tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post5192573547848470444..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Mad Men, "Souvenir": La dolce vitaAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-59632262067338767672010-06-14T16:46:39.570-04:002010-06-14T16:46:39.570-04:00I'm a bit tired of series and movies resorting...I'm a bit tired of series and movies resorting to the usual stereotypes about Italy and I thought MM would avoid that, but the scene with the two men was quite funny. The Roman calling the man from Naples a yob! People here generally look down on those who are from further South than them. :-)<br /><br />CaterinaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-89791818500836719122010-05-14T01:50:41.986-04:002010-05-14T01:50:41.986-04:00I'm absurdly late to this series, but just had...I'm absurdly late to this series, but just had to add in response to Halli: whether there is or isn't a Hermes product placement contract, I loved the imagery of the scarves and the suffocation the female characters feel, from Peggy's gift last episode, to Betty's tight spot with the politician and Trudy's headache with Pete, not to mention Joan's state of affairs. What a breathtaking, glamorous noose it is!Laurelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00378926264687032008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39034023559522320852009-10-12T17:57:55.018-04:002009-10-12T17:57:55.018-04:00Anyone reminded of the Italian business trip taken...Anyone reminded of the Italian business trip taken by Tony's crew? Christopher didn't leave the hotel room either, albeit for different reasons. <br /><br />Poor Betty?<br />Poor Carla!<br /><br />FWIW, January Jones look was exotic--so much so that I literally didn't recognize her at first, and in Alan's screen cap (which I saw before assumed that she was one of Don's conquests. <br /><br />That said, I think she's plenty hot in her everyday Ossining duds.Eyeball Witnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-25464835064500733812009-10-11T23:12:10.825-04:002009-10-11T23:12:10.825-04:00gypsy howell said...
"...he's still sta...gypsy howell said... <br /><br />"...he's still stashing cash in his desk drawer for his "big getaway" should he need it."<br /><br />Some of you are definitely more observant than me. I never caught that. Figures though. <br /><br />"Either way, money is not the root of Betty's problem. They both need much more honesty in their marriage if they have any hope of being happy with each other."<br /><br />I agree. <br /><br />Scazza is also right that vacation time ='s easier happiness, and, yes, I suppose it's true that Betty doesn't have the freedoms Don has, though he manages to be pretty tortured despite his freedoms. Running around with women (or hitch-hikers) is Don's release. Maybe being a shrew is the only release Betty has. (All too common in marriage even today, perhaps.) <br /><br />Hoagie Wykoff once wrote, in the mid 60's or early 70's, that men hold the cards in relationships and this drives women crazy. I can still see that that is often true. <br /><br />The guy who won't commit or the husband who's too busy to really listen, these things still leave woman feeling powerless, though we don't have the gross imbalances of Mad Men's era.jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4887871939954828102009-10-11T19:52:16.239-04:002009-10-11T19:52:16.239-04:00I don't think Betty has much of a grasp about ...I don't think Betty has much of a grasp about their finances, plus, we've had hints that Don is not dedicating all his income to the family (not that they're wanting for anything). He's supporting Anna in some way, and he's still stashing cash in his desk drawer for his "big getaway" should he need it.<br /><br />Either way, money is not the root of Betty's problem. They both need much more honesty in their marriage if they have any hope of being happy with each other (or with themselves) - Don -- obviously about his past, and Betty about what her real hopes and dreams are, if she can figure them out.<br /><br />Looking forward to tonight's episode, but I sort of dread it- it doesn't seem like happiness is on the horizon anytime soon.gypsy howellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5331067423887742352009-10-11T17:48:05.331-04:002009-10-11T17:48:05.331-04:00Hopefully this comment doesn't break the rules...Hopefully this comment doesn't break the rules but...<br /><br />"Betty for once is the more grounded and realistic one. She knows their marriage is still fundamentally broken... and that her life will always be unsatisfying, but it's the marriage, and the life, she's stuck with. " Is that what marriage is about? Perfection? I didn't think this episode was about marriage; I think it's common for couples to have an easier time on vacation, when they have time for each other. I found her to be unrealistic if she won't hope and try and put any effort to maintain the happiness that she found. In Rome is where she was real, and they were real and maybe so was Don. So it's her fault if she'd rather turn away from that.<br /><br />The part about Betty's talents & smarts going to waste, and that Don doesn't actually love her, I didn't get that from this episode. What was more prominent was the common and powerful tug between daily life of errands, chores, getting things done, dealing with boring hassles, vs. vacations, adventure, being free. I think making this about Don is actually a bit sexist, or maybe the life vs vacation is a common part of the female experience today. Women have a lot of choices to make, work, family, adventure, smarts, beauty that I think we can become oppressed by the "what if"s. It was very emotional for me to watch her disappointment at coming home, trying to hold on to the experience in terms of the lack of freedom that we all have by being adults in America. Don has a lot of freedom, not just as a man but as the man he made himself to be, and I think Betty's jealousy of that is not about her sex, it's the same as everyone else who knows Don. I think it has nothing to do with lack of love.