Murder, infidelity, jealousy and dishonesty are the main characteristics of the women who live on Wisteria Lane. Instead of a show that delves into legitimate problems and real consequences, “Desperate Housewives” seeks to present reprehensible traits as normal. After all, women shouldn’t be looked down on for things like having an affair with underage gardeners.
What surprises me is that this show wins awards and is nationally acclaimed-yet it is teaching horrible principles that will cause problems not only in our private lives, but also in society as a whole.
Let’s look at Gabrielle. Instead of using her natural gifts of intelligence and beauty for good, she seduces a 17-year-old gardener. She is also the show’s most materialistic character, caring more for her clothes than for the people around her-including her husband. At one point she hopes that her mother-in-law never wakes up from her coma. What a nice person!
Or Bree, the Martha Stewart of Wisteria Lane. Her only problem is that her husband has an affair because he’s into S&M. Once her husband dies, Bree develops a serious alcohol problem.
Perfect! Teach the rising generation that, when you have a really big problem, the best way to solve it is with a glass of wine! And even if you do develop alcoholism, I’m sure it will manifest itself in funny little episodes in which you get locked in a department store!
Or let’s look at Lynette, the stay-at-home mom who hurts her husband’s chances at a promotion, satisfying her desire for him to be at home more. She has a serious jealousy problem and is bothered if her husband talks to other females. She is so busy in her own life that she can’t maintain her rebellious kids.
Overall, Lynette isn’t a terrible character. Like most of us, she is just trying to get through a day-but sympathy for her character gets pushed aside as viewers watch how bossy she is.
And then there’s Edie, the always-looking-for-the-next-guy girl. She is the most manipulating character in the show, hence the men enjoy her and the women hate her.
How great of a role model is she? She teaches that it doesn’t matter how many guys you go with or how many people you hurt, so long as you are taken care of in the end. Yeah, that’s a great thing for our rising generation to learn-nobody matters but you.
These characters possess good qualities along with the bad, like real people. The problem is that they just don’t seem to have any consequences for their actions.
Instead of showing how horrible it is to be cheated on, the characters barely seem to notice. When Gabrielle’s affair with her underage gardener is discovered, her husband ultimately forgives her, and her neighbors act like it’s no big deal. The only real consequence she ever faces is when her lover’s mother makes it more difficult for Gabby and her newly reconciled husband to adopt a baby.
Which, of course, happens all the time.
If my street had this many murders, this many affairs, and this many problems, I would move! Real America isn’t like this, and we shouldn’t be airing our dirty laundry for not only the world to see, but also impressionable minds to view.