah longed to “live in that hour” because her abusive father watched the late night show and would become more bearable when it was on. Initially, she hesitates to publicly announce that she wants the gig, remarking, “A woman can’t come out and say what she wants. That looks . . . “ Her voice trails off when members of her team chime in “thirsty.” But 27-year-old Ava doesn’t carry the same generational baggage as her 70-ish boss and encourages Deborah to be honest about her dream, admit how personal it is for her, and be shameless in her pursuit of the job.

Emboldened by Ava’s words and attitude, Deborah announces that she wants the position as she hosts the Thanksgiving Day parade and doubles down by confidently declaring, “I am the best person for the job.”

Interestingly, it wasn’t until the third season of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that Mary had the confidence to confront her sometimes prickly boss Lou about updating the format for their newscast, and tell the gasbag news anchor Ted Baxter to “shut up” when he wouldn’t stop interrupting her with inane comments as she was trying to deliver an on-air editorial. As the only woman in the fictional WJM-TV newsroom, Mary was on her own, with the occasional appearance of Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens, the sexually forward host of “The Happy Homemaker” show.

Deborah’s age ups the stakes for her pursuit of the late night job. It provides an added layer of urgency as she realizes this may be her last chance to fulfill her lifelong dream. In her 70s, she knows that time is running short to make a big move. It’s now or never. Deborah’s professional clock is ticking and she knows it.

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This sets up an astoundingly rare situation for a television comedy – a female character over 70 aggressively and strategically going after a traditionally male-identified and very public position. Women over 60 comprise only 5% of all female characters in television, according to the latest Boxed In study from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film.

Once Deborah decides to pursue her dream, she organizes her team and sets out to win the position through a series of moves that increase her visibility and chances of getting the gig. It’s thrilling to watch as she gamely navigates interactions with the network boss, network affiliates, and even the head of the conglomerate that owns the network.

Deborah Vance offers a rare and much-welcomed glimpse into how writers can frame older women as being vital and visible. What distinguishes Deborah is her desire to not only remain in the game, but to achieve her lifelong goal. As a character, her depth comes from her life experience.

When Mary Richards joyfully tossed her beret into the air during the opening credits of her now-iconic show, she ushered in a new era of portrayals of female characters on television, allowing work to play a central as opposed to fleeting and peripheral role in the lives of television’s fictional women. Decades later, Smart’s portrayal expands the dreams female characters can have, not only increasing the longevity of their professional lives but showing that ambition, talent, and focus look fantastic on women at any age.

Dr. Martha M. Lauzen is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University and the author of numerous studies of the portrayal of women on screen and employment behind the scenes in television and film.

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