On "Mad Men", We Are All Sally Draper

na | 01-29-2012 | OrangeHoof

[OrangeHoof]

I didn't start watching the television series "Mad Men" until this past September. I had heard things about it from Rush Limbaugh and others and decided to watch the first few episodes online to see if it was worth my time (and because ensemble series always require that you start at the beginning to understand the show). I eventually watched all four seasons on DVD and often went back and listened to the audio commentary to catch the director's perspective.

For those not familiar, the series is about a small advertising firm at the turn of the 1960s and centers around the character of Don Draper (played brilliantly by Jon Hamm). "Mad Men" seeks to show us the unvarnished life of that era, careful to rewind the social and ethical clock back to the way people thought and behaved then. To my mind, the smoking and drinking is excessive but so much of the rest of the show truly takes you back to how it was.

As a point of reference, I was born in 1957, in the middle of the "Baby Boom" as the middle child of five to a middle-class and upwardly mobile New York City bank executive. Don Draper looks a lot like how I remember my dad in the 1960s, adorned in coat and tie with a hat often atop his head, the neck and chin shaved but the five o'clock shadow showing up almost by noon. Don's voice is authoritative yet tender to his children yet he's somewhat distant as a parent, just the way my father often was. There's one major difference - I'm quite sure Dad was faithful to my mother or, if he wasn't, this was never shared with me even later in life.

Dad would come home each weeknight, have a martini and recline in his strat-o-lounger and watch tv. I suspect Don often did this too yet it doesn't survive the editing room. My mother was a full-time homemaker who cleaned the house and made the meals except when Dad could afford to have an African-American help with the "chores".

The racial divide was evident in the North as well as the South. Blacks often had menial jobs as maids and doormen even in the "tolerant" North. Ethnicity, as well as open racism were out in the open then. It was not cloaked in political correctness the way it is today.

While my gender and age are closer to Don and Betty's son Bobby (heck, I was "Bobby" when I was that age), the one who most represents the viewpoint of the children is the older daughter Sally. If you are old enough to know the real Sixties, it means you were probably young enough then to see the world of the Sixties as a child like Sally.

As Don and Betty fight and eventually divorce, Sally is us. She ran around the house inside a plastic bag from the dry cleaners. She flopped from front seat to back seat with no seat belts as Betty drives. She learned to steer the car at the encouragement of her sometimes-senile grandfather. She mixed Don's favorite liquor drink for him when he got home. All of this by the age of nine!

What today might be considered borderline child abuse (certainly child endangerment) was a fairly normal Sixties childhood for Bobby and Sally and, I suspect, most of the other kids in their suburban neighborhood. Nobody really saw any problem with the behavior and extremely few sought to lift a finger to object to any of it.

But, by Season Three, Sally is already rebelling. Her grandfather dies. Her parents are fighting. She decides to cut her own hair and consider make-up. She gets into a fight at school (where Don begins an affair with her teacher - and, yes, we had some hot elementary school teachers when I was a boy, easily singled out because they were referred to as "Miss (blank)", not "Mrs. (blank)."). She watches tv even as the content becomes less suitable for children. She starts hearing about "doing it" from other kids and even tries to do herself one day at a neighbor's house, leading her exasperated mother to send her to the school psychiatrist.

Sally is quick to point out her mother's hypocrisy as Betty indulges her own fantasies and takes up with husband number two. Betty gets angry because Sally is growing up to be a young Betty right in front of her and Betty doesn't like what she sees.

The children of the Sixties, whom I guess are the chief target audience of "Mad Men", were trying to understand and adjust to the changing mores and forces that would define that decade in the only way children know how - by imitating. While the series probably won't extend into the early 70s, one could easily picture Sally growing up to be a long-haired "free love" hippie chick, maybe one who poses in Playboy.

We can see the path Sally's life is taking because many of us saw this all too easily in our neighbors and family. While the exploits of Don, Betty, Peggy, Peter and the others take center stage in this drama, it is Sally who is perhaps the most poignant because Sally mirrors the experiences of most of those watching who remember how it really was and may possibly wonder if it was the proper direction for her generation to take.

[6SJ7]

Thanks!

[silent_jonny]

Ping!

I haven't seen the 4th season yet, so I can't read the thread.

Talk amongst yourselves :)

[Excellence]

And I really, really miss those Sunday nights!

