Why The Latest Season Of Mad Men Blows
Dr. Faye Miller, a marketing psychologist who specializes in figuring out the consumer's hidden motivations, is offering her sympathy to Don Draper for his divorce. "Don't worry, she says, "you'll be married in a year." "What?" he says. "Oh, I'm sorry," she replies, "no one likes to think they're a type."
I tried to switch the channel to A Serbian Film but it hadn't come out yet. I'll accept that Don Draper is a type, but when did he become a caricature of a type? End of Season 3?
Gone are the subtle distinctions between a womanizing bastard who seduces everyone and the womanizing bastard who seduces everyone except certain women because you shouldn't. Gone are any subtleties whatsoever, this is a CBS spinoff about good guys vs. bad guys. (Spoiler: the bad guys are wearing ties.)
Here's a race example: In Season 1 there was was a scene in which young Pete Campbell is trying to get some insight into the African American market by asking the elevator operator a few "innocuous" questions, but the operator ain't going out like that. He knows that any conversation with a white executive can go all kinds of sideways, and he has to trickily be respectful while not saying a damn thing. It's a great scene, discussed from many perspectives all over the internet.
Here's the Season 4 approach to this: four white guys are sitting at a Christmas party, and one says, "if they pass civil rights, it'll be a slippery slope." That's all he says. Get it? White male privilege. Never mind that the phrase "slippery slope" wasn't in popular rotation in the sixties-- it's only there to call to mind its use by the cast of Fox News and The Supreme Court who cry "slippery slope" at every progressive agenda. Got it.
It only gets better, i.e. worse. Here is another guy's immediate response to that comment: "If they pass Medicare, they won't stop until they ban personal property." Because white men are too dumb to embrace Medicare. Ok. But how is that a response to the civil rights comment? Who has conversations like that? Not even the Fox News improv troupe talk in disconnected non-sequitors. "Michael Jordan was the best ever." "I punch animals." "My eyes smell like barbecue!"
And I'll wager a bottle of rum on this: the writers must have thought they were pretty clever when they wrote the Medicare line to be delivered by guy who played the Chief of Staff on ER.
Ooooohhh. I get it. It's post-modern, or something.
White people hating on white people, and its derivatives. An old story, frequently played out on NPR, NYT, or wherever this photo is considered interesting:
I'll help you with the context: the brown stuff at the bottom is Saudi Arabia and the black thing in the middle is Maureen Dowd. No, I'm not kidding. Yes, she is great.
Whites hating whites doesn't mean they like blacks, of course, or Arabs or anyone else. It's all about the hate, that's what drives people, not a love of the oppressed but hatred of "oppressors." If that generates the same outcome I guess it's a viable social policy, but it's hard for me to buy into what leads to cognitive dissonance, as with poor Maureen Dowd: she hates America for what we do to them but hates them for what they do to women. After a night at the Ritz Carlton the solution she comes up with is to agree to the abaya but wear a snorkel at the same time. That'll show 'em.
II.
The often cited draw of Mad Men was its authenticity (uh oh), including character authenticity. The elevator scene shows that Campbell can be ignorant but not malicious-- he thinks he's just getting information, but is reinforcing the social disparity between them. What Campbell asked that elevator operator is on the order of, "hey, what's up with you people and chicken? How can I get you to buy more of it?" which is simultaneously a societal prejudice and a personal observation. That's what makes the scene interesting. Quoting Dave Chappelle: "all this time I thought I liked chicken because it was delicious, turns out I was genetically predisposed to liking it."
Campbell wasn't being purposely demeaning, he was being Campbell, he didn't understand that merely bringing up the question is an act of aggression. That's "show don't tell" writing.
What would have made it very racist (and unbelievable) was if he pretended not to be aware of societal prejudices: "so, tell me... I love chicken... what do you think of chicken...?"
This is where Mad Men is failing. I know racism and sexism are bad, I know they existed, I don't need this show to tell me that. But was every white guy who didn't vote for Kennedy a gigantic POS? I want you to figure out how to show me how a man in the 1960s can simultaneously be a good person yet still think women are inferior; how he can be a womanizing pig who still respects women enough to give one the coveted office. In other words, I want the character depth of Season 1, not an off-Broadway rendition of The Huffington Post.
III.
The examples are endless: the (parody of the) egotistical client who makes demeans the advertisers on purpose, because he can. Do you think he gets inappropriate with one of the oblivious wives who thinks he's funny/charming/handsome, while the husband stares on helplessly? True/False: is cuckolding implied? Yay obvious.
Or the fall down drunk Don Draper who has sex with his wide-eyed secretary who is just so thrilled to be with this sloppy mess, and so surprised that he would dismiss her the next day. "He was too drunk to see the couch and he didn't even pull his pants down, but he did manage to ejaculate before he even got hard, so I'm ordering dinnerware." Hint: this means men are pigs.
The problem with the current season's approach to the characters is it's using them to describe the era, not using the era to describe the characters. I know what happened in the 1960s, I don't know what happened to Peggy. Tell me that. Season 1 Peggy was exploited and exploiting, I couldn't tell if I wanted to strangle her or Campbell and so I was hooked-- what kind of a woman is this? According to Season 4, she's a budding superhero. Are you telling me they had superheros in the 1960s?
The writers of Mad Men owe their responsibility to the characters, that's why people watch the show. When you pass on this responsibility in order to tackle social issues, then you better have something new to say about them, otherwise why do we care? If I want a 3rd grade approach to gender equality, I have Eat Pray Love.
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August 13, 2010 1:02 PM | Posted by : | Reply
You mean I should be happy I have never watched that goddamn TV show because it sucks for the same reasons some people think Ayn Rand's writing sucks? Thanks for making sure I don't waste time on yet another heaping serving of preachy BS.
Score: -3 (15 votes cast)
August 13, 2010 1:37 PM | Posted by : | Reply
Your ability to see things the way they are astounds me. Most shows as they add seasons under their belt lose their edge. Most bands after putting out successful albums lose their muse. Companies after being incredibly successful when small lose their innovation with success.
Is the problem that subconsciously after achieving success, regardless of field, we avoid taking the risks that brought us that success?
Score: 13 (13 votes cast)
August 13, 2010 4:36 PM | Posted by : | Reply
Off topic:
Please, please, please comment on Daphne Merkin's piece in NYT magazine.
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
August 13, 2010 7:04 PM | Posted by : | Reply
loved the parting shot at Eat Pray Love. that shit makes me sick. you know there's a South Park episode Eat Pray Queef. that is some NICE satire right there.
Score: 1 (9 votes cast)
August 13, 2010 7:05 PM | Posted, in reply to , by : | Reply
merkin...hehe snicker...
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
August 13, 2010 11:43 PM | Posted by : | Reply
I have to disagree with your take on the current season, especially since it has only been three episodes and Mad Men has an interesting pace. In the three episodes we have whipped through quite a bit of time at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and we see Don in a position of great vulnerability. I like to think that this season will show some transformation in him, since he's once again playing the role of a man who has to build an identity from scratch. That's how I see it, and I'm sitting back and calmly awaiting it.
As for the Pete Campbell thing...that was last season, not season one. I know you wanted to demonstrate a decline in writing over three years, but the length of said decline was only one.
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
August 14, 2010 5:53 AM | Posted by : | Reply
I don't even watch Mad Men, but this post is a riot. