In this modern era, as we’re having discussions about representation in entertainment, especially behind-the-scenes and in writers’ rooms, I wanted to talk a bit about women in old time radio. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that white men dominated the radio waves through the time of OTR. And while many of them wrote female characters, there is no hiding the fact that these characters were portrayed how men saw women on the surface without any real insight. As with any time in history, especially in the arts, there certainly were men who were sensitive to minority groups and fought without prejudice to empower them. But those voices were always in the minority. So let’s hit briefly on the tropes in the most popular genre of the time, noir.
In detective noir, the featured female roles were generally the sexy femme fatale, the ditzy assistant, or the begging-to-get-married girlfriend (who might also be the ditzy assistant). She always had to be saved and always was in love with the amazing detective. We’ve seen the few exceptions even here in Madison on the Air episodes with “The Adventures of the Thin Man” and the sharp witted wife, Nora, or in “Candy Matson: YUkon 2-8209” with the leading lady detective. But those roles were few and far between. I’d been wanting to do an episode of “The Adventures of Philip Marlowe” since he and Raymond Chandler are such an iconic representation of the genre, but Madison definitely has been spreading her wings (hey, she was a Sheriff in “Tales of the Texas Rangers!”) so how could she fit in with Marlowe if he’s just another male-centric detective?
It was a risk, I hope it pays off, but Madison is stepping in FOR Philip Marlowe. Do you want to hear a Philip Marlowe episode without Philip Marlowe? Well, we shall see. But as I was researching the show for which episode I’d like to adapt, I found “The Ladies’ Night” and it all fell into place. I don’t believe Chandler, himself, wrote for the radio series, or if he did, I don’t know that he wrote this episode, but there is no doubt it was penned by a man. Madison repeatedly comments on how all the women are absolutely nasty to each other. There is not a single woman in this script who doesn’t trash talk one of the other women. Making them all look petty and just one snide comment away from a cat-fight. This is how men see us, ladies. And ya know what… this is still how they see us today. And ya know what? We kinda feed into it. As Madison says, “women really are bitches to each other.” But we aren’t that two-dimensional. Female characters can be represented with our bitchy-side while still making us well rounded human beings. And that’s the part the male writers often miss. They see the surface, they capitalize on it, and they perpetuate the trope.
I hope Madison, for as ditzy as she can be, is a voice for women in OTR, even if it’s after the fact. She can call the men out on their attitudes towards the female characters and remind us that we not only don’t have to act this way, we don’t have to accept that sweeping generalization of who we are as a gender. Because this attitude permeates even today. It’s not locked in the 1930s-1950s. Or any other decade preceding us. Let’s get women involved in the creative process so we can finally be full, well-rounded characters and not a worn-out trope.
