Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The First Lady

 The First Lady
type
TVTItem
 The First Lady
label
The First Lady
 The First Lady
page
TheFirstLady
 The First Lady
comment
An American Anthology drama that follows the lives of three first ladies of the USA: Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis).The first season also stars O-T Fagbenle, Dakota Fanning, Regina Taylor, Kiefer Sutherland, Aaron Eckhart, Clea DuVall and Lily Rabe, among others.It started airing on Showtime on April 17, 2022. On August 2, 2022, it was announced that the show had been cancelled after one season.
 The First Lady
fetched
2023-11-13T15:30:22Z
 The First Lady
parsed
2023-11-13T15:30:22Z
 The First Lady
processingComment
Dropped link to HistoricalDomainCharacter: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The First Lady
processingComment
Dropped link to TheNineties: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The First Lady
processingComment
Dropped link to TheNoughties: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 The First Lady
processingUnknown
TheNoughties
 The First Lady
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The First Lady / int_1604c69a
type
Secret Path
 The First Lady / int_1604c69a
comment
Secret Path: Eleanor puts Hick in an adjoining room to hers inside the White House. Unbeknownst to most people this has a door connecting it, implying that they can continue their affair and it's said this isn't the first time the White House had such things happen (disturbingly, such rooms were often used for enslaved people). However, it's unclear whether they do.
 The First Lady / int_1604c69a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_1604c69a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_1604c69a
 The First Lady / int_19fe3478
type
Daddy's Girl
 The First Lady / int_19fe3478
comment
Daddy's Girl: The series focuses on the First Ladies' relationships with their parents and children. Eleanor Roosevelt was close to her father, even heartbroken when he has to go to rehab for his alcoholism, but not as close to her mother who saw Eleanor as a disappointment for not being beautiful. This affects her relationship with her daughter Anna, who is close to her father, even aiding him in hiding his renewing his past affair with Lucy Mercer. Betty Ford was traumatized by her father's suicide but is close to all her children. Inverted with Susan Ford, who is close with her parents but perhaps moreso with her mother. Michelle Obama is close to both her parents, but her father's death affected her and influenced her actions to work on the board for hospitals in Chicago. Her father encouraged her ambitions while her mother became a great support during Barack's presidential career. The Obama daughters are both close with their parents.
 The First Lady / int_19fe3478
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_19fe3478
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_19fe3478
 The First Lady / int_20989d05
type
Parents as People
 The First Lady / int_20989d05
comment
Parents as People: Explored. Michelle and Barack are Good Parents, but Barack is questioned on his political stances, especially his silence regarding same-sex marriage, that gets him taken to task by his then-adolescent daughter Malia. Betty Ford is a loving, fun-loving, progressive mother but she also deals with her addictions, trauma from her father's suicide and abusive first marriage, and it interferes with her ability to be a good mother and has her lash out at her kids as they confront her in an intervention. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt both love their children but Eleanor's own childhood with her dismissive mother and Franklin being a Mama's Boy and his infidelities interfere with their children, especially daughter Anna who feels hurt by her Mother's distance and to Eleanor's horror (but understanding) runs interference to cover up her father's renewal of his relationship with Lucy Mercer.
 The First Lady / int_20989d05
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_20989d05
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_20989d05
 The First Lady / int_269e82c1
type
Death of a Child
 The First Lady / int_269e82c1
comment
Death of a Child: The Sandy Hook shooting makes Barack Obama tear up in a heartfelt speech calling on the nation to take measures against gun violence. Later, he and Michelle learn one of the black girls who visited the White House from South Side Chicago was killed in a drive-by shortly after she'd gone back home. Michelle attends her funeral, and they're both shaken thinking how it could have been one of their own daughters (the shooting took place near where they lived in Chicago).
 The First Lady / int_269e82c1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_269e82c1
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_269e82c1
 The First Lady / int_26a9afaa
type
The New '10s
 The First Lady / int_26a9afaa
comment
The New '10s: The setting for the rest of the Obama Administration where the family deals with the coverage of school shootings and police brutality and the girls, especially Malia, become more politically savvy as they enter adolescence.
 The First Lady / int_26a9afaa
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_26a9afaa
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_26a9afaa
 The First Lady / int_26b2747
type
Alliterative Title
 The First Lady / int_26b2747
comment
Alliterative Title: See Saw. Punch Perfect.
