Mad Men: Season 1
Set in a New York advertising agency in 1960 and focusing heavily on gender roles in the workplace, it seems that everyone who wants to talk about wants to talk about whether it’s sexist or feminist. I guess I’m not much different? I’m not sure that I quite agree with either stance, but I’d be more inclined to argue against the show itself being sexist.
The attitudes of all the men in the series are unrepentantly sexist, and sometimes crossover into outright misogyny, and there are several sexual encounters of extremely dubious consent, right from the first episode. The show, however, doesn’t pretend that these attitudes are remotely ambiguous, and unmistakably regards these things as wrong. However, the primary POV of the show is that of the sexist men, with it only beginning to really include that of the women as much near the end of the season. I mean, one of the central character arcs of the season is about the agonies of being a young, white, handsome, intelligent, ambitious, educated white man with a good job who comes from an affluent family in 1960. My heart bleeds for him, doesn’t yours? The character, Pete, is also the most outwardly misogynistic character in the series, and we’re definitely supposed to hate him, yet, we’re also meant to some see his POV, and possibly sympathize? So, while there’s definitely a heavy criticism of sexism and sexist attitudes, and focus on women having to deal with those attitudes, the structure almost requires liking or sympathizing with the characters who display those attitudes to truly enjoy it, because those are the characters most plotlines are built around.
I hated almost every man in the series by the end of the first episode, but by the third episode, I wanted to shout “I LOVE YOU!” at every woman who opened her mouth on screen. And yet, with the exception of Betty and Rachel, I mostly didn’t think about them again until they showed up again.
It should also be noted that the focus is also almost exclusively on white men objectifying white women. While racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry do appear, these are often very brief appearances. The only named character in the season with more than two lines who isn’t a white, upper or middle class person of apparently Catholic or Protestant faith is Rachel Menkin (I likely misspelled that), a young Jewish businesswoman with a prominent supporting role.
While the show itself is very well written and acted (and man, is it very, very pretty) I think the only character arc that really grabbed me was Betty’s. I’ve seen some people criticize her arc as “someone buy the woman a copy of ‘The Feminine Mystique’ already,” but I think that’s the point. She’s sweet and demure and the perfect pretty 60s housewife, and the stagnation and lack of stimulation, combined with a husband she knows isn’t as perfect as he seems, is literally starting to drive her insane. If anything, I’d say her arc is the strongest argument for the show and feminism, though I’m very interested in seeing where the show goes with Peggy after the end of the last episode.
Comments may include spoilers for the season. Please do not spoil future seasons in the comments.
The attitudes of all the men in the series are unrepentantly sexist, and sometimes crossover into outright misogyny, and there are several sexual encounters of extremely dubious consent, right from the first episode. The show, however, doesn’t pretend that these attitudes are remotely ambiguous, and unmistakably regards these things as wrong. However, the primary POV of the show is that of the sexist men, with it only beginning to really include that of the women as much near the end of the season. I mean, one of the central character arcs of the season is about the agonies of being a young, white, handsome, intelligent, ambitious, educated white man with a good job who comes from an affluent family in 1960. My heart bleeds for him, doesn’t yours? The character, Pete, is also the most outwardly misogynistic character in the series, and we’re definitely supposed to hate him, yet, we’re also meant to some see his POV, and possibly sympathize? So, while there’s definitely a heavy criticism of sexism and sexist attitudes, and focus on women having to deal with those attitudes, the structure almost requires liking or sympathizing with the characters who display those attitudes to truly enjoy it, because those are the characters most plotlines are built around.
I hated almost every man in the series by the end of the first episode, but by the third episode, I wanted to shout “I LOVE YOU!” at every woman who opened her mouth on screen. And yet, with the exception of Betty and Rachel, I mostly didn’t think about them again until they showed up again.
It should also be noted that the focus is also almost exclusively on white men objectifying white women. While racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry do appear, these are often very brief appearances. The only named character in the season with more than two lines who isn’t a white, upper or middle class person of apparently Catholic or Protestant faith is Rachel Menkin (I likely misspelled that), a young Jewish businesswoman with a prominent supporting role.
While the show itself is very well written and acted (and man, is it very, very pretty) I think the only character arc that really grabbed me was Betty’s. I’ve seen some people criticize her arc as “someone buy the woman a copy of ‘The Feminine Mystique’ already,” but I think that’s the point. She’s sweet and demure and the perfect pretty 60s housewife, and the stagnation and lack of stimulation, combined with a husband she knows isn’t as perfect as he seems, is literally starting to drive her insane. If anything, I’d say her arc is the strongest argument for the show and feminism, though I’m very interested in seeing where the show goes with Peggy after the end of the last episode.
Comments may include spoilers for the season. Please do not spoil future seasons in the comments.