[trailhkr1]

The Walking Dead is one of the best shows on TV. The story is so good, the zombies are almost extras. Right now my husband and I are re-watching the first batch of episodes from this season. I always come into shows late. I never watched Lost when it was on TV but saw it on a Sci-Fi marathon and then started watching it on season 4. Same thing with Walking Dead. Saw a marathon on the show late last year and liked it and now can't wait for the new season.

[OrangeHoof]

I’ve learned that “ensemble shows” (multiple characters with interweaving stories) need to be watched from the beginning like a long, long movie in order to understand a lot of the scenes and the background stories.

I missed the first few seasons of LOST because it conflicted with NFL football but I saw one episode and was intrigued so I made it a summer project to see it from the beginning as it was meant to be seen.

(As an aside, NBC once showed “The Godfather” and “Godfather II” re-edited so everything happens in chronological order and I would be thrilled to re-watch LOST as presented in chronological order.)

Thanks to online streaming and DVD rentals, you can watch all the past seasons and, on DVD, you can also listen to director commentaries that answer a lot of other questions or provides points the viewer may have missed. I’m intrigued with Boardwalk Empire but I don’t want to fund HBO so I will wait until a few seasons are done and then watch it on DVD.

[retrokitten]

You disappoint Jon Hamm by being behind a season.

Wait until you encounter the wonderfulness that is Mrs. Blankenship. She's a trip. She reminds me of someone you and I call Skinner's Mom. LOL!

I really, really wish they would get rid of Betty. She serves no purpose anymore except to torment Sally. I was semi-disappointed with the 4th season finale. I won't spoil it for you. I just thought they threw too much in at once. Like they were trying to force things along at record pace.

You know, finding all these pictures and gifs of Jon Hamm really made me like him more. He's incredibly animated and seems very fun. One of those people who you always know what they are thinking by looking at their face (I am like that, too). But it strikes me how different he is personally from Don Draper, who's always doing that slow-burn and you never know what he's thinking.

[stylecouncilor]

LOL! Yeah, a lot happened in the 4th season-maybe they weren't sure if they were getting picked up for a 5th. I'm curious to see how the storyline will progress with Megan.

I like to see Betty being miserable-so hopefully something bad will happen to her! :)

[Arkady Orinko]

Its full of social engineering, like an ‘interpretive museum’ about the past.

I was a young man in the 60's and this show is right on the money. You have the right to think it's garbage, but a huge fan base thinks otherwise. This is an amazing show and many Freepers agree!

[hedgetrimmer]

I think its social engineering.

That something has a huge ‘fan base’ doesn’t change that fact.

[retrokitten]

Yeah, a lot happened in the 4th season-maybe they weren't sure if they were getting picked up for a 5th.

I remember sometime last year, I think AMC and Mad Men were at a standstill about money. So maybe that was brewing even while they were filming? One of the proposed cost-cutting measures was to get rid of a main character. Everyone was like, "Get rid of Betty!!!" and they dropped that line pretty quick. LOL

[silent_jonny]

Draper looks like he spent the night in a ditch, lol

Yeah, Betty was wearing thin for me in the third season. Her subplot with the mayor's aide didn't interest me at all. I'd just fast-forward through their scenes.

I'll get around to the 4th Season soon. Your description of Mrs. Blankenship has made me curious :)

"You're Gimbles, Peggy!"

[giotto]

I was semi-disappointed with the 4th season finale. I just thought they threw too much in at once. Like they were trying to force things along at record pace.

I agree. Which is why I think it was a deliberate misdirection. I have a feeling that Don's marriage to Megan won't happen. Remember the psychiatrist he dated, the blond who did consulting for the firm? He told her about his past, then dumped her. I think she will manage to let Megan know about this, and Megan will head for the hills.

I'm secretly hoping that Don and Peggy end up together. One of my favorite episodes was the one where Anna dies and Peggy and Don spend all night brainstorming an idea for Samsonite.

[retrokitten]

LOL! Keep that in mind when you get to Mrs. Blankenship. She is so Mrs. Skinner.

[retrokitten]

One of my favorite episodes was the one where Anna dies and Peggy and Don spend all night brainstorming an idea for Samsonite.

Oh mine, too! I'm rewatching the series on Netflix and I just got to that one again. I die when they listen to Roger's tape. Don and Peggy have such an interesting dynamic. I think he feels a lot of affection for her because he knows about the secret part of her life (Pete's baby) and can relate. I'm surprised he's never confided in Peggy about his real identity.

