Online Review: 100 Points Mother (一百分媽媽-2011-12-04)

Women have been stereotyped over years. People can easily found women being stereotyped in television drama, situation comedy or even movie. Through different forms of media, we can find the social status of women is growing. In the past few decades, women as minor characters, however, in recent years, they are becoming the major characters in performing industry.

 

In fact, women have been stereotyped in two levels: positively and negatively. In this online review, I will focus on the stereotyped positively “Successful career women”(事業女性) and stereotyped negatively “Monster Parents” (怪獸家長) represented by the short drama “100 Points Mother”(一百分媽媽). According to Lippmann (Dyer,2000), ideas on stereotypes include: a short cut, referring to the world, expressing our values and beliefs. Here, the word “Successful career women” and “Monster Parents” is 'a short cut' stereotype. “Successful career women” and “Monster Parents” are some very simple and short terms that represent a lot of meanings.

 

Stereotyped positively - “Successful career women”(事業女性)

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In recent years, more educated women appear in society. Graduated mothers changed their attitude towards self-identity. (Dales, 2005) Because of higher level of education, Mrs Yiu and her elder sister have the smart appearance and slim figure. They represent the common characteristics of “Successful career women”. They usually dress up as professional(image 1), put on makeup and have their individual hair style. They are independent and in fashion, but no longer the bad-taste fat women who have short curly hair and carrying a shopping bag. The “Successful careen women” contradicts the typical example of “Shun Sao” (順嫂) in “Hong Kong81”(香港八一).

Due to the gender equal (Rudolf Dreikurs, 1998), men and women can work equally. And because of the economic development, women have their own money on their ability. (Stocks, Diaz & Hallerod, 2007) Normally, “Successful career women” includes Mrs Yiu and her elder sister in the drama leave their home and go to work. They prefer to hire maid to do the housework, thus they can earn money for the family. They challenge the binary opposition in the past which is women's subordinate position and lack of power (Stocks, Diaz & Hallerod, 2007), whereas men dominated the power.

 

“Monster Parents” (怪獸家長)

Recently, the word “Monster Parents” (怪獸家長) and “Helicopter parent” (直升機家長) pops up. There are some common characteristics of “Monster Parents”. First, they excessive care of the children; Second, they follow-up their children’s excessively fast; Third, they excessive focus on the children's academic result. Forth, they often make all decisions for their children; Last but not least, they over concern the academic result of their children and may lead to insomnia and crying.

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It is not surprise to know there are a group of “Monster Parents” in Hong Kong. Mrs Yip presents the general characteristics of the stereotyped “Monster Parents”. In this drama, Mrs Yiu, the“Monster Mother”, emphasis too much on her son’s to enter the next grade school. She brought her son to the learning center and applied many extra-curricular activities (image 2), participated in volunteer work in primary school (image 3). Besides, she helped her son to make a portfolio for interview. Besides, She place particular emphasis on the academic result, but overlook whether her son is happy or not.  

Reference

Dales,L. (2005). Lifstyles f the rich and single: Reading agency in the ‘Parasite single’ issue, in the agency of wmen in Asia, Lyn Parker (ed.), (pp.133-157) Singapre: Marshal Cavendish Academic.

Rudolf Dreikurs, M. D. (1998). The challenge of marriage. (pp. 95-260). USA: Accelerated Development.

 

Stocks, J., Diaz, C., & Hallerod, B. (2007). Modern couples sharings money, sharing life. (pp. 13-150). New York: Dalgrave Macmillian.

 

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