Movie Analysis: The Golden Girls

Picture it: Miami, 1985. Four women from different walks of life with seemingly nothing in common decide to move in together. These strangers couldn't be more dissimilar: A sweet naïve Minnesotan, a sex-crazed Southern Belle, a cynical husky-voiced substitute teacher and her mother, a crazy little Italian munchkin. No one could see how these four souls would successfully live under one roof, but they decided to give it a try as they were all in a pinch for somewhere to stay. The truth is, at first all Hell broke loose and it seemed clear that they were just too different to share one house. But one thing led to another and soon enough they were sitting around their kitchen table, laughing, gossiping and sharing, you guessed it, a cheesecake.
Although they were all so different, they were as close as sisters. Bea Arthur played the sarcastic and wry Dorothy Zbornak, who spoke with a deep voice and stood at a staggering 5 foot 10. She always had a smart remark to say about anything and anyone. Betty White played Rose Nylund, the carefree blonde from St. Olaf with a heart of gold. Rose, to put it bluntly, wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and you had better believe Dorothy had lots to say about that! Also, there was Sophia Petrillo, played by Estelle Getty. She was the 82 year-old, 4 foot 11 Italian biological mother of Dorothy and surrogate mother of the rest of the girls. Last but certainly not least we have Blanche Devereaux, played by Rue McClanahan. Blanche, to once again put it bluntly, was the slut. The youngest one of the bunch, she forever had men on the mind, and almost as frequently had men in her boudoir! Obviously, these four characters all embody an extreme. However, everyone has part of one or all of The Golden Girls in
Today in 2006, in syndication, the jokes still hit home and have viewers rolling in their seats. However, while remaining light-hearted and cheery, the show introduced ground-breaking topics that had never been discussed in a sitcom. Issues like suicide, homelessness, homosexuality and AIDS, while taboo for many other television shows in the 1980s, were openly talked about on The Golden Girls. Bringing up infidelity, menopause, cross-dressing and artificial insemination in serious contexts on a comedic show seemed like a huge risk. That it was, nevertheless the girls pulled it off. They weren't the typical sitcom family in the least. Shows in those days were about squeaky clean, picture-perfect