<br /><br />If only Betty knew how much money they actually had and that she could afford to globe-trot or do whatever she needed to be free. For someone they've shown to be so smart, she has a lot of lack of knowledge about her own situation.Scazzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09616094300577670096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-86291520390004575542009-10-10T23:46:32.577-04:002009-10-10T23:46:32.577-04:00(Not sure if I should post this on the rules page ...(Not sure if I should post this on the rules page or here...)<br /><br />Alan: I just re-read word-for-word commenting rules # 3 and 5. (I don't have any trouble avoiding patrisan politics or being mean, I don't think. Mentioning Berlusconi was just a joke, right?) <br /><br />I understand now about spoilers. <br /><br />I'm pretty sure my own imagination tells me that what Betty will do next re: her latest flirtation is very up in the air. Her self-report very unreliable. And yes the previews are spoiler-y, but they can be mis-leads as well.<br /><br />Re: Betty and Francis, a housemate pointed out that Betty only had sex out of marriage while she and Don were seperated. (!) I never caught that detail. He thinks she's toying with a good-for-the-goose deal with Francis. <br /><br />I heard the creators say the zipless f*ck in the bar was her way of seeing whether what Don has done so many times means anything. Never occured to me you might say she wasn't cheating, on a technicality.<br /><br />Regarding rule #5, I totally agree; trouble is I genuinely can't skim. I try but my brain can't do it.<br /><br />(It happens to me all the time that I sit down to write four sentences, and end up writing 12 paragraphs, so if length is an annoyance...)<br /><br />If it becomes apparent that I can't conform well enough to the rules, I'll just take an indefinite hiatus.<br /><br />Great discussion, board, blog.<br /><br />P.S. I agree Cee, it is a shame January didn't win an Emmy.jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-51623758228427074302009-10-10T18:42:50.572-04:002009-10-10T18:42:50.572-04:00Ramana wrote: "And I believe psychiatry used ...Ramana wrote: "And I believe psychiatry used to be considered as a dumping ground for doctors who couldn't cut it."<br /><br />Yup.jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-10962949372700847662009-10-10T18:34:15.577-04:002009-10-10T18:34:15.577-04:00Revisiting a deleted topic without any spoilers, j...Revisiting a deleted topic without any spoilers, just observations:<br /><br />I'm wondering why Alan in his review assumes that the politician Henry Francis is gone for good?<br /> <br />I saw an uneasy, guilty look on Betty's face as she was lying beside Don after the kiss with Francis; I think she went to Rome to steer away from temptation and (perhaps affirm her devotion to Don, if we follow January's idea that Betty really loves Don). <br /> <br />I think a woman in Betty's position could resolve to steer away from temptation, "That's over," then go right back to it, i.e. right back to Mr. Francis. <br /> <br />Francis doesn't appeal to me but maybe to Betty he represents someone more from her world than Don, someone who might be more devoted to her, more reliable perhaps?<br /><br />He's probably the kind of guy her dad had in mind for her, the kind he was referring to when he said "If only you had any idea what was possible," dismissing Don as "this joker." <br /><br />(Though Don's becoming a man of influence, he's still an outsider at heart; seems Betty's dad sensed this and didn't trust him. As someone here commented, he never forgot--or forgave--the gaps in Don's story.)<br /> <br />Similar dynamic: I once had a friend who got dumped by his beautiful fiance. A week before she dumped him, she wished him happy birthday with a banner and cards and gifts all professing her love. I was perplexed 'til someone explained that she was probably over-compensating: she didn't want to admit she was out of love, so she was exaggerating her love, trying to convince herself. <br /> <br />I'm not sure what Betty wants from Francis, but any resolutions she makes to stay away from him are probably, like the trip to Rome itself, guilt inspired attempts to stay committed to her marriage, even as her discontent is so intense it's boiling over the minute she gets back home. <br /> <br />(At the same time, I still think the Rome trip went well and it would have been wise to build on that foundation, but maybe Betty's unhappiness is just too deep, and she doesn't understand her own feelings, so she can't act wisely.)<br /> <br />She's really confused and, given Don's behavior ("No one" on the phone as Betty's going into labor, vibes with the teacher, won't sign a 3 yr contract, all the past infidelities, etc.) and the whole trapped housewife syndrome and all the super impressive skills and attributes that, as Alan points out, are wasted in her suburbs life, she has reason to be confused. <br /> <br />Lighter side: It *was* fun to watch them connect in Rome, and how hot did Betty look in those stockings and--not corset i think but something called a merry widow, like a corset but it goes lower and has a built in garter built. (I wore one to Rocky Horror as a teen.) <br /> <br />Gorgeous, sexy, erotic(!)jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-54414037835983178872009-10-10T18:12:49.952-04:002009-10-10T18:12:49.952-04:00Alan: Got it.Alan: Got it.jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-85631200550774920862009-10-10T14:36:33.084-04:002009-10-10T14:36:33.084-04:00Gudrun's dress was the same as Henry's Sta...Gudrun's dress was the same as Henry's Stay Order from the Governor! Except Betty didn't put out, so no mo stay!<br /><br />And I believe psychiatry used to be considered as a dumping ground for doctors who couldn't cut it. So it makes perfect sense for Greg the Rabbit.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00816879274774125902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-47091350185784214242009-10-10T08:34:04.312-04:002009-10-10T08:34:04.312-04:00Alan:
I posted before I saw your comment.
