MovieChat Forums > Mary Tyler Moore (1970) Discussion > Mary and Rhoda Are Very Naive

Mary and Rhoda Are Very Naive

posted 11 years ago by Ariane1998
22 replies | jump to latest

I'm always stunned when I realize how trusting Mary and Rhoda are. Even for 1970s Minneapolis, they seem naive, especially around men they find attractive!

When the architect played by Bradford Dillman -- a total stranger -- shows up at Mary's door and says that he is drawing the house and wants to see the inside of her apartment -- she lets him in! She didn't even freak when he draws her telephone to get her telephone number!

IIRC, the "forest ranger" episode happens when Mary and Rhoda are at the auto shop and they let a total stranger -- the future forest ranger -- drive them home!

Mary apparently meets the "younger man" played by Peter Strauss at a supermarket and ends up spending the whole day with him. I would assume that they end up in a car together.

(If you think I'm obsessed about cars -- I just don't think it is wise to get into a car with a totally strange man -- or any stranger!)

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] SimplemindedSociety 11 years ago

I find you being stunned kind of sad.
Of course, any show takes liberties; Lucy Ricardo let strangers into her apt also to keep the plot rolling. I used to go home with people and didn't fear they would kill me or anything. It wasn't naivte then.

Back then, we didn't live in this fear/paranoia,almost expecting the next person you meet to be suspect. Instead, we had the sentiment of "people being ok until they prove otherwise".
If we live in fear,how do we get anything done? Always have a chaperone wth you?

[–] Ariane1998 11 years ago

But they get into cars with total strangers! Even back in the 1970s, that was not a good idea!

[–] SimplemindedSociety 11 years ago

'But they get into cars with total strangers! Even back in the 1970s, that was not a good idea'
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No offense, but may I ask if you were thee in the 70's? Of course if we live in a bubble,nothing bad can happen to us, but when you're in a pinch and need a ride home,some liberties are takent. The same could be said for 2 men,it's not just a male-female thing; one man can overpower the other.
How do 2 people date then? Interview and investigate the man before you drive somewhere together for a date? When we walk down the sidewalk in daylight, something bad can happen to us also.

[–] don-lockwood 11 years ago

No need to talk down to the OP (even if you're not intending to sound that way); we simply live in a different world now. Nowadays that sort of behavior is not commonplace, especially among young women living in a big city. Nor should it be, any longer. I too as a younger viewer am always taken aback by these kinds of trends in older programs, script contrivances be as they might. That's not to say it was unrealistic for the time period. Certainly there are many things to envy about that time period.

[–] theunopeneddoor-697-442391 10 years ago

You were MORE likely to be raped, killed or kidnapped back then then now. MORE.

Joseph Chastainme
www.notwithoutreason.com my film

[–] crlnrgbrght5 10 years ago

That's true, but now everyone is more hysterical about everything, soit only seems to be that way now.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] catlover11 11 years ago

not to mention how Mary left her apartment door unlocked most of the time --- anyone could just walk right in !! and did

[–] emjee-1 9 years ago

And people actually used to stand by the side of the road with their thumb stuck out and other people would actually pull over and offer that person a ride!! OH THE HUMANITY!! LOL

[–] SimplemindedSociety 11 years ago

I would still stop at the roadside to help broken down cars,let people into my house to use the phone.
I'm not giving in to our fearful cynical ill-fated society brought on by bad parenting

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] knuteboy35 11 years ago

Well it's just necessary for keeping the narrative going. You can't introduce the idea that Mary is excessively paranoid about the intention of strangers without it somewhat derailing the conventions of a thirty minute sitcom.

In reality though, I think in the 70's people were becoming more wary of strangers. It was the beginning of what is so commonplace now with mass shootings, serial killers, rapists etc.

[–] brendanchenowith 11 years ago

Once, when I was parked underground, I was walking back to my car when I discovered two women who said they were mother and daughter, stranded because their car was towed. They asked me if I knew where the two garage was and I started to tell them, but then decided to offer them a lift over there. It went well, they thanked me and I wished them luck because when you go into a tow garage, you need all the well-wishes you can get.

Anyway, I told a friend about this and he joked about how I could've been kidnapped, knocked out, dismembered, etc., and it jolted me a little, but then I thought, "well, it turned out fine in the end, so...oh, well". Years later, I'm still glad I did it.

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked.

[–] theunopeneddoor-697-442391 10 years ago

As I said before you were MORE likely to get raped, murdered or kidnapped back then, not less.

Joseph Chastainme
www.notwithoutreason.com my film

[–] novastar_6 10 years ago

As I said before you were MORE likely to get raped, murdered or kidnapped back then, not less.

Or maybe JUST as much, but nobody knew it because they didn't talk about it, certainly not like they do now. And yet very many people were able to do all those things, and nothing happened to them. Of course there are times when it just pays to be smart. My mother hitchhiked in the 60s when she was 12 because they were always miles from anywhere, by her own admission NOT very smart, BUT, she NEVER did it alone, she was friends with 3 other girls and they did it together, so 1 you could definitely make disappear, maybe 2, but 4 is a lot to try and make trouble with.

[–] mbcullen 10 years ago

If you know anyone who came of age in the 60's and 70's , you will probably find that hitchhiking was a lot more common form of transportation.

If you heard any stories about Albert De Salvo (the supposed Boston Strangler) a crime he actually did commit was talking his way into young women's apartments saying he was a talent agent and was looking for models. They would let him take their measurements and he got his jollies touching them during the process. Whether he was the BS or not, most likely the BS's victims just let him in.

Much the same with Ted Bundy. His victims trusted him as well.

But in seems to me that young people today, though they might not let any stranger who knocks on their door into their apartment, they hook up a lot more quickly and really how smart can that be sometimes?

But all in all the stats say if you're going to be attacked and murdered, it will probably be by someone you know.