I know, I know, I'm late to the party once again. Madmen, amc's smash hit drama, has been on for three seasons and I just finished watching the first season on DVD. I am riveted by the writing, the themes that are woven so thoroughly and tightly, the characters who make you love and hate them at the same time. As I told my husband somewhere in the middle of Disk 3, "This is everything 'Revolutionary Road' tried to be and failed miserably at."
I have long held a fascination with the 50s/early 60s in America. In fact, I'm writing a screenplay that takes place in 1953, with some of the same themes as Madmen, but with a much younger set of characters in a very different set of circumstances. In contrast to the grim 1960 snapshot of the relationships between men and women at home and at work, my script leaves the reader with a reminder that things have improved since the age of women-as-mannequins to be dressed, used, and discarded as whims of men.
Getting back to Madmen, though, I find its genius lies in the women characters, who seem to change more then the men, and I don't mean costume changes. Though Don Draper is, ostensibly, the main character, the women around him are more dynamic, and carry within them not just the biological eggs to make new life, but the psychological and emotional seeds for change - themselves, their lives, and the fabric of society. Of course, I know that, with hindsight, and I can say to myself, "Men like that had no idea what was coming, those poor bastards."
Watching Betty Draper and Peggy Olson struggle to find their souls and express their sexuality, I care more about them than about Don Draper's sullied past or the existential angst that drives him to cheat on his wife. (I think my favorite episode is #11 Indian Summer, when both Betty and Peggy discover the unintentional benefits of vibrating household appliances and weight-loss gizmos.) Women who take their sexuality or their careers into their own hands are depicted on the fringes of proper society - Don's Beatnik lover Midge, and Rachel, his other lover, the single, Jewish businesswoman who runs a legendary Manhattan department store. I want so much for Joan Holloway, the office manager who makes playing for/with men her business in the work-place, to realize the wasted time, years, and energy she's giving over to "the man hunt." Sadly, I worked with women in an office setting in the early 1990s with very similar life goals. (Just exchange the tight dress and bouffont for pleated, baggy pants and big hairspray.)
The Madmen themselves are practically interchangeable manifestations (forgive the pun) of the Boys' Club, though their individual stories set them slightly apart. Pete Campbell and Don are both occasionally sympathetic, but mainly, we like to hate them because they sexually harass their secretaries, and indeed all women, and cheat on their wives. Pete's wife and his father-in-law emasculate him on a regular basis, which leads us to understand why he's so gung-ho on the job, but he treats people like crap and so it's hard to feel sorry for the guy. Pete's story line becomes more about how he tries to make a man of himself in a world of "manly men," as epitomized by Don Draper. In some way, he's a victim himself of the rigid gender-based expectations of that society.
In Season One there are two brief forays into life as a gay or lesbian in 1960 via Salvatore Romano, the Italian sales exec, and Carol, Joan's roommate and best friend from college. In Sal's case, he's not at all ready to come out of the closet, but Carol comes close in her declaration of love for Joan, which is completely blown off (but I think Joan "got it").
Watching ep after ep, I started to feel depressed. I ate chocolate. What a hopeless world it seemed to be in 1960 if you were a woman (or gay, or Jewish, or Black). The knowledge that things did, in fact, get better, makes it tolerable. In some ways it's like watching a train wreck you just can't tear your eyes from. I'm thinking this might be what the show's creators and writers are going for.
Of course, I've only seen Season One. What happens to Peggy after she has her baby? Does Don turn things around with his home life after watching the Kodak Carousel of his own family photos? Does Betty do it with the aircon salesman? (God I hope they don't kill her off like Kate Winslet in 'Revolutionary Road' - lame.) Does Joan realize her man hunt has been nothing but a ruse to cover up her attraction to Carol? I'll have to wait until Netflix delivers the first disk of Season Two to find out (and then I'll have to go to Hollywood Video to get the rest of Season Two because I just don't want to wait).
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