For this week’s assignment, I decided to research the Netflix original show Cable Girls. It takes place in 1920’s Spain to portray the lives and rights of women in Spain during this time period. The episode in specific I am comparing to America in the 1920s is the first episode “Chapter 1: Dreams” as I intend after this to continue on with the series.
The show starts off with a dramatic introduction, to say the least, it shows scenes of women seemingly trapped in their lives trying to escape control. It is said by the main character Alba, “To society, we were just housekeepers wives, or mothers. We didn’t have a right to have dreams or ambitions.” Many fought hard to feel free ignoring the possible consequences that come with it.
The 1920s for women in America was also a challenging time they faced the same issues of being pinned as a housewife and not being able to be themselves, women often felt lost that that couldn’t be their only importance. Things started changing once women were able to vote in 1920, it brought flappers who embraced new and bold fashion and adjusted the traditional role of women providing personal freedom.
Thus far comparing the challenges women faced in Spain and America in the 1920’s it is safe to say that America developed faster with adjusting women’s role to society.
The plot continues with Alba and her friend Gimena running away together to Argentina in hopes of starting a new freeing life, then Pedro (Gimena’s husband) approaches them with a gun threatening them of running away. Alba panics tackles him ends up killing him and Pedro shoots Gimena in the process. The police take Alba in and threaten her. Alba then steals the testing spot for the switchboard operator at the telephone company in Madrid from Lidia Aguilar.
Throughout the time Alba spends on the telephone company building during the testing and before people often talk with less politeness to the applicants as if they are unimportant and not worthy. Alba goes to the wrong floor for the testing with the men and the lady is very rude and talks to her like she doesn’t have the intelligence to work. The men also tended to be rude to her as she may be tardy and seem unprofessional and if she doesn’t belong there.
This is a thing women faced in America and some continue still to face today. Many don’t take women seriously in workplaces, back in the 20’s it was more common due to the social stereotype that women belonged at home. It still proves hard for women in America to feel dominant in a so-called man’s job like construction, engineering, physicians, and many others.
Fashion portrayed similar to America in the 1920s being women wearing appropriate longer dresses not too revealing and often wearing hats, men wearing suits. The transportation seemed mainly to be trains and a common theme has been women traveling far for the test in hopes for a job and a better future.
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