Presenting

In 2007, Time magazine included "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" on its list of "17 Shows That Changed TV." Owens R iver in California. "e water was clear and high as I k nelt over it. I opened the container and emptied it into the rushing water," she w rote in Aer All. " What was meant to be a prayer became an outraged demand. 'You take care of him,' I screamed at the sky." She was convey ing to a higher power the job she perhaps felt she was never able to aptly do herself. TODAY Now we come to the nostalgia that affects me whenever I see and hear that opening montage. Not only does it remind me of when I was younger (in my 20s, catching an episode w ith my mom before bed while still wearing the apron from my summer job bussing tables), but it also forces me to examine those stereot y pical "simpler times" of the 1990s. Back then, Mar y R ichards was symbolic of the momentum the women's movement had gained during the '70s. Mary was a pioneer in the working world, blazing a path that would become the norm: the course for smart, resolute women who knew what they wanted and went for it—on their own. Today, especially in recent months, I see that while we have no doubt "come a long way," there is still a tough road ahead for women. A nd we certainly aren't as far along as we should be by this point. Mar y R ichards made her debut almost half a centur y ago, but I can't help think ing that it may as well have been a pink, crocheted, cat-eared hat that a jubilant Mar y tossed into the air, rather than a blue k nit beret. e interesting thing about this image of Mar y R ichards as one of the first feminists is that it's a label and an identit y w ith which she struggled. In a 2013 PBS series titled "Pioneers of Telev ision: Funny Ladies," Moore addressed why she had turned dow n Gloria Steinem's inv itation to join the feminist movement: "[Gloria] thought that I was 100% on Be y Friedan's train. A nd I really wasn't. I believed that women—and I still do—have a ver y major role to play as mothers. It's ver y necessar y for mothers to be involved w ith their children. A nd that's not what Gloria Steinem was say ing. Gloria was say ing oh, you can have ever y thing , and you owe it to yourself to have a career. A nd I didn't really believe in that, so that was a lile difficult for me. Well, I just had to say no." Despite this rejection of Steinem's direct call to action, Moore had already done her part for the cause and was undeniably a role model for women ever y where. Given Moore's heartbreak over her son's death, and her ow n opinion that she had failed R ichie as a mother by focusing too tightly on her career, this perspective doesn't come as much of a surprise. In the opinion of Jennifer Keishin A rmstrong , author of Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And All the Brilliant Minds W ho Made e Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic, "[Mar y] only wanted to play a great character, and she did so. at character also happened to be single, female, over 30, professional, independent, and not particularly obsessed w ith geing married." In the roles of groundbreaker and activ ist, A rmstrong points out that, "Mar y had A merica facing such issues as equal pay, birth control and sex ual independence way back in the '70s." Moore passed away at the age of 80 on Januar y 25th of this year. Her career included roles on Broadway, an Oscar nomination and innumerable appearances on both the small and big screens. She had married a third time aer divorcing Tinker in 1981, became an author by Above: Iconic statue of Mary Richards tossing her hat skyward in the opening credits of the 1970s sitcom, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," set in Minneapolis. penning t wo emotional memoirs and was an enthusiastic supporter of charities such as the A SPCA and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. To millions, she is simply "Laura" or "Mar y;" in my case, she's both...one a continuation of the other. A er learning her stor y and reading about the demons that plag ued her, despite what appeared to be success and happiness from the outside, I beer understand my seemingly irrational emotion during the closing notes of "Love Is A ll A round." Even behind a smile w ide enough to "turn the world on," there can be pain. Sometimes that pain manages to peek through, being the reason for the smile in the first place. Subscribe at GravitasMag.com | 79

• Cover