 The First Lady / int_26b2747
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_26b2747
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_26b2747
 The First Lady / int_3036294e
type
Scary Black Man
 The First Lady / int_3036294e
comment
Scary Black Man: Both Michelle and Barack. Michelle is labeled as such by the right-wing media during Barack's first campaign as President after proclaiming that for the "first time in my life, I'm really proud of my country" with the capper being The New Yorker having an illustration of Barack as a jihadist and Michele done up to look like Angela Davis.
 The First Lady / int_3036294e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_3036294e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_3036294e
 The First Lady / int_3039ffc7
type
Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting
 The First Lady / int_3039ffc7
comment
Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Eleanor Roosevelt's late mother dismissed her for being plain and shy and thus this affected Eleanor's relationship with her children, especially daughter Anna, as she seemed distant as a mother. When Anna calls her out on this Eleanor applauds her for being such a good and loving mother to her own children.
 The First Lady / int_3039ffc7
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_3039ffc7
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_3039ffc7
 The First Lady / int_312b02ac
type
Lipstick Lesbian
 The First Lady / int_312b02ac
comment
Lipstick Lesbian: Eleanor is a very genteel, elegant feminine woman who is always dressed in the way expected from a Proper Lady during the early 20th century, having an affair with Lorena "Hick" Hickok during the 30s. Hick meanwhile is more androgynous with flapper-style clothing, but certainly not butch either.
 The First Lady / int_312b02ac
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_312b02ac
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_312b02ac
 The First Lady / int_34642505
type
The Edwardian Era
 The First Lady / int_34642505
comment
The Edwardian Era: The period where Eleanor is a teenager attending Allenswood and when she courts and marries Franklin. Eleanor even wears Gibson Girl styled hair and high necklines and boater hats. Her uncle Teddy also was President during that era and escorts her down the aisle.
 The First Lady / int_34642505
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_34642505
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_34642505
 The First Lady / int_348e3263
type
'50s Hair
 The First Lady / int_348e3263
comment
'50s Hair: Betty Ford has a Grace Kelly-esque flip in the 1964 flashback.
 The First Lady / int_348e3263
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_348e3263
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_348e3263
 The First Lady / int_3618ebb9
type
TheSixties
 The First Lady / int_3618ebb9
comment
The '60s: Betty Ford's struggles as a housewife and the start of her addiction take place in 1964.
 The First Lady / int_3618ebb9
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_3618ebb9
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_3618ebb9
 The First Lady / int_4a6e9fd9
type
Obnoxious In-Laws
 The First Lady / int_4a6e9fd9
comment
Obnoxious In-Laws: Played straight with Sara Roosevelt, whom Eleanor has to learn to defy for Franklin's political ambitions. Averted with Marion Robinsion, Michelle's mother, who has a civil (even close) relationship with her son-in-law Barack Obama.
 The First Lady / int_4a6e9fd9
featureApplicability
-1.0
 The First Lady / int_4a6e9fd9
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_4a6e9fd9
 The First Lady / int_52196c03
type
Age-Gap Romance
 The First Lady / int_52196c03
comment
Age-Gap Romance: Eleanor is clearly older than Hick. The real Eleanor was eight years older. Gillian Anderson (Eleanor) is in fact thirteen years older than Lily Rabe (Hick). The series portrays them having an affair.
 The First Lady / int_52196c03
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_52196c03
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_52196c03
 The First Lady / int_56515a39
type
Artistic License – History
 The First Lady / int_56515a39
comment
Artistic License – History: The series acknowledges in a disclaimer before some episodes that artistic liberties have been taken. Probably the biggest example was having Eleanor Roosevelt have an affair with Lorena "Hick" Hickok, a lesbian reporter friend of hers. Though many historians suspect they had a relationship, it's still not known with certainty what exactly happened (whether it was sexual at least-both had clear love for each other, as expressed in their many letters).
 The First Lady / int_56515a39
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_56515a39
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_56515a39
 The First Lady / int_64e975cf
type
Manly Tears
 The First Lady / int_64e975cf
comment
Manly Tears: Franklin Roosevelt breaks down crying about Eleanor's affair with Hick, when she's left once they talked about the matter. Barack Obama tears up while reading of the Sandy Hook shooting, and then while he's addressing the nation about it. He lates mentions doing this on national TV when speaking to Michelle.
 The First Lady / int_64e975cf
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_64e975cf
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_64e975cf
 The First Lady / int_661d7909
type
Maligned Mixed Marriage
 The First Lady / int_661d7909
comment
Maligned Mixed Marriage: Discussed when Michelle Obama is urging Barack to now publicly support same-sex marriage, noting that when he was born, his black father and white mother couldn't even be married in much of the US, with many states making it a crime. By his expression, her point hits hard.
