tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post1666276112855097905..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Mad Men, "Flight 1": I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never doAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1632833811069062972012-03-25T07:41:40.398-04:002012-03-25T07:41:40.398-04:00Everyone raves about how accurate the show is abou...Everyone raves about how accurate the show is about 1960s culture but what about ETHNIC culture?<br /><br />Did anyone else notice the glaring mistake that while Don was in a Japanese restaurant, the waitress was wearing a Chinese dress?mommacharbearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01513502160327813838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-49847231749083098992009-08-13T16:29:05.493-04:002009-08-13T16:29:05.493-04:00Fantastic writeup, Alan.
BTW, the great song in th...Fantastic writeup, Alan.<br />BTW, the great song in the credits: George McGregor & the Bronzettes - Temptation Is Hard To Fight.AaronMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10442946068605610643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-67787073446340509612009-03-21T11:50:00.000-04:002009-03-21T11:50:00.000-04:00I'm a latecomer to Mad Men, having watched the fir...I'm a latecomer to Mad Men, having watched the first season and now catching up on the second season via the reruns. It's a great show---I love the attention to detail, and the actors are excellent. Thanks to Alan for his great recaps and to everyone for their insightful comments.Castawayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05122873036959224244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-31357029792715472982009-01-08T23:34:00.000-05:002009-01-08T23:34:00.000-05:00ummm... that should have been 1970 not 'the 1070'ummm... that should have been 1970 not 'the 1070'The Chasing Iambhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16019670771528222088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69454171094694770762009-01-08T23:33:00.000-05:002009-01-08T23:33:00.000-05:00This is an incredibly late comment on Don's daught...This is an incredibly late comment on Don's daughter mixing drinks. But I can't resist. There is a bit in Mary McCarthy's Birds of America (set in the 1070), where the protagonist, a newly divorced woman, says she disapproves of the parents of the time who commonly asked their children to mix their cocktails for them. <BR/><BR/>When I watched this scene I was very struck by it and reminded of the book.The Chasing Iambhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16019670771528222088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-64954888385741078532008-08-29T13:41:00.000-04:002008-08-29T13:41:00.000-04:00Why is it so hard for fans to accept the possibili...Why is it so hard for fans to accept the possibility that Joan might be a little racist? If we can accept the sexism of the other characters - including Don, who has been sexist toward his own wife and Rachel Menken - why is it difficult to consider the possibility that Joan might be harboring a small case of racism? <BR/><BR/>Joan had plenty of opportunities to call out Paul on his pretentiousness . . . including the time when she and Sal acted out his play in "Nixon vs. Kennedy". She had even suspected that Paul and Peggy were interested in each other by mid Season 1. Yet, upon meeting Sheila, she decides to be bitchy toward his current squeeze?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-23589419860198675452008-08-11T17:30:00.000-04:002008-08-11T17:30:00.000-04:00About Peggy's salary...I earned $0.75 an hour in 1...About Peggy's salary...I earned $0.75 an hour in 1953 at a summer job in Cincinnati($35.00 a week). I don't believe someone would be earning quite so little in 1961 especially in NYC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-52601261440188647492008-08-09T23:12:00.000-04:002008-08-09T23:12:00.000-04:00Finally watched it. What was up with Peggy's vacuu...Finally watched it. What was up with Peggy's vacuum cleaner? Was it just a symbol of the domestic ties she has to her mom, and how her mom guilts her--food, church, emptying the vacuum bag?<BR/><BR/>I know it's unlikely,but Peggy's sister said the stuff about the state once mom left the room. Could Peggy's sister have covered it up from the mom? <BR/><BR/>And I took the comment about the state and the doctors to mean that Peggy hadn't wanted to give up the child. I think there's a lot of interesting detail to be filled in, here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-61450507670587651502008-08-07T08:19:00.000-04:002008-08-07T08:19:00.000-04:00the thing I *don't* get - if she's living in the c...