9 Times TV And Movies Made Motherhood Look Undesirable

In an entertainment industry still plagued by the boss-girl narrative, it’s far too common to find the tired stereotype of female accomplishment: a woman struggling to make something of herself, tied down by the apron strings of her needy, whiny children. It’s a formula that gets slipped into popular shows and award-winning films as frequently as possible, a persistent visual implication that being a mom makes life unfair to women. By modeling mothers after a model of “relatable exhaustion,” the movies are often blind to the fact that motherhood is a blessing, and that many – if not most – women find happiness by embracing this aspect of their femininity. 

Want to see proof that there’s a war against motherhood in the modern media? Check out these undesirable depictions of a mother’s life and calling on TV.

Succession

This TV show may have been the darling of television award shows for years, but if there’s something Succession gets seriously wrong, it’s the gift of motherhood. Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) is dynamic, self-controlled, and wildly manipulative. She’s the iconic girlboss, who dominates her beta husband Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and plays the game to climb the ladder of success. When Shiv becomes pregnant, she plans to weaponize her child to help her gain power over her husband and the other men in her life. Ultimately, unlike the actress who plays her, Shiv dreads the thought of becoming a mother and being tied down by a child. 

The Lost Daughter

The anti-mother sentiment in this Oscar-nominated film is so blatant, that it caused a buzz of controversy when the film was first released. It follows an encounter between older mother Leda (Olivia Colman) and young mother Nina (Dakota Johnson) on a beach, after Nina’s daughter goes missing. Observing the tired and unhappy Nina, Leda befriends her and flashbacks to moments in her own life as a young mother. In The Lost Daughter, children are the hindrance to a woman’s success in life, not a beautiful part of her happiness.

Bad Moms

It’s all in the title. Amy (Mila Kunis) is the picture perfect suburban wife and mother, whose life implodes when she finds her husband cheating on her. Pushed to the limit, Amy quits the PTA, run by a controlling Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate), and meets promiscuous single mom Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and downtrodden mom of four Kiki (Kristen Bell) in a bar. Together, they form an unlikely friendship and decide to take charge of their lives. While the trials of being a mom in Bad Moms are exaggerated for comedic purposes, it doesn’t escape the fact that in this film the work of motherhood isn’t a blessing – it’s a curse that should be shared more evenly between men and women to make things fairer.

Rosemary’s Baby

We’re still feeling the effects of this 1960s psychological horror film, directed by child rapist Roman Polanski. When Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her husband move into a new apartment in New York City, they discover a strange set of neighbors. Rosemary eventually becomes pregnant, but she becomes increasingly fearful that their neighbors are members of a Satanic cult. The real horror of the film is Rosemary’s unwanted pregnancy, however, and the ensuing events are a not-so-subtle metaphor arguing for women’s liberation from motherhood.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

This comedy show set in the 1950s and written by Gilmore Girls’ Amy Sherman-Palladino had all the right pieces to be my new favorite show. When we first meet Mrs. Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), she’s a happy wife and mother, writing jokes for her husband’s comedy routine. But when Midge’s husband says he wants a divorce, her life is thrown for a loop – and she discovers that she might have a future in comedy herself. As the show’s seasons progressed, Midge became more and more devoted to her new career and her life as a mother became an increasing hindrance to her new dreams.

Knocked Up

Slacker Ben (Seth Rogen) and type A achiever Allison (Katherine Heigl) don’t have anything in common, but they discover after a one-night stand that Allison is pregnant. Knocked Up isn’t openly against motherhood – after all, the film does follow a woman who keeps her pregnancy and gives the father of her child a chance at a real relationship. But the path to motherhood, especially the film’s now-iconic birthing scene, buys into stereotypes about the real pains of a woman’s labor and ultimately paints such a terrifying picture (here used for comedic purposes) that it can’t help but make a woman think twice about whether she ever wants to get pregnant. Instead of repeating the same tired images of tense and dangerous birthing scenes like that in Knocked Up, we wish Hollywood would show more positive birthing experiences on screen.

Love & Death

Apparently, being a church-going mom of three can be so very dull and dreary, you can be driven to adultery and murder. At least, that’s what Love & Death seems to think. It's one of several adaptations of the life of Candy Montgomery (here played by Elizabeth Olsen), a real-life Texas housewife who was accused of the death of her one-time friend Betty Gore. Love & Death is ostensibly trying to get inside the contested moment – did Candy commit murder, or was it self-defense? – but the miniseries does little but feed its audience the same story they’re tired of watching. According to Love & Death, women aren’t fulfilled by marriage or motherhood, and only by attempting something risky can they feel truly alive. 

Lessons in Chemistry

A hit novel turned hit miniseries, Lessons in Chemistry is ostensibly a story about the respect women deserve but do not get in society. Genius scientist Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson) fights discrimination at work, and only her budding romance with the kindly Calvin (Lewis Pullman) gives her hope. But then Calvin is taken from her in a sudden accident, and Elizabeth discovers she’s pregnant. Everything is hard for Elizabeth after she gets pregnant: She loses her job, finds the baby hard to care for, and in general her hopes for the future have been destroyed. And though eventually Elizabeth will find another path to success, her role as caring mother consistently contributes to her problems, instead of providing her life with purpose. 

The Morning Show

While Reese Witherspoon’s critically acclaimed The Morning Show had an intriguing premise and opening season, the show has been progressively downhill from there. Mired in a morass of politically-correct agenda, the show makes no secret of its dim view of motherhood as a woman’s calling. Wildcard morning newscaster Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) confesses early on in the show to having an abortion as a teen, crediting her career to her decision to do so. Meanwhile, Bradley’s co-host Alex (Jennifer Aniston) is a mother to a daughter who hates her. In the world of The Morning Show, a woman must either abort her child to live the life she wants or have a permanent thorn in her side.

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