Subjec...Alan:<br /><br />I posted before I saw your comment.<br /><br />Subject is dropped.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15025782058903139785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-52896248067541721142009-10-10T08:31:11.102-04:002009-10-10T08:31:11.102-04:00Anonymous:
I'm not pushing the results of th...Anonymous: <br /><br />I'm not pushing the results of that study. I was a science major and realize one study doesn't prove much. <br /><br />It was just interesting because of the astounded comments here about the apparently accepted aggressiveness of men in the time period of MadMen (early 1960s) as compared to our times. <br /><br />That's it. No all-encompassing theory of women's choosing of mates throughout time was implied. Just an interesting aside. <br /><br />I don't get the reference to Dick Cheney.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15025782058903139785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-59955710248365374912009-10-10T08:26:19.482-04:002009-10-10T08:26:19.482-04:00And while this isn't technically in the commen...And while this isn't technically in the commenting rules, the discussion of The Pill and breast-feeding has now wandered so far afield of anything having to do with "Mad Men" that I'm going to ask you all to get it back on topic or take the discussion elsewhere, please.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-18677620499104044042009-10-10T08:25:21.636-04:002009-10-10T08:25:21.636-04:00(Is mentioning the preview a spoiler?? Hope not. O...<i>(Is mentioning the preview a spoiler?? Hope not. Okay to delete this if it is.) </i><br /><br />Jenae, go read <a href="http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2009/03/six-simple-rules-for-commenting-on-my.html" rel="nofollow">the commenting rules</a>, which I link to at the end of every one of these reviews. No talking about the previews, ever.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43215516379677556312009-10-10T07:15:31.688-04:002009-10-10T07:15:31.688-04:00julia - you make untold assumptions. this study is...julia - you make untold assumptions. this study isn't about marriage. it's about preference: sexual interest.<br /><br />sexual choice, not a marital contract. <br /><br />and as genetic studies have demonstrated, marriage certainly didn't stop women from having sex with other men after they were married. <br /><br />marriage in various cultures may be arranged - you cannot assume a female chose her husband unless you limit your view to the recent past. <br /><br />but if you want to get your "scientific" info from a rag that is on par with The National Enquirer, knock yourself out. <br /><br />Dick Cheney is also a robot. I saw the picture so I know it's true.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15002546935481144722009-10-10T04:57:54.991-04:002009-10-10T04:57:54.991-04:00Ok, i think i get the Brit study of effects of pil...Ok, i think i get the Brit study of effects of pill controversy; sorry anon, i got your pt. backwards.<br /><br />"...(now) goodnight indeed."jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-68603761886467323622009-10-10T04:38:30.829-04:002009-10-10T04:38:30.829-04:00Anon said:
"When Betty mentions the line abo...Anon said:<br /><br />"When Betty mentions the line about if you don’t have power you delay (Don) gets this look on his face that I took to be, 'what guy laid that line on her?'"<br /><br />Exactly. <br /><br />nite alljenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-23239508522228027872009-10-10T04:21:04.577-04:002009-10-10T04:21:04.577-04:00Anon, I think it's "wham, bam, thank you ...Anon, I think it's "wham, bam, thank you mame."<br /><br />(I tried to follow about Cro-magnon and ovulating, etc., but not sure I get it. Breast feeding ='s not ovulating ='s desire for more reliable men?? So for most of human hist women usually craved reliable men?) <br /><br />(I've never breast fed anyone--and not on any b.c. hormones--but I like reliable men :) <br /><br />Domesticated aggression, sublimated into good lovemaking skills, is best ;) <br /><br />P.S. It's only 1 AM here in CA. It'd be odd indeed to to be posting at 4 in the morning.jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41804172894372701162009-10-10T04:01:20.919-04:002009-10-10T04:01:20.919-04:00Julia, thanks for the real-life account of women o...Julia, thanks for the real-life account of women on the streets in Rome :) <br /><br />I'd say maybe things are different now, but then I think "Berlusconi" (sp?).jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-53690832671372303272009-10-10T03:54:58.214-04:002009-10-10T03:54:58.214-04:00garter *belt*
