For the last two weeks I have been glued to the TV on a Tuesday night at 9pm with the welcome return of Life on Mars to BBC-1. I loved every episode of the first series and was over the moon when they said they were making another series as I love 1970’s culture, music and TV and everything about the 70’s.

I was born in 1973, which will give you an idea of how old I am, and I’m just about old enough to remember a lot of key things from the 1970’s.

I have to confess as well that I absolutely love the music from the 1970's; bands like The Sweet, T-Rex, Atomic Rooster, ELO, David Bowie, Mud etc are among some of my favourites.

Some things in the series really surprised me though, particularly how sexist the men were to the women, making suggestive and lewd comments, lifting their skirts up and giving them menial tasks to perform in the workplace. I was also surprised at how much they all smoked in the workplace, they were all puffing away as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and upon checking with my Mum, it turns out that I was! She said that smoking like that in offices was almost the norm and also the sexist comments; my Mum used to work as a shorthand typist at Heenan and Froud's in the early 70’s before leaving to have me and she said that it was worse than was depicted in Life on Mars; that the women would often be subjected to extremely sexist comments, the male bosses touching women’s behinds and all sorts of stuff. I’m sorry but I’d clout any guy who did that to me in the workplace round the ears and have him in a tribunal for inappropriate behaviour!

It just goes to show how far we’ve come on in the last 30 odd years. Back then, no computers, no internet, no email, no Ipods, no DVD’s, CD’s, mobile phones – all non existent. Hardly anyone had a car and people seemed happier with far less than we have now.

I definitely couldn’t live without my mobile phone or my computer and it is strange to think that when I was born they just didn’t exist. My parents weren’t even on the phone when I was born, my poor Dad kept having to either go up to the nearest phone box or go to my Grandmothers house to use the phone. Which begs the question – he managed, everyone managed then, could we do so now?

Interesting thought!

posted by Lisa - Ms Mass Media @ 7:44 PM