"...oysters make me sick!" Awkward holiday family gatherings early seventies: An Upscale Manhattan Holiday dinner with "The Balsers" from Diary of A Mad Housewife, 1970. It was different then...or was it? The Father, the actor Richard Benjamin, is the unctuous Jonathan Balser. He, as well as most of the other characters, are all aggressively awful, repugnant actually. Our heroine, the vulnerable & patient wife, mother, lover––Tina Balser, is masterfully played by the late actress, Carrie Snodgress. She's astounding winning an Academy Award for this role. "Diary of a Mad Housewife" was celebrated as a cautionary feminist tale about the evils of patriarchy. It is one of the bracing, unsung gems of the New Wave in American Cinema during late sixties & early seventies. New York, 1970 ...even the salad isn't normal: oranges and cut-up plants! . . . . . . . . . . . .. . #newwave #newwavecinema #1970 #seventies #carriesnodgrass #diaryofamadhousewife #midcentury #holidays #holidaydinners #awkwardfamilydinner #oysters #richardbenjamin #tinabalser #jonathanbalser #holiday2019 #manhattan #manhattan1970 #feminism #holidaymovies #homefortheholiday #instagood #instamovies #sf #sanfrancisco #epocasf #midcenturydecor #midcenturystyle (at Upper East Side, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6WWB4WJUMY/?igshid=4616bv8864r3