Literature
Welcome to Stepford - an Essay
Stepford – a 1971 sci-fi horror novel, two film adaptations … and fetish in the mind control community. The novel and the 1975 film shows pretty well that this is a horror story. But it is also a satirical commentary on events from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The novel (Spoiler alert!)
The novel was written by american sci-fi and horror writer Ira Levin and published in1971. The story follows main protagonist Johanna Eberhart and her family. Johanna is an emancipated, modern woman who does fotography and plans to become a professional fotographer. Johanna, her husband Walter and their children moves to the small town of Stepford, Conneticut, which appears to be a quieter and safer place to raise their children. In Stepford, Johanna soon finds out, that all women (except for those who recently moved to Stepford) behave like the “perfect little housewives“ from the 1950s. Always looking perfect, always smiling, always keeping the house immaculate, always pleasing their husbands.