 The First Lady / int_661d7909
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_661d7909
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_661d7909
 The First Lady / int_6b11ff57
type
Soapbox Sadie
 The First Lady / int_6b11ff57
comment
Soapbox Sadie: The series is about three different First Ladies who were/are outspoken and politically active, often pushing their President husbands to do more even when it's inconvenient. All of this is portrayed positively, however it might be frustrating to others. First we have Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who advocates for feminism, civil rights in the 1930s, giving refuge to Jews escaping Europe and then world peace. In the 1970s, Betty Ford (wife of Gerald Ford) also advocates for feminism and more liberal views on issues like abortion or drug use more specifically along with breast cancer awareness once she gets a mastectomy. Later once she's recovered from her own addictions, Betty starts advocating for people who need alcohol and drug treatment, starting her own center to help them. Michelle Obama supports healthcare reform, feminism, same-sex marriage, gun control laws and better treatment of black people generally.
 The First Lady / int_6b11ff57
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_6b11ff57
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_6b11ff57
 The First Lady / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 The First Lady / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide: Betty Ford's friend Nancy loses her husband to suicide, which causes Betty to reflect on her own dad killing himself years before.
 The First Lady / int_6d332aea
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_6d332aea
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_6d332aea
 The First Lady / int_744e3311
type
Police Brutality
 The First Lady / int_744e3311
comment
Police Brutality: The highly publicized cases of these against black men in the 2010s are shown in the Obama segments, with the Obamas being affected deeply by the videos.
 The First Lady / int_744e3311
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_744e3311
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_744e3311
 The First Lady / int_777baed3
type
Out-of-Character Alert
 The First Lady / int_777baed3
comment
Out-of-Character Alert: Eleanor is congratulated by her mother-in-law Sara for resigning from the Daughters of the American Revolution over them refusing to host a black singer. She's astonished, since Sara and she always clash usually, asking Tommy if she seems well.
 The First Lady / int_777baed3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_777baed3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_777baed3
 The First Lady / int_7eebe99c
type
The Alcoholic
 The First Lady / int_7eebe99c
comment
The Alcoholic: Betty Ford becomes this over time, along with using pills, to ease her pain from an injury.
 The First Lady / int_7eebe99c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_7eebe99c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_7eebe99c
 The First Lady / int_8a05db3a
type
The Gilded Age
 The First Lady / int_8a05db3a
comment
The Gilded Age: A flashback to Eleanor's childhood and her mother's funeral takes place in this era, complete with all the ruffles and full sleeves fashionable for that time.
 The First Lady / int_8a05db3a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_8a05db3a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_8a05db3a
 The First Lady / int_8a409f7c
type
The Flapper
 The First Lady / int_8a409f7c
comment
The Flapper: Hick and other women are still wearing flapper-style garb in the early 30s.
 The First Lady / int_8a409f7c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_8a409f7c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_8a409f7c
 The First Lady / int_8a986cc7
type
The Great Depression
 The First Lady / int_8a986cc7
comment
The Great Depression: The Roosevelt Administration first enters into this period, with long bread lines and a lot of unemployment.
 The First Lady / int_8a986cc7
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_8a986cc7
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_8a986cc7
 The First Lady / int_8b4f2a4f
type
'80s Hair
 The First Lady / int_8b4f2a4f
comment
'80s Hair: Betty is seen in a platinum blonde perm and a young Michelle Obama wears her hair in a relaxed or pressed wedge cut when we respectively last or first see them.
 The First Lady / int_8b4f2a4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_8b4f2a4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_8b4f2a4f
 The First Lady / int_90507020
type
TheForties
 The First Lady / int_90507020
comment
The '40s: The last end of the Roosevelt Administration, Eleanor's career with the United Nations, and Betty's courtship with Gerald take place in this decade.
 The First Lady / int_90507020
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_90507020
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_90507020
 The First Lady / int_9b60b728
type
Addled Addict
 The First Lady / int_9b60b728
comment
Addled Addict: Betty Ford is increasingly affected by her drinking and pill use, having panic attacks that scare her family or flubbing her words in a public speech. Finally they stage an intervention to get her help.
 The First Lady / int_9b60b728
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_9b60b728
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_9b60b728
 The First Lady / int_a30c287
type
Good Parents
 The First Lady / int_a30c287
comment
Michelle and Barack are Good Parents, but Barack is questioned on his political stances, especially his silence regarding same-sex marriage, that gets him taken to task by his then-adolescent daughter Malia.
