The Golden Girls (Sit com)

The Golden Girls is an immensely popular situation comedy that ran from 1985 to 1992. It starred three of the best loved women actresses of the day - Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur, as well as the diminutive Estelle Getty, who achieved stardom because of her role asa Arthur's mother.

And indeed, I watched this series - and still watch it today - and for the most part enjoy it.

But there is no denying that it is part of devolution media.

The first episode explains that Sophia, the mother, has had a stroke, which has destroyed that part of her brain which monitors what she says. She is therefore free to be as rude as she likes, she "can't help it." This little condition of hers is never said again, so for the next 7 years viewers were fed on a steady diet of Sophia verbally abusing her daughter, the naive Rose and the sex-mad Blanche.

My own thinking was, if my mom said this stuff to me, I'd kick her to the curb! Too many people put up with verbal abuse because it comes from their parents or "loved ones," whom they don't realize are sucking the life right out of them.

Then there's Blanche, who can't be "without" a man for more than a week. We never hear that she practices safe sex, and she is obsessed with her looks, as if that's all that matters in getting a man (but not in keeping one, obviously, as she doesn't have a steady guy in the entire series.)

Rose, as played by Betty White is a naive character, rather than stupid (well, as these things go in situation comedies) and Dorothy (Bea Arthur) is the strong one - constantly teased by Blanche because of her looks and her lack of dates.

There is some wheat among the chaff, of course. Throughout its history the series dealt with some serious issues - Dorothy had chronic fatigue syndrome, and had to face doctor after doctor telling her she wasn't really sick, or if she was sick it was mental, Sophia had to help an elderly woman commit suicide (she had chosen to end her life on her terms. Unfortunately, the show cops out and lets Sophia persuade her not to do it).