Hard at Work:
​Film Portrayals of Gender, Social Mobility, and Economic Insecurity in the 1970s

How do we define 1970s America? Is it through watching dancing disco lovers at Studio 54? Is it through hearing Richard Nixon’s resignation speech? Is it through seeing the long lines of cars lining up at gas stations during the oil crisis? This four-film series brings to light the issues of gender, economic instability, and social mobility in the United States during that period. Each film provides insight into the social and cultural America of the 1970s, pulling us through the decade’s insecurities, instabilities, and changes, only to emerge on the other side in a different decade with different views on gender, race, class and society.