- AMC
Appreciation of Mad Men benefits a lot from rewatching. Even the most banal episodes reveal something startling or amusing about the characters. Here’s some extra observations I had reviewing last week’s episode, The Summer Man.
The social hierarchy of the suburbs is one of Mad Men’s most interesting topics for me (the main reason I miss Betty). The tribalism, the petty disputes. Betty and Henry are in a tenuous spot there. One of my favorite moments this week was Francine going directly to Betty’s side after Don showed up at the party with his adorable stuffed elephant (get it? the elephant in the room? eh?). Betty then kissed Henry, in front of Don, in Don’s house.
Betty’s reaction to seeing Don with Bethany was also very primal. How much did you love her little episode in the bathroom, sniveling into toilet paper and then patting her armpits dry? Ewwww.
The SDCP phone booth is now officially the break up phone booth. Peggy last week, now Dr. Faye.
Speaking of Dr. Faye, she is definitely on Don’s wavelength. Her fable, which I still think is cheesy, focused on the powers of the sun. The sun is one of Mad Men’s enduring symbols. It featured prominently in Anna’s tarot reading of Don in S2, and one of S3’s most crucial episodes revolved around a solar eclipse.
Lane and Joan are cute together. I wonder if he’s a dark horse for her affections when Greg gets shipped out to Vietnam. Not that Joan is that kind of girl anymore, but it would be a good move for her.
Bethany’s back seat blow job follows her meeting Betty for the first time. She is very pleased with herself for upsetting Betty, and fancies herself Betty Draper ’65 (which she is, which is why Don is probably about to cut her off).
Mountain Dew and vodka sounds like the grossest drink ever. Apparently it was also marketed at hillbillies. (Thanks AV Club.)
“You smell nice,” is becoming Don’s line. He’s used it three times this season, twice with Faye. It’s weird too how he’s dressed like a used car salesman on their date.
The narration was a bit thick and corny. Dick Whitman is a big softy.
The boys and their jokes. I know they’re sexist idiots but Don blows it off by saying, “Boys will be boys.” Stan further dismisses the cartoon by protesting, “It was a joke.” And on his way out Joey informs them, “Fun’s over. Look out guys.” They do not understand why the women are soooooo offended by their piggishness. For one second, let’s imagine that it is all in good fun, that the guys don’t see it as sexism but as familiarity. After all, they constantly joke and insult each other. Do you think the guys are relatively innocent in this? Are they ignorant lunkheads who just think everyone needs to calm down? Imagine also that they have no concept of institutionalized sexism and other such modern notions.
“Do you think the guys are relatively innocent in this?”
Relatively innocent,perhaps, considering the time…. but I still want that dickhead Joey DEAD, DEAD, DEAD.
Yes, Joey, who I already disliked, proved himself the most insulting of the group. And his rape comment, already jaw-dropping, touches a nerve with Joan who was raped in the office in S2.
For the most part, innocent. Joey’s the exception, which is why he was shit-canned. Remember Rizzo, for all his antics, swats down easily. Peggy quickly and easily turned the tables on him a few episodes ago and Joan shut them all up (save for the “scorched earth” response) with her crack about hoping they all get dead in ‘Nam.
Although that was pretty damn harsh of her.
Anyway, Ken, Rizzo, the other guy-I imagine them all shape-shifted by the era. In 1972, they’ve probably understood institutional sexism and toned it down or done away with it entirely.
They would not have drawn a picture like that of Don or Roger or even Pete.
It doesn’t matter how they “see” it. It’s hateful, disrespectful, and dangerous.
@TSW “that was pretty damn harsh of her”
More harsh than “Walking around here waiting to get raped”? REALLY?
@Kiala,
Obviously Not. Did I say that?
Joey’s clearly the vile exception, like I said.
@TSW: I don’t really believe any of them would understand the idea of institutional sexism within the seven years you’re talking about. Dickmunch assholes don’t get the idea in 2010.
Wow. You guys really get worked up over this soap opera.
Graham,
Understand on that level? No. Understand enough to somewhat tone down their behavior in the workplace as the feminist movement grows in the late 60’s/early 70’s? Perhaps. True though, some misogynist pricks won’t ever get it.
It’s interesting this particular episode has raised everyone’s feminist ire. The entire series to this point has been a character and institutional study in misogyny, sexism, racism, xenophobia, et. al. The two worst offenders, lest we forget, are Sterling and Don “vagina punch” Draper. Both do way more to foster institutional sexism in the workplace (“boys will be boys”) than the peons in copy and creative. Honestly, I’ve had more discussions about how repugnant Draper and Sterling are with men than women. Flip your feminism 101 lids here but there are women who find the Silver Fox and Mr. Handsome’s behavior, to a point, “assertive and sexy.” If they were a couple of gargoyles there’d be a lot more protest over the show in general.
I think that the difference between Roger & Don’s sexism vs. the Joey/Ken/Rizzo/et al sexism is that R&D know how to turn it off (or make it sound ‘mature’) when in the presence of women. They’re always acutely aware of when women are in the room and how to adjust their charm. The others are aware too but when they are around ladies of their same age group they revert to college frat life, teasing the girls to look like class clown. They think girls like this because it probably got them laid when they were horsing around frat parties. I think it will be interesting if some of them (Ken I hope) start to realize that if they want to be Don, they need to ‘grow-up’.
Also, when Joey made the rape comment I wanted so badly for Joan to beat the shit out of him…
So… less heavy, but still pertaining to the Boy’s Club: How about that one tall guy? Was he standing in for Danny? Or was he freelancing for the week because Danny couldn’t be seen as part of the whole Joey’s-a-dick debacle to the writers? Or was Danny fired unceremoniously because it was months later and he was terrible anyway, so Don no longer felt obliged? DANNY!