<I>the thing I *don't* get - if she's living in the city, why would she be in her mother's ...um... parish, anyway? she could have been going to a catholic church in Manhattan... (though I honestly don't believe she is (was, whatever)</I><BR/><BR/>Because she's clearly not going for herself, but to appease her mother. Going to a church in Manhattan and telling her mother about it later doesn't quite have the same effect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43211773568732483542008-08-06T18:47:00.000-04:002008-08-06T18:47:00.000-04:00Betty has freaked me out ever since she shot the b...Betty has freaked me out ever since she shot the birds with the .22 in her nightie. What I can't understand is why Don is still hanging around. She has become the uber-b*tch. I still don't see him having the kind of relationship with his kids that would keep him at home. Run away Don, while you still can!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35182921401135677412008-08-06T14:40:00.000-04:002008-08-06T14:40:00.000-04:00Some assorted stuff:About Joan and racism, I think...Some assorted stuff:<BR/><BR/>About Joan and racism, I think what I have been trying to do is see these people and their attitudes, as much as possible, as they are in terms of the times they inhabit. It may be easier for me than most because I am of that period. I came to New York in the early sixties, straight from a college where I always say I majored in picketing. I well remember that then, I was frighteningly sincere about my liberal code of ethics, and I am proud of much that I did and said. But I also confess that a little of Paul's posturing cuts uncomfortably close to home, because I was very proud to have a "Negro" boyfriend. And proud that I shocked my family by doing so. So I try very hard not to apply today's more politically correct mores to that less-enlightened time.<BR/><BR/>About Peter and Peggy and who knows what. I agree with Alan that Pete is clueless, and I'll go further. I believe Pete is being browbeaten, ever so nicely, by his in-laws into taking responsibility for the lack of children running around his tastefully furnished apartment. If his wife turns out to be infertile, that may bring Peggy's farmed-out child back into focus. I think that Don knows some, if not all, of Peggy's situation. As the person she reports to and the one who would have had to sign off on an extended leave, Don either knows she had an unplanned pregnancy or some sort of breakdown. I suspect the first would be easier for her to return from, work-wise, than the latter, in the early 60s.<BR/><BR/>Finally, Betty may nor have crossed the border into borderline personality syndrome, but there is some serious and ugly stuff underneath that pretty blonde 'do of hers. Whatever happened after she sent a message to Don via her shrink, she is becoming quite the homemaker/ballbreaker. And what she says to her children makes me fear that I might add sociopath to the mix. Come to think of it, she did harm small animals last season. Remember the birds?justjoan123https://www.blogger.com/profile/03333328551629388436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-22808513084986948752008-08-06T14:31:00.000-04:002008-08-06T14:31:00.000-04:00One last thought with very, very minor reference t...One last thought with very, very minor reference to Generation Kill, episode 2 (in case you don't want ot read this).<BR/><BR/>Due to my little son's schedule, I am watching my favorite shows when I can, often now weeks after the fact. As it turns out I watched this Mad Men episode at about the same time I saw Gen. Kill, ep. 2. And I was immediately struck by 2 extremely paralleled scenes:<BR/><BR/>Mad Men: Pete, shocked after getting the phone call, wanders into Don's office in a state of confussion, not being sure how he is supposed to act. Emotionless.<BR/>Don tries to comfort him.<BR/><BR/>Gen Kill: Colbert sees movement in a nearby field, and investigates. There he finds an unfortunate soldier who has survived intense fighting that apparently most, if not all, of his fellow soldiers seemingly did not. The man is shocked and distraught, and Colbert feels for him and tries to reach out to him to see if he can help.<BR/><BR/>The similarities go further in that, up until now, both Draper and Colbert have seemed unemotional and detached from feelings themselves. But yet here, in each instance, I believe that each man can barely hide his basic human nature and compassion. This is evidenced by watching each of their faces, complete with moistened eyes. <BR/><BR/>In Mad Men, this, coupled with Don's sensitivity to his son's condition at home, made me re-examine my thoughts about who Don is.<BR/><BR/>And in Gen. Kill, this was a first glimpse and an early establishing scene, that these guys are just people in a very bad situation, regardless of any of their outward appearance.