As many of my friends are more than willing to point out I get hooked onto TV shows very quickly and so when Pan Am first aired on ABC it was no surprise that I added it to my, already very extensive, list of TV shows that “I have to watch.” Set in 1963 the show, Pan Am, depicts a time where only the most prestigious of men and women where given the opportunity to fly. The show follows the six main characters, two of which are male and the other four female, across the globe on their international adventures. Pan Am’s stewardesses Maggie, Laura, Colette, and Kate are the four main females while Captain Dean Lowrey and his co-pilot Ted serve as the male leads. As far as the numbers are concerned the female leads dominant the males.
The characters in Pan Am each offer a different definition of their gender’s role. Throughout the series Ted, the co-pilot, constantly ridicules the females. Ted often comments on the women’s dress, attributes, and “place” thus he is perceived as the typical male. However, in this episode, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, we are introduced to a different side of Ted. In previous episodes Dean and Collette, pilot and stewardess, have developed a romantic relationship and so in this episode Dean takes Collette home to meet his parents. In Dean’s absence an Old War II veteran is hired to serve as Captain. When Laura, one of the four stewardesses, delivers coffee to the Captain he shows her no kindness. The substitute Captain is not shy about sexually harassing women and passing inappropriate comments and he makes no exceptions for Laura. Sick of (the Captain’s) the tasteless and crude jokes Laura “accidently” pours hot coffee onto his lap. This act, which is conceived as being out of line, gets Laura into trouble. However, Ted, who had grown tired of the Captain’s ignorant comments about women, jumped to Laura’s defense and essentially “saved her” from loosing her job.
Kate Cameron joined Pan Am because she wanted to choose her own path and stray away from the path that society had already planned for her. When Kate escaped to Pan Am she rebelled against her mother’s wishes of settling down and starting a family with a loving husband. Kate defies the stereotypical female even further when she agrees to be a CIA spy. In this episode Kate wishes to resign as a spy, however, due to complications, her wish cannot be granted. Unlike her sister Laura does not defy societies stereotypical female. Her friends often perceive her as a naïve blonde who often needs rescuing.
The roles of gender are quite important in this contemporary racy show. Although it is subtle, the show focuses in on how Pan Am gave the women the freedom to “take flight” and escape their domestic pre-planned life. Pan Am, as a series, takes a strong stand against the objectification of women and portrays an era when women began to gain power and pursue employment.
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