The course will address issues surrounding the character of the housewife, the dynamics between women and the domestic sphere, and the way in which said dynamics are represented in US film and television. Seeing as the concept of housewifery ties together various elements pertaining to feminist discourse, such as gender roles, occupation and status, home, family, and power structures, the character of the housewife serves as a fitting study case for the way in which film and television articulate issues regarding both the concept of “femininity” and the concept of “home.” The course will focus on domestic politics as it is formulated in the context of women characters in various genres and eras throughout American audiovisual culture, from marginalization and oppression, to resistance and renegotiation of the domestic. Utilizing postmodern, feminist, film, and television theories of researchers such as Teresa de Lauretis, Tania Modleski, David N. Rodowick, Mary Ann Doane, Janet McCabe, Kim Akass, Patricia Mellencamp, and more, we will analyze films such as Stella Dallas, Far from Heaven, The Hours, Woman under the Influence, Stepford Wives, and television shows such as Roseanne, Girls, Desperate Housewives, The Real Housewives franchise, and more.