 The First Lady / int_a30c287
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_a30c287
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_a30c287
 The First Lady / int_c02f148d
type
Both Sides Have a Point
 The First Lady / int_c02f148d
comment
Both Sides Have a Point: Michelle Obama understandably expresses frustration over being asked to support Hillary Clinton, but many white women don't reciprocate, saying things involving black women are a "black issue". Her mom points out though that if Trump wins, it won't just affect white women. Michelle silently accepts that she's right.
 The First Lady / int_c02f148d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_c02f148d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_c02f148d
 The First Lady / int_c10da874
type
The '80s
 The First Lady / int_c10da874
comment
The '80s: Michelle's young adult years in college and starting her career and Betty's struggles at rehab all take place within in this decade.
 The First Lady / int_c10da874
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_c10da874
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_c10da874
 The First Lady / int_c867e57
type
TheRoaringTwenties
 The First Lady / int_c867e57
comment
The Roaring '20s: When Franklin is struck with polio and Eleanor helps him recover and continue his political ambitions.
 The First Lady / int_c867e57
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_c867e57
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_c867e57
 The First Lady / int_d0f0a80d
type
One-Word Title
 The First Lady / int_d0f0a80d
comment
One-Word Title: Nadir. Rift.
 The First Lady / int_d0f0a80d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_d0f0a80d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_d0f0a80d
 The First Lady / int_da1e24b7
type
Recovered Addict
 The First Lady / int_da1e24b7
comment
Recovered Addict: By the end of the Fords' segment, Betty has recovered from her addition to alcohol and prescription drugs, opening up her center to treat others as her family congratulates her.
 The First Lady / int_da1e24b7
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_da1e24b7
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_da1e24b7
 The First Lady / int_dcd423d2
type
Affectionate Nickname
 The First Lady / int_dcd423d2
comment
Affectionate Nickname: Lorena Hickok is fondly nicknamed "Hick" by Eleanor. Malvina Thompson, Eleanor's secretary, is called "Tommy".
 The First Lady / int_dcd423d2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_dcd423d2
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_dcd423d2
 The First Lady / int_e1471b66
type
MamasBoy
 The First Lady / int_e1471b66
comment
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt both love their children but Eleanor's own childhood with her dismissive mother and Franklin being a Mama's Boy and his infidelities interfere with their children, especially daughter Anna who feels hurt by her Mother's distance and to Eleanor's horror (but understanding) runs interference to cover up her father's renewal of his relationship with Lucy Mercer.
 The First Lady / int_e1471b66
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_e1471b66
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_e1471b66
 The First Lady / int_eab212a8
type
Period Piece
 The First Lady / int_eab212a8
comment
Period Piece: The series takes place from the '30s to the late 2010s during each First Lady's' time in the White House when their husbands are President.
 The First Lady / int_eab212a8
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_eab212a8
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_eab212a8
 The First Lady / int_f0f03464
type
TheSeventies
 The First Lady / int_f0f03464
comment
The '70s: The Fords' time in the White House from 1974 to 1977; also we get a brief flashback from Michelle's POV in the late 70s where her parents visit friends in a predominantly white neighborhood and find graffiti on their car.
 The First Lady / int_f0f03464
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_f0f03464
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_f0f03464
 The First Lady / int_f95baed
type
Not Staying for Breakfast
 The First Lady / int_f95baed
comment
Not Staying for Breakfast: After sleeping with Hick the first time, Eleanor tries to quietly leave. Hick notices though, and she left some things behind when doing so.
 The First Lady / int_f95baed
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_f95baed
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_f95baed
 The First Lady / int_fd715b6d
type
Angry White Man
 The First Lady / int_fd715b6d
comment
Angry White Man: Donald Trump and many of his followers are portrayed this way, raging against corruption in the government, which isn't an example by itself but with clear underlying racism/sexism since it's only ever aimed at Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
 The First Lady / int_fd715b6d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_fd715b6d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_fd715b6d
 The First Lady / int_name
type
ItemName
 The First Lady / int_name
comment
 The First Lady / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 The First Lady / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The First Lady / int_name
 The First Lady / int_name
itemName
The First Lady

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The First Lady
hasFeature
Actor-Shared Background / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Addled Addict / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Affectionate Nickname / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
African-American Media / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Age-Gap Romance / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Angry White Man / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Genre Anthology / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Maligned Mixed Marriage / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Not Staying for Breakfast / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Queer Character, Queer Actor / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Recovered Addict / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Secret Path / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Series of the 2020s / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Soapbox Sadie / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The '70s / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The '80s / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The '90s / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The Flapper / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The Great Depression / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
The New '10s / int_542b6cd0
 The First Lady
hasFeature
Turn of the Millennium / int_542b6cd0