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The Baby Maker

Name: The Baby Maker
Director: James Bridges
Released: 1970
Duration: 109 min

Representation Score

6.8/10

Good

1970

Director

James Bridges

Runtime

109 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Baby Maker serves as a transitional text of the New Hollywood era, prioritizing social realism over traditional hierarchies. It succeeds in deconstructing mid-century Western institutional morality by focusing on individual control over family structures. However, the film lacks broad diversity in its representation. While it pushes boundaries regarding gender and family, it remains largely homogeneous in its racial and LGBTQ+ portrayal, reflecting the limited social scope of 1970s cinema. Ultimately, the film is a study of shifting social norms, trading traditional domesticity for a more complex, albeit narrow, exploration of reproductive autonomy.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Baby Maker have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film focuses on heterosexual and cisgender reproductive dynamics. There are no queer narratives or non-cisgender identities within the main character arcs.

How does The Baby Maker portray gender?

Good

The narrative centers on women's ability to drive the story and their bodily autonomy. It challenges traditional depictions of submissive femininity by exploring the consequences of sexual liberation and reproductive choice.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Baby Maker?

Limited

The production features a largely homogeneous, Western middle-class cast. There is no significant racial blending or diverse casting to challenge period norms.

How does The Baby Maker represent religion and culture?

Good

The film disrupts the nuclear family model by presenting child-rearing as a contractual arrangement. It critiques traditional marital sanctity through themes of moral relativism.

Does The Baby Maker include disability representation?

Fair

Infertility serves as a primary plot catalyst. However, the film lacks a nuanced exploration of the lived experience or real power of characters with medical conditions.

Present on Screen

Strong emphasis on women's ability to drive the story and bodily autonomy.
Effective deconstruction of traditional nuclear family structures.
Exploration of moral relativism and situational ethics.

Limited or Absent

Lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the cast.
Absence of LGBTQ+ representation or queer narratives.
Limited nuanced exploration of disability and medical lived experiences.

Official Synopsis

Tish Gray had a baby and gave it up for adoption. She is contacted by a second childless couple who want her to have the husband's baby because of the wife's inability to have children. She accepts but finds that knowing the parents, and developing a relationship with them for the entire pregnancy complicates the simple arrangement.

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