:)garter *belt*<br /><br />:)jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-22419830713621782492009-10-10T03:51:49.957-04:002009-10-10T03:51:49.957-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-59682846970978997332009-10-10T00:01:01.374-04:002009-10-10T00:01:01.374-04:00Anonymous:
Nothing you said makes any impact on ...Anonymous: <br /><br />Nothing you said makes any impact on how virgins not on the pill would act. Once their choice of husband was made, it was pretty difficult to get out of the marriage.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15025782058903139785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2673741742540396412009-10-09T19:48:43.837-04:002009-10-09T19:48:43.837-04:00the data that I refer to about breast feeding havi...the data that I refer to about breast feeding having THE SAME EFFECT as birth control pills is based upon 1000s of years of actual life on this planet. <br /><br />You can google "natural family planning breastfeeding" and find tons of articles about this history. <br /><br />so, I say the study has nothing to say about females because, in fact, for 1000s and hundreds of thousands of years women would have lived most of their fertile years without ovulating. <br /><br />THAT is the point. <br /><br />That would also mean that for 1000s and hundreds of thousands of years women would have shown a preference for men who were NOT cro-magnon, if this study has any relevance, which I doubt. <br /><br />their children's genetics would reflect this preference as well in respect to phenotypes - over a range of characteristics - not one thing or another. again, based upon real history if it is applied to findings from this study of non-ovulating preference. <br /><br />Women, as genetic studies have also shown, have not been monogamous throughout thousands of years of history as well. (A non-science and friendly explanation of this history is available via Helen Fisher's Anatomy of Love.) So, women who did not just mate with their spouses would, since they were, for most of their adult lives, not ovulating, still have had a preference for males who were not cro-magnon, if the study has any validity, which I question. <br /><br />That's based upon the data provided from the b.c. study - that women who are not ovulating show a preference for one type of man vs another. <br /><br />of course, these same women may have chosen to have sex with a cro-magnon during a window when they were not ovulating, but wouldn't show a preference over the course of their lives. This would mean that women might favor a wham bam thank you Sam for a one night stand but not for a long-term relationship - again, based upon the idea that hormonal changes created by birth control change preference. Because, again, for thousands and thousands of years most women spent most of their fertile years ovulating only a few times over the course of decades because ovulation was naturally suppressed by breast feeding. <br /><br />Yes, there were other ways to avoid pregnancy but, unless a woman was in a wealthy family, she breast fed her children for most of the history of all women in this world and this continues into the present, esp. in less developed nations. <br /><br />If you are talking about female preference and trying to extrapolate from one b.c. study, you cannot simply look at the last 70 years or something like that to then draw conclusions that women would, of course, choose the incredible hulk over Brad Pitt and b.c. has changed that. <br /><br />that's what makes it junky, not worthwhile. <br /><br />in addition, the Daily Mail is a dishrag, not a reputable paper, and anything you get from them should be questioned. It's about as reputable as that paper that used to have pictures of Bat Boy all the time. Entertaining, but bullshit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-16484573370937653402009-10-09T17:52:07.276-04:002009-10-09T17:52:07.276-04:00hi imamarilyn--
re; joan and the job--judging bot...hi imamarilyn--<br /><br />re; joan and the job--judging both from the crestfallen look on her face when harry gave the job to that callow guy (and also ‘cause i listened to the commentary, so I heard I think it was the writer and director's take)--what i saw and what they said was that joan was rather devastated to have the job taken away. <br /><br />Maybe once she felt the enjoyment of having that particular job (it had a feminine angle, soap operas and all)--maybe once she tried it, she realized how much she liked the creativity and appreciation of the clients. the creators had a lot to say about how telling it was that her desire and ability were totally overlooked<br /><br />(seriously hurting my back here; must walk away from PC...)jenaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17454223874257032929noreply@blogger.com