Leave it to Beaver

I was recently looking for something "mostly harmless" for my children to watch on netflix, when this caught my eye.  Now, I grew up with very limited TV viewing, so even if this show (or the reruns, more likely) were on, I don't think I ever got to see it.  And all I knew about it as an adult was the occasional scathing feminist criticism of June Cleaver, with her beautifully pressed dress, beauty-parlor hair, and immaculate housekeeping - and no apparent ambition to do anything other than what she is doing.
As a wife and mother myself, who has recently started enjoying this show, I have this to say:  the humor is gentle.  The parents love each other, and love their children.  The children like each other, and are kind to each other.  When they aren't, it isn't the cue for a laugh, it's the problem to be resolved in the episode. Does June Cleaver set an unrealistic standard for women?  Certainly no more so than shows which portray women working outside the home, raising children, and maintaining the same standards of beauty and organization that June Cleaver appears to spend her day on - with less outside help than she evidently hires.   It's an idyllic picture of childhood and growing up in America; I don't know if it's anything more than that - or if it was ever meant to be.  But as pictures - necessarily limited in their scope - go, it a pleasant one.

The Errand of Angels - Movie

I admit to having a sometimes morbid fascination with LDS movies - I will often watch them, even if I am reasonably sure they are useless, kitchy drivel. I have come to steel myself against that, in hopes of finding the occasional gem. This is necessary, because reviews on LDS movies are pretty useless. The crowd that watches them seems to consider it unfaithful to mention anything unfavorable - no matter how badly they were done - and nobody else reviews them, unless it's to say something unflattering about the LDS church in general. Not really helpful if I'm trying to find out if I will enjoy it of an evening with my family.
So, knowing where I'm coming from, I will say: this was really quite reasonable. The story was neither overblown, with things that most LDS missionaries - or members in general - never experience in their lifetimes (though we all hear about them); nor so understated that it lost all sense of plot or direction. It was the simple, pleasant story of a young woman's experiences on her mission, how hard it was, and how rewarding. So I will give it the highest praise I give to LDS movies: yes, I would recommend it to a friend.