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136037545032145740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-33716390227308948232008-08-06T13:45:00.000-04:002008-08-06T13:45:00.000-04:00One thing no one has commented on - was Cooper sup...One thing no one has commented on - was Cooper supposed to seem so old and out of it in the AA meeting (hands shaking, commenting on Don's quip out of nowhere), or is poor Robert Morse just...well, old and out of it? If Cooper's old and out of it - that dynamic would change the whole office, leading Duck to an even more powerful position within the company, and moving Don down the work ladder even more. Or maybe Robert Morse has had better days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26517509723812757872008-08-06T12:29:00.000-04:002008-08-06T12:29:00.000-04:00I wonder if Pete covered for her. Perhaps she call...<I>I wonder if Pete covered for her. Perhaps she called him, and it'd be in his best interest to keep his love child under wraps.</I><BR/><BR/>That doesn't work with the scene in the premiere where Pete asked Peggy if she was ready to have kids yet. Pete has no idea.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26644530836953652992008-08-06T12:27:00.000-04:002008-08-06T12:27:00.000-04:00I was thinking more about Peggy's pregnancy and 3 ...I was thinking more about Peggy's pregnancy and 3 month absence. I wonder if Pete covered for her. Perhaps she called him, and it'd be in his best interest to keep his love child under wraps. It could also explain his quick dismissal of her absence with his "Fat farm, I thought we had confirmation?" comment, trying to keep it under the rug...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02109134808591871313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-87430965327686091032008-08-06T08:32:00.000-04:002008-08-06T08:32:00.000-04:00Okay, Paul is a pretentious douche and Joan's brea...Okay, Paul is a pretentious douche and Joan's break-room assessment of his motives for dating 'his baby' Sheila may be dead-on. (On the other hand, we can't at this point know for certain.)<BR/><BR/>But really, there is no excuse for Joan telling Sheila that when she and Paul dated he wasn't 'open-minded.' Paul may be a cringe-worthy faux hipster, but you couldn't call him close-minded. The point of Joan's comment was to signal to Sheila that a white man needs an open mind to date a black woman.<BR/><BR/>Even though I see (and enjoy) the personal interplay between Paul and Joan, I also saw the real pain in Sheila's face when Joan sticks in the knife. And that's the point of the scene, I think.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15582136184196524214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-22314463091178539822008-08-05T22:20:00.000-04:002008-08-05T22:20:00.000-04:00I think Peggy suffered an adjustment disorder, not...I think Peggy suffered an adjustment disorder, nothing worse than that. Of course, psychiatry was a different animal in 1960, but this is what I'd call it by today's DSM-IV criteria. <BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjustment_disorder<BR/><BR/>Whether Joan is racist or not is unknown to me, but her target was Paul, not his girlfriend. I believe she sized Paul up accurately, and I agree with justjoan's analysis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-50961587734630092482008-08-05T21:00:00.000-04:002008-08-05T21:00:00.000-04:00wow! just so much going on on so many levels.I rem...wow! just so much going on on so many levels.<BR/><BR/>I remember a young girl on ER denying having a baby just after she gave birth. I don't think we saw her give birth.<BR/><BR/>I'm as curious now about Borderline Personality Disorder as when Rebecca was "diagnosed" with it on Grey's.<BR/>Does anyone know what it is? I've read wikipedia, but I've also read Mount Misery (by the author of The House of God) and some say there's no such thing. Besides the fact that "borderline" doesn't mean ...well anything. Narcissistic means something. (I can't think of any other genres of PD's)<BR/><BR/>Does it mean she almost has a personality disorder (if so which one?) or that she almost has a *personality*? <BR/><BR/>(was that too deep a question?)<BR/><BR/>and what in heck went on with *her* parents? (I see Pete's, Don's...)Pamela Jayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135379188588301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-80061059297135721872008-08-05T20:05:00.000-04:002008-08-05T20:05:00.000-04:00@tom, Paul's previous actions and behaviors show t...@tom, Paul's previous actions and behaviors show that Joan's assessment of his motives is probably correct. After all, as a former lover, she knows how he operates, who better to know how pretentiously he behaves? I have no problem believing that he chose to date his new girlfriend based on her ethnicity, which is pretty shallow, not to mention despicable. As for saying that if Joan is not racist she will do until one comes along, I think you are taking what she said as a reflection of what she believes. Her target was Paul's posturing as a sophisticate, not his poor girfriend. Of course, as JustJoan, I must stand by ThisJoan.justjoan123https://www.blogger.com/profile/03333328551629388436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-6486329234649333502008-08-05T19:16:00.000-04:002008-08-05T19:16:00.000-04:00@tom, I would have thought the 'previously on' was...