As FX on Hulu's Mrs. America reveals, conservative activist Schlafly's most enduring legacy is today's "poisoned well of national politics," says Sophie Gilbert, adding: "It’s Schlafly, played as an elegant coil of wound ambition by Cate Blanchett, who turns Mrs. America from a starry historical miniseries into a stunning explainer on the poisoning of national politics." Gilbert adds: "Like it or loathe it, the new Hulu series Mrs. America makes clear, we are living in a moment that Schlafly begot. From dirty tricks to media manipulation, brazen lies about crowd sizes to the weaponization of privilege, her ghost is everywhere, and it may never be banished." Mrs. America illuminates how simple it is to spark conflict, and how much trickier a task it is to bring people together, says Gilbert. "What Schlafly tapped into before anyone else, the show suggests, was the power of a certain kind of polemic," says Gilbert. "Stoking resentment against a so-called group of privileged snobs who threaten the authentic American way of life is easy. So is provoking judgment by making people feel judged. From the first episode on, Schlafly evolves into a strikingly sophisticated peddler of outrage before anyone has calculated its potential. When put on the spot, she brazenly lies; when challenged, she smoothly changes the subject. She’s a master of messaging whose first anti-ERA campaign involves giving homemade bread and jam to male congressmen with a card celebrating traditional gender roles."
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TOPICS: Mrs. America, FX, Cate Blanchett , Phyllis Schlafly, Uzo Aduba