Producer – Laurie Kahn-Leavitt

Co-Producer – Robin Hessman

60 minutes, 2004

In Distribution

This film focuses on two engaging characters: the ambitious but reclusive inventor Earl Tupper who lived in Massachusetts, and his flamboyant female business associate in Florida, Brownie Wise, who made an empire out of Earl’s company by selling Tupperware at home parties.

The tale of these two people raises questions about invention and marketing in the 20th century, the history of salesmanship in America, the creation of a mass consumer culture, and perceptions of gender roles. The film makes extensive use of recent scholarship on material culture, consumerism, gender issues, and class in America.