@tom, I would have thought the 'previously on' was enough information to remind you what Paul had done. He's got a big goddamn mouth. He's not just an ex, he's a blabbermouth.<BR/><BR/>Joan is ever consistent: her personal life is hers alone and she doesn't want it to be shared around the office.R.A. Porterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14851961356321735388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58579545663085614052008-08-05T19:09:00.000-04:002008-08-05T19:09:00.000-04:00So Joan is 'getting back at Paul with surgical acc...So Joan is 'getting back at Paul with surgical accuracy'? Refresh my memory -- what, exactly, has he done to deserve this retribution? <BR/><BR/>She shows up at his party, sees he's dating a black woman, insults the woman with snarky condescension. Joan then lies by saying white-negro-wannabe Paul was never 'open minded.'<BR/><BR/>Later, when Paul calls her on her awful behavior, Joan mocks his interracial dating by accusing him of having no real interest in Sheila outside of her value as hipster arm-candy. Neither she (nor we) have any real basis to assume her assumptions about Paul and Sheila are correct.<BR/><BR/>Okay, maybe Joan's not racist. She's jst a mean bitch who uses race-baiting to score points off of an ex. That'll do till the real racists come along.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15582136184196524214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27908714423747032852008-08-05T16:35:00.000-04:002008-08-05T16:35:00.000-04:00So much content! It's Tuesday and I still am dige...So much content! It's Tuesday and I still am digesting it all. A couple of psychological points:<BR/> -- I don't think the Japanese hostess was a hooker, I think she was genuinely attracted to Don. What interested me more is that he wasn't buying, yet she has many things going for her: attractive, openly available without the probability of a follow-up, and exotic enough to counterbalance any shadowy concern about impotence.<BR/>-- Peggy appears to be in a semi-fugue state, possibly dating from her third trimester. She exhibits no outward emotion connected to the birth, and reserves all her feelings for work and achieving sex on her terms.<BR/>-- Joan is not, IMO, a racist; she is focused on getting back at Paul with surgical accuracy. That she does so by hurting his girlfriend is a byproduct of that strike. In military terms, the gf is collateral damage.<BR/>-- Betty may be exhibiting symptoms of what will later be called a borderline personality. I shudder for the future of those children.justjoan123https://www.blogger.com/profile/03333328551629388436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-16692296432733261742008-08-05T16:02:00.000-04:002008-08-05T16:02:00.000-04:00"Plus, he's desperate for a father figure - he vis..."Plus, he's desperate for a father figure - he visibly perked up after getting a compliment, like an eager boston terrier."<BR/><BR/>More like an eager French Bulldog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-74508356767706913422008-08-05T13:47:00.000-04:002008-08-05T13:47:00.000-04:00As usually, way late to the party, but just wanted...As usually, way late to the party, but just wanted to add that my best friend's son is pushing 11, and for the past several years, he's always been interested in what was going on when my wife & I were visiting.<BR/><BR/>Now, of course, he's getting to the age where he just won't care, but I think that there is still a fascination with seeing your parents with friends because it one of the few times you get to see them being something besides parents.barefootjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02619403344304134318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70432511498361402052008-08-05T13:31:00.000-04:002008-08-05T13:31:00.000-04:00Great episode and a great discussion on this board...Great episode and a great discussion on this board.<BR/><BR/>Following up on the thread about this episode being about parent/child relationships and how they mold us for life, I agree that Betty's attitude toward her children, the son especially, has pulled Don in closer. Or at least made him more aware. Aware of the importance of his "role" at home. And even if he is just acting, doing what people do, he now seems to know that his performance has real consequences on who his children will be. <BR/><BR/>With all the warning signs about eminent change from the last episode, coupled with a few diverted crisis from last season (Don being courted by the bigger agency, his wanting to flee with Rachel), the question of whether Don will remake himself again, is now being challenged by the question of: will he stay and fight for what he has?<BR/><BR/>Also think that this episode cements Don's afiinity with Peggy on a personal level. They both had to re-invent themselves. Only Peggy is still surrounded by her former life...Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136037545032145740noreply@blogger.com