The Mary Tyler Moore to New Girl - An Essay

The 70’s in America was a transitional period in which civil rights began taking place. Women began their march toward equality, racism was being addressed, rather than pushed to the side, and the war in Vietnam continued until halfway through the decade. During this century, CBS was ready to take on more politically charged shows, bringing into existence several sitcoms that broke barriers. This includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, and M*A*S*H.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show aired from 1970 through 1977 on CBS. It centers around the life of Mary, who had just moved in order to start a new life. We follow her as she gets a new job and we watch her break up with her boyfriend, Bill, by the end of the episode. The show revolves around the life of a strong woman that shows that she is willing to take care of herself. She was not willing to settle for a life of adequacy with Bill, as well as fight for her spot in her apartment.

A newer show that is comparable to The Mary Tyler Moore Show is New Girl, airing on Fox from 2011 through 2018. The first season has a similar story, featuring a woman getting out of a relationship and moving to a new apartment for a fresh start. They both find themselves in unconventional living situations. For Mary, she has to fight for her apartment from the upstairs neighbor called Aunt Rhoda. On the other side of the coin, Jess finds herself living with 4 men in a large loft, all of them dealing with each others’ antics.

Mary had to go through the journey of finding a new job to support herself. At her new workplace, she accepts a role that is underpaid and does near to nothing. In today’s world, it is a lot more common to have a woman having a reputable career. Jess, in New Girl, has an established career as a middle school teacher. This is one of the differences between the two shows. Mary does not settle for less when it comes to love, she is still complacent when it came to her career. While being progressive for the time period, there were still aspects that reflected the morals of the decades preceding it.

What The Mary Tyler Moore Show did better than New Girl was how each main character handled their break up. Mary was dejected that it had to happen but accepted it, saying that it was his loss in the end. Jess was written to be a complete mess after the breakup, watching the same movie on repeat and crying every hour of the day. While Jess’s portrayal of heartbreak is something that can be relatable to some viewers, Mary was more dignified and was not used as a joke. Despite this, it was interesting that Mary’s main concern was becoming a wife. That is a mindset that is considered old fashioned in today’s society.

In conclusion, The Mary Tyler Moore Show walked so New Girl could run. It was the first to feature an independent woman in the workforce, allowing for shows in the future to do the same. It did not do everything perfectly, but it was the step in the right direction.