Volume 1 Number 7
July 28, 1995
Chore Wars.
Venus de Lino Productions, 1995. VHS, 48 minutes
Distributed by Moving Images Distribution,
606-402 West Pender St., Vancouver, BC, V6B
1T6.
1-800-684-3014 / fax (604) 684-7165.
Grades 10 - 13 / Ages 15 - 18.
Review by Lorrie Andersen.
Chore Wars is a frank and amusing look at the division of
labour in Canadian homes, where, apparently, the tasks and responsibilities
still largely fall to the women. Several couples and families, young, old,
with children, without children, same-sex, and remarried, share their
frustrations, coping mechanisms, and practical solutions to the ways and
means of accomplishing household chores. Much discussion is focussed on who
cleans the toilet and how.
Men and women fantasize about their ideal way to achieve a clean, neat
house -- fantasies that provoke some comic reactions from their spouses. A
vacuum-cleaner salesman tells how his sales pitch is now no longer
exlusively directed to the woman of the house; in his demonstration he now
proffers the vaccuum between the couple, acknowledging that the man
might do this chore. In another segment the video explores with some levity
the relationship between male participation in household chores and the
frequency of sexual activity.
Professional opinions on the subject are also presented, including
comparisons to primate behaviour, findings that men who
engage in housework are physically healthier because they are also more
emotionally engaged in their marriages, and the research of Dr. Arlie
Hochschild, author of The Second Shift, which documents how
women still perform the majority of household tasks.
Chore Wars is a light-hearted look at a serious subject
that uses archival footage of ads for various cleaning products, commentary
by academics, dramatizations, and a a variety of honest assessments by a
cross-section of real people. Although it's not clear the film has a
natural place in a high-school curriculum, without a doubt, housework
remains a bone of contention in homes across the country, and the battles
rage on.
Recommended with reservations -- for public libraries wherer there is a demand.
A librarian by training, Lorrie Andersen is Collection Development
Consultant, Instructional Resources, for Manitoba Education and
Training.
Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is
maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
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