October 3, 2009
A Brief History of Cougar Culture
From Mrs. Robinson to Stacy's Mom
Courtney Cox-Arquette's new show, "Cougar Town", has set off a flurry of commentary. I find it odd that critics were so down on the show given that CBS's other new show, "The Modern Family" (which is basically a relaunch of "Married With Children") has received both critical and popular kudos.
The chief complaint seems to be that "Cougar Town" is "vulgar" or that it shows women as "desperate". I didn't really get that impression, and I think what most critics fail to appreciate is the a) humorous nature of the show and b) remarkable strides that the idea of the "cougar" represents, even in its comic form.
It's easy to forget that the word "cougar" has only been around since about 2001. Even in 2007 many people weren't sure what Matt Damon meant when he called Ellen Barkin's character a "cougar" in Ocean's Thirteen.
It's also easy to forget that for most of recorded history, older women's sexuality was considered both inappropriate and unattractive. Ancient poems brutally mock old women as being sexually insatiable but physically disgusting.
And if you think we've come a long way, baby, you're much mistaken -- just look at the scene in Van Wilder where the elderly Ms. Haver throws herself at Van. Movies continue to push the idea that sex is best with passive, virginal, young maidens, and that older women are past their sexual prime.
My point being that, while many decry the cougar as being a degrading term for predatory women, it can actually be seen a step forward - even despite the intent of those involved in the creative process.
Exhibit A: 1967's The Graduate. Before women were called "cougar" they were called "Mrs. Robinson", after Anne Bancroft's character. In reality, the thirty-six-year-old Bancroft was only six years senior to her co-star -- hardly a cougar by today's standards. And she wasn't meant to be a positive role model. Screenwriter Buck Henry compares the plot of The Graduate to that of his later work To Die For, observing that both portray "the fall of a ruthless woman".
Simply magnificent.
The movie's "happy" ending also suggests Mrs. Robinson wasn't meant to be inspirational. After all, Benjamin finds his true love in the form of Mrs. Robinson's passive, virginal daughter Anne, and pursues her in a manner that stalker expert Gavin de Becker has described as an inspiration for obsessive men everywhere. But that's the point: Benjamin's relationship with Anne is "natural" because he's the pursuer; Mrs. Robinson's pursuit is predatory and unnatural.
At least that's what the writer and directors wanted us to think. But I think Mrs. Robinson is magnificent. And although the movie's director wanted to make her look "old", later in life she commented that she "was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen" in the role. I couldn't agree more.
