## The Official Madmen Thread ##

Peggy is my favorite character. She is the most cutting-edge, on the clock and off. And the moments when she serves as the mirror Draper dares not look into, she's at her candid best.
 
So...there is some serious chemistry developing between Joan and Draper now.

And Megan's now revealing a very unappealing side of herself: insecure, jealous, BORED housewife.

And Lane Price is a fiscal disaster waiting to happen. He's going to sink that ship.
 
So reading posts here prior to watching will have potential spoilers - maybe you should put something in the title of this thread about that....:)
 
Bijou said:
So...there is some serious chemistry developing between Joan and Draper now.

And Megan's now revealing a very unappealing side of herself: insecure, jealous, BORED housewife.

And Lane Price is a fiscal disaster waiting to happen. He's going to sink that ship.
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I fell asleep a couple of times during this and I have to rewatch this episode. I am trying to get a handle on the Don/Megan relationship which is obviously following in the Don/Betty footsteps. I think we know the common denominator there.

But I was awake for the Joan/Don scene in the bar. Yes, the sexual chemistry is obvious between them.
 
KingofOwls said:
they aren't horrible people darla, it was just a different time.
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It was a different time, AND we are seeing a DEPICTION of that time from a somewhat liberal perspective. I have been a MadMen fan from the start, but one thing that has always bothered me about the series, is the way they intensely focus on the stereotypes, as if that was actually how it was all the time. It would be as if, 50 years from now, someone did a show about 2012, and depicted everyone as being either liberal or conservative (no libertarians or moderates), at each other's throats constantly, fighting and bickering back and forth with no resolve, blowing up friendships and relationships over political differences.... Now, while that may be happening to some degree in some cases, it's far from being "the norm." Most people, even in the polarized climate of politics today, are able to maintain friendships and relationships with those they disagree with.

It's important to remember MadMen is a TV show, and not a true-life documentary. The events and actions of the characters are fictional, based on the perceptions of the writers and producers, and have no real basis in reality, other than to draw from stereotypes. Someone who grew up in the 60s, might realize this, and take it for what it's worth, but there are a lot of young mush-brains out there, who watch this show and believe that is really how it was back then. To some degree, perhaps it was, but not to the extent we are entertained with through this show. It is embellished and exaggerated for entertainment, (or perhaps to make a political point) and does not represent or depict how things were for a vast majority of people in the workplace at that time.

That said, even if you still believe MadMen depicts the true reality of the 60s, doesn't it say a lot for how far we have come?
 
Dixie said:
It was a different time, AND we are seeing a DEPICTION of that time from a somewhat liberal perspective. I have been a MadMen fan from the start, but one thing that has always bothered me about the series, is the way they intensely focus on the stereotypes, as if that was actually how it was all the time. It would be as if, 50 years from now, someone did a show about 2012, and depicted everyone as being either liberal or conservative (no libertarians or moderates), at each other's throats constantly, fighting and bickering back and forth with no resolve, blowing up friendships and relationships over political differences.... Now, while that may be happening to some degree in some cases, it's far from being "the norm." Most people, even in the polarized climate of politics today, are able to maintain friendships and relationships with those they disagree with.

It's important to remember MadMen is a TV show, and not a true-life documentary. The events and actions of the characters are fictional, based on the perceptions of the writers and producers, and have no real basis in reality, other than to draw from stereotypes. Someone who grew up in the 60s, might realize this, and take it for what it's worth, but there are a lot of young mush-brains out there, who watch this show and believe that is really how it was back then. To some degree, perhaps it was, but not to the extent we are entertained with through this show. It is embellished and exaggerated for entertainment, (or perhaps to make a political point) and does not represent or depict how things were for a vast majority of people in the workplace at that time.

That said, even if you still believe MadMen depicts the true reality of the 60s, doesn't it say a lot for how far we have come?
Click to expand...

Try talking to some women and black people who were around during the 60's. I've heard from so many women who feel it's very true-to-life.
 
To me, the intriguing aspects are the characters and how they contrast. Women are either trying to marry into the good life, or struggling to be successful in a male-dominated enterprise. In both cases, they seem more than willing to sleep with whomever they must, sex is merely a tool they realize the value of. I think MOST women in the workforce at the time, were probably more akin to the secretary who drove the riding lawnmower over the exec's foot in season ?3? Just there working 9-5 and getting paid a substandard wage for the work they did. Maybe they were too ugly to sleep their way to the top, but maybe some of them had more integrity and pride in themselves? To me, this stereotypical depiction of women in the 60s is troubling, it seems to imply, even the strong female characters like Peggy and Joan, were willing to hop in bed with whoever they had to, in order to survive. I like to think that, in real life, Joan would have given Roger a swift kick in the nuts at some point in time, and Peggy would have slapped the shit out of Don. They are obviously smart and savvy women, who deserve appreciation for what they bring to the table, but they are depicted as bimbos who were just good enough in bed with the right people, to be in their positions. It's a bit insulting, if you ask me.

Men were not all like Don and Roger. They also weren't all like Pete Campbell, obviously. These are stereotypical extremes, presented to be evocative, and that's fine, but the reality is, most men fell somewhere in between. It's troubling that I don't see a lead character that really fits how my father and uncles were growing up. Of course, we didn't live in Manhattan and they weren't big national ad execs, so perhaps that is why? The thing is, they were the people who made up MOST of America back then, not the Don Draper's and Roger Sterling's. It would be nice to see that character portrayed in some way, and it is just missing from the show. I guess if I wanted to see how things were for middle class American families of the 60s, I should watch Wonder Years, but then... that too, was based on stereotypes.
 
