"MAD MEN": The Specter of Intolerance
I first wrote the original version of this article about the relationship between Joan Holloway and Paul Kinsey in the AMC series, "MAD MEN", until the end of Season Two, nearly ten years ago:
"MAD MEN": THE SPECTOR OF INTOLERANCE
Matthew Weiner’s acclaimed television series, "MAD MEN", had addressed many issues that American society had faced in both the past and today. Issues such as class, sexism, religion and race have either reared its ugly heads or have been brushed upon by this series about a Manhattan advertising agency in the 1960s.
The center of "MAD MEN" had mainly focused upon an advertising executive named Don Draper. But the series also focused upon some of his co-workers at the firms he had worked during the series' seven seasons, including the first one - Sterling Cooper; along with his immediate family. But this article is about two of Don’s co-workers at Sterling Cooper during the series' second season - namely junior copywriter Paul Kinsey and the firm’s office manager at the time, the red-haired Joan Holloway.
In the series premiere, (1.01) "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", Joan Holloway was engaged in the task of introducing then newly hired secretary, Peggy Olsen, around to Sterling Cooper’s other employees. One of the employees happened to be Paul Kinsey, who briefly hinted that he and Joan had a romantic history in the past. This was confirmed several episodes later in (1.12) "Nixon vs. Kennedy", when Joan and Paul had a bittersweet conversation about their past romance during an office party for the 1960 Presidential Election. Apparently, Joan had ended the romance when Paul revealed too much about their relationship. Despite this, the pair had remained friends.
However, Joan and Paul’s friendship took an ugly turn for the worst in Season Two’s (2.01) "Flight 1". Although this episode mainly focused upon another Sterling Cooper employee, Accounts executive Pete Campbell, who facing his father’s death at the time; it began with a party held by Paul at his apartment in Montclair, New Jersey. Paul’s guests not only included co-workers from Sterling Cooper, but also some of his African-American friends (or neighbors). One of those guests included Paul’s new girlfriend at the time, a black woman named Sheila White. Paul introduced Sheila to Joan as his girlfriend. He also added that Sheila worked as an assistant manager at her local supermarket. Then he briefly dismissed himself to see to another guest. Once Paul left, Joan turned to Sheila and said the following:
"When Paul and I were together, the last thing I would have taken him for was open-minded."
In one sentence, Joan managed to stake her claim on Paul as a former lover and make a racist comment. Sheila merely responded with a polite compliment about Joan’s purse. She must have eventually told Paul, because within a day or two, Paul angrily confronted Joan on the matter. She merely responded by accusing Paul of using Sheila to look bohemian and "tolerant" to his friends and co-workers. She also managed to conveniently forget that Sheila worked as a supermarket assistant manager by dismissed the latter as a mere store cashier. Too angry to respond, Paul stalked away. Later, he got his revenge by stealing Joan’s drivers’ license, making a copy of it and posting that copy on the office bulletin board. He did this to expose her age, which was 31 years old at the time.
Paul and Joan did not share any scenes together for many Season Two episodes, until (2.10) "The Inheritance". In this particular episode, Sheila paid a visit to the Sterling Cooper office to meet with Paul for lunch. She also wanted him to join her on a voters’ registration trip to Mississippi. Did Joan notice the brief kiss exchanged between Paul and Sheila? Yes. Nor did she look particularly happy about it. This episode exposed Paul’s blowhard attempts to make himself look good in the eyes of others . . . especially in the eyes of Sterling Cooper’s black elevator operator, Hollis and the other members of the entourage he and Sheila had accompanied on their trip to Mississippi. He originally hoped to go on a business trip to Southern California, but other matters intervened.
But I also believe that this incident also exposed Joan’s own racist feelings about Paul’s relationship with Sheila . . . again. Why? Because Don Draper gave Joan the opportunity to exact revenge upon Paul. In "Inheritance", Paul and Pete Campbell were ordered to Southern California to recruit future clients in the region’s aerodynamics industry. At the last minute, Don decided he would replace Paul on the trip. He ordered his temporary secretary, namely Joan, to inform Paul in a memorandum that he would be taking the latter’s place on the trip. Instead of informing Paul via a memorandum, Joan verbally informed him of Don's decision in front of the other Sterling Cooper employees, during a baby shower for father-to-be Harry. In doing so, she publicly humiliated the copywriter. In other words, Joan got her revenge against Paul . . . for something she had set in motion in "Flight", when she insulted Sheila. Curious.
And yet . . . most of the fans of "MAD MEN" seemed to sympathize with Joan and vilify Paul, in the process. Many of them seemed so intent upon pointing out Paul’s pretentious behavior or claiming that he does not really care for Sheila that they have ended up ignoring Joan’s racism. And there have been those who claim that Joan is not a racist. They insisted that she simply wanted to expose Paul’s poseur attitude. My question is . . . why? Why would Joan even bother? Both the series’ viewers and Joan received a firsthand glimpse of Paul’s pretentiousness back in "Nixon vs. Kennedy". In that episode, Paul had Salvatore Romano and Joan performed his one-act play that he had written, during the office party for the 1960 elections. The viewers also received an example of how dark Paul’s poseur streak can be when he expressed jealousy that Ken Cosgrove managed to get a short story published in "The Atlantic Monthly" in (1.05) "5G". Why did Joan wait until she met Sheila to point out Paul’s pretentiousness? Why did she not do this earlier? I have asked this question on several occasions. Most fans either ignore my questions or insist that Joan is not a racist . . . while at the same time, continue to deride or make a big deal out of Paul’s pretentiousness.
In an interview published after the airing of "Flight 1", actress Christina Hendricks had expressed dismay over the possibility of Joan being a racist, when she read the script for the episode. Series creator Matthew Weiner told her that Joan was not a racist. He added that Joan was simply trying to expose Paul’s pretentiousness over his interracial relationship with Sheila. Like many of the series’ fans and the media, Ms. Hendricks accepted Weiner’s explanation. But after a recent re-watch of "Flight 1" and "The Inheritance", I can only conclude that the writer/producer did a piss poor job of conveying Joan’s intention . . . or he had lied to Christina Hendricks. Right now, I am inclined to believe the latter.