The Ladder is a Lie | Career Angles

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

I am a Boomer. When I was growing up, TV, like today, was part of the propaganda machine.

I watched television and because I lived in New York City, I had the good fortune of having more channels to watch than most — 7! They all show the same type of crap. The major networks offered game shows in the morning, soap operas in the afternoon, and one version of repetitive TV show after another during the evening.

Everything was formulaic but there was less of it at the time than today. Today’s television, like the movies, feels like there’s a software program that generates plot lines and scripts. How many seem unique to you? Very few seem that way to me.

In The Stone Ages, there was a simple message that was in every plot about work — go to your job, do well, have the boss like you, and maybe you’ll move up. That was the message from men. The message for women was you’ll always be a secretary to your dopey boss. You are smarter than him and without you, you would be a loser.

There was a system.

You went to work and did what you were told. If you are male, you can move up the ladder. If you are a woman, you move up the ladder if he did.