[cincinnati65]

The Don-Peggy dynamic has been that he sees himself in Peggy, and she wants to be Don. She doesn't want to be just another secretary in the steno pool, which is part of the rub with Joan, because Peggy made it out, and Joan never did.

I won't see Don and Peggy romantically linked ever, but there will ALWAYS be a connection there.

[retrokitten]

Yeah, I don’t think they will ever get together either. Don looks at her like a little sister or cousin. I like her beatnik boyfriend.

I don’t think Joan ever wanted to be Peggy or have her job. She’s an ace at what she does and extremely valuable in her own way. I hope she ditches Dr. McRapey.

[SamAdams76]

Great post. I think my very first FR post was asking what the deal was with Freepers who do not watch tv. Those good folks are missing out on great things like Mad Men, Breaking Bad (which amazingly is somehow even better than Mad Men and even Walking Dead (this year’s season finalewas one of the best finales I’ve seen - and otherwise made an average season pretty fantastic).

I don't consider myself as one who watches TV either. It's mostly mindless low-brow crap interspersed with blocks of loud, obnoxious commercials. When you have it on in the house, it draws you in and sucks away what little leisure time I have.

However, I do watch certain TV shows either on DVD or streamed from Netflix. I stick to the shows that are well-produced and worthy of my time. As you do not get commercials on DVD or Netflix, you can actually watch a couple episodes without having your entire evening wasted away.

In addition to the obvious Ken Burns' documentaries (yes, he's a flaming liberal but his documentaries are well done and politically neutral), I like to watch shows like "Mad Men", "The Wire", "Sopranos", "Breaking Bad", "Boardwalk Empire", etc.

Basically shows that are "original content" for cable stations such as HBO, AMC, FX, etc., because the broadcast networks are still regulated by FCC censors and stopped being relevant a long time ago.

Now that being the case (not censored), those shows are edgy, often profane and not for the prudish or faint-of-heart, but they are by and large well written and the production qualities approach the level of cinema. Some here complain about the content of these shows but when I watch a show like "Breaking Bad" or "Sopranos", it's a peek into a world I will never experience in real life so that is the appeal to me.

[Chickensoup]

Bought my first TV in 35 years and am enjoying mad men. Waiting for Season 6 on Net flix. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy the show.

I was about Sally’s age and these people were my parents, aunts and uncles. I see all the items I grew up with, and remember how the people treated each other. It has been a delightful trip and I certainly am enjoying it.

It is a dressed show like Dowton Abby, or in my day, the Masterpiece theatres.

My feminist acquaintances say they cannot watch it because it is too misogynist. However I cannot understand how they can watch all the Austin films and British upper-class shows where women are property and only the wealthy matter.

[Chickensoup]

Bought my first TV in 35 years and am enjoying mad men. Waiting for Season 6 on Net flix. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy the show.

I was about Sally’s age and these people were my parents, aunts and uncles. I see all the items I grew up with, and remember how the people treated each other. It has been a delightful trip and I certainly am enjoying it.

It is a dressed show like Dowton Abby, or in my day, the Masterpiece theatres.

My feminist acquaintances say they cannot watch it because it is too misogynist. However I cannot understand how they can watch all the Austin films and British upper-class shows where women are property and only the wealthy matter.

[OrangeHoof]

Wow. Did this dig up an old thread. Season 7 is going to be the last one but they are going to split it into two half-seasons. I haven’t really liked the last season (just as I didn’t like that time in the 60s themselves). Hard to find people worth rooting for that are left and what is the point of SCDP if D isn’t part of it?

But, most of all, I think the plot has focused now almost entirely on the characters and not the period which is what I found so fascinating.

I’ll still watch the final season but I think I can almost predict how they will try to put a happy bow on it.

More of my attention has turned to Boardwalk Empire which will also have their final season upcoming. What’s more challenging in Empire is that fictional characters mingle with real historical figures who have major events during the 1920s that have to be factored into the plot. Mad Men had historical events but they were experienced on tv as distant occurrences not felt as part of the actual history.

BTW, there is one tale from the DVD commentaries on Mad Men I thought deserves a mention. The scene where Duck has a hotel affair with Peggy and he clicks on the tv to hear that JFK has been shot so he unplugs the tv and hopes Peggy doesn’t know so they will still have sex. One of the directors said a friend of his actually did that to his girlfriend which is where he got the idea for Duck to do this, knowing the woman would be too upset to have sex if she knew the president had been shot so he unplugged the tv so she couldn’t accidentally find out about it.