Darla said:
Try talking to some women and black people who were around during the 60's. I've heard from so many women who feel it's very true-to-life.
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Well, I was around in the 60s, but I talk to my mom almost daily. She worked from 1960-71 as a dental hygienist in Birmingham. She made decent money, was well-respected by her boss, who never made a pass at her, and was a devoted family man. His family and ours became close over the years, there was never any hopping in and out of bed or adulterous affairs going on, and my parents were happily married for 50 years. In 1982, my Dad invested his entire retirement fund into a business that my mother operated all on her own. She did the books, she ran the store, she paid the bills. It wasn't something that was 'beyond her capacity' in his mind, he knew she would be a success because she was smart and he appreciated that in her. Of course, the business was a success, they sold it in 1998 and made a bundle.

As for how black were treated, I would like to point out... this show is set in Manhattan, and that is not in Alabama or the deep south, as I recall. Whenever you start railing and bashing on the South for their racist past, just remember how things were in Manhattan in the 60s! Yes, people were extremely prejudiced back then, in the North,South, East and the West! Again... look at how far we have come?
 
Dixie said:
Well, I was around in the 60s, but I talk to my mom almost daily. She worked from 1960-71 as a dental hygienist in Birmingham. She made decent money, was well-respected by her boss, who never made a pass at her, and was a devoted family man. His family and ours became close over the years, there was never any hopping in and out of bed or adulterous affairs going on, and my parents were happily married for 50 years. In 1982, my Dad invested his entire retirement fund into a business that my mother operated all on her own. She did the books, she ran the store, she paid the bills. It wasn't something that was 'beyond her capacity' in his mind, he knew she would be a success because she was smart and he appreciated that in her. Of course, the business was a success, they sold it in 1998 and made a bundle.

As for how black were treated, I would like to point out... this show is set in Manhattan, and that is not in Alabama or the deep south, as I recall. Whenever you start railing and bashing on the South for their racist past, just remember how things were in Manhattan in the 60s! Yes, people were extremely prejudiced back then, in the North,South, East and the West! Again... look at how far we have come?
Click to expand...

You are comparing a dentist in Brimingham Alabama to men and women who work on Wall Street, seriously?
 
Dixie said:
It was a different time, AND we are seeing a DEPICTION of that time from a somewhat liberal perspective. I have been a MadMen fan from the start, but one thing that has always bothered me about the series, is the way they intensely focus on the stereotypes, as if that was actually how it was all the time. It would be as if, 50 years from now, someone did a show about 2012, and depicted everyone as being either liberal or conservative (no libertarians or moderates), at each other's throats constantly, fighting and bickering back and forth with no resolve, blowing up friendships and relationships over political differences.... Now, while that may be happening to some degree in some cases, it's far from being "the norm." Most people, even in the polarized climate of politics today, are able to maintain friendships and relationships with those they disagree with.

It's important to remember MadMen is a TV show, and not a true-life documentary. The events and actions of the characters are fictional, based on the perceptions of the writers and producers, and have no real basis in reality, other than to draw from stereotypes. Someone who grew up in the 60s, might realize this, and take it for what it's worth, but there are a lot of young mush-brains out there, who watch this show and believe that is really how it was back then. To some degree, perhaps it was, but not to the extent we are entertained with through this show. It is embellished and exaggerated for entertainment, (or perhaps to make a political point) and does not represent or depict how things were for a vast majority of people in the workplace at that time.

That said, even if you still believe MadMen depicts the true reality of the 60s, doesn't it say a lot for how far we have come?
Click to expand...

Well, it may be an accurate depiction of how people acted in the 60's. But Mad Men is very in your face about it - they concentrate very heavily on the sexism and racism, it's basically all anyone does. Of course, that's one of the main things that interests us and would make the show relevant to modern audiences, so it's not very surprising that they concentrate on it.
 
Dixie said:
To me, this stereotypical depiction of women in the 60s is troubling, it seems to imply, even the strong female characters like Peggy and Joan, were willing to hop in bed with whoever they had to, in order to survive. I like to think that, in real life, Joan would have given Roger a swift kick in the nuts at some point in time, and Peggy would have slapped the shit out of Don. They are obviously smart and savvy women, who deserve appreciation for what they bring to the table, but they are depicted as bimbos who were just good enough in bed with the right people, to be in their positions. It's a bit insulting, if you ask me.
Click to expand...

That is very easy for you to say, Dixie.
 
Dixie said:
Well, I was around in the 60s, but I talk to my mom almost daily. She worked from 1960-71 as a dental hygienist in Birmingham. She made decent money, was well-respected by her boss, who never made a pass at her, and was a devoted family man. His family and ours became close over the years, there was never any hopping in and out of bed or adulterous affairs going on, and my parents were happily married for 50 years. In 1982, my Dad invested his entire retirement fund into a business that my mother operated all on her own. She did the books, she ran the store, she paid the bills. It wasn't something that was 'beyond her capacity' in his mind, he knew she would be a success because she was smart and he appreciated that in her. Of course, the business was a success, they sold it in 1998 and made a bundle.

As for how black were treated, I would like to point out... this show is set in Manhattan, and that is not in Alabama or the deep south, as I recall. Whenever you start railing and bashing on the South for their racist past, just remember how things were in Manhattan in the 60s! Yes, people were extremely prejudiced back then, in the North,South, East and the West! Again... look at how far we have come?
Click to expand...

Truly unbelievable. Moron.
 
Dixie = privilige denying dude

qcupz.png
 
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