Mary Ellen and her attitude

[jason88cubss]

Is it just me or does it seem like she got away with a attitude quiet a bit? I know John got mad when she called him "stupid" and Olivia and Grandma would get on her a bit but  it seemed like compared to everyone else, she was able to get away with snippy comments at all

I know she would say "Oh Grandma!" alot which to me is disrespectful and would get me a whipping if I had said that but no one ever really called her out on it

[kelliekay]

    I hated her attitude in The Minstrel and The Quilting.

[jason88cubss]

Jan 4, 2021 18:24:12 GMT -5 kelliekay said:

    I hated her attitude in The Minstrel and The Quilting.

when she told John "your to stupid to realize" I just cant believe Olivia let that go unpunished

If one of the boys had said that to Olivia. John would have been right on them

[Kyle]

I liked how early on she could be a bit salty and sarcastic - similar to Grandma, who she often clashed with. I was watching one the other day where Martha Rose was being snooty to her and Mary Ellen kind of put her in her place. That was fun. But I didn’t like when she veered into disrespect, like calling John stupid.

Later on, I think the writing was less nuanced and she became overbearing.

[goodnight]

In which episode did she call her father stupid?

[jason88cubss]

Jan 4, 2021 20:57:23 GMT -5 goodnight said:

In which episode did she call her father stupid?

The Minstrel

[dayton3]

I always felt John and Olivia were willing to put up with more from her because she was their oldest daughter.   Also given the era they lived in I think John especially liked having a daughter who didn't plan to submit to the cultural pressures to go out and find a husband the first chance she got (though ironically she ended up doing that). 

But if you look at the totality of The Waltons,  John Walton put up with a lot from all the kids.    They kind of had to write him that way as if he had been the traditional disciplinarian of that era it would've squashed a lot of potential drama. 

I also thought  Olivia permitted more than she would've otherwise because she felt "at least they go to church" (unlike John obviously). 

[Easton]

Each child had his or her own distinct personality.

Elizabeth was the needy one, the hanger on.

Jim-Bob was the dreamer.

Jason, of course, was all about music.

Ben was the teaser, the bully, the rebel.

Erin was the gossiper, the tattle tale.

Mary Ellen was the sassy tomboy.

John-Boy was the responsible one.

Of course, they were all typical of a young family, and, of course, the personalities developed and changed over the years.

[Kyle]

I think for dramatic purposes, the kids had to act a little more modern than would have been likely back then. John and Livvie were progressive (I don’t mean politically progressive) parents for the time. A show that focused on typical depression-era parents would have been tougher to take in the 70s.

[goodnight]

Jan 5, 2021 14:42:46 GMT -5 Kyle said:

I think for dramatic purposes, the kids had to act a little more modern than would have been likely back then. John and Livvie were progressive (I don’t mean politically progressive) parents for the time. A show that focused on typical depression-era parents would have been tougher to take in the 70s.

From things my grandmother told me, she and her siblings would have been spanked if they had spoke to their parents that way. And they grew up in the 20's and 30's.

[journaler]

Jan 5, 2021 14:42:46 GMT -5 Kyle said:

I think for dramatic purposes, the kids had to act a little more modern than would have been likely back then. John and Livvie were progressive (I don’t mean politically progressive) parents for the time. A show that focused on typical depression-era parents would have been tougher to take in the 70s.

Recently, there was a discussion in another thread on this forum about Patricia Neal's Olivia versus Michael Learned's portrayal.  Patricia more accurately fit the mold of the strict, gritty Depression-era mother.  However, Michael's kinder, gentler Olivia was easier to take for 1970s America, as you suggest.  On the network family shows in the 1970s-80s, most of the tv parents seemed so tender and loving toward their children.  For a few hours each week, some kids tuned in to see caring parents and siblings (eg the Waltons, the Bradys), whom they could envision as part of their own family.  Then in the late 80s, tv families seemingly started to get meaner and edgier (eg the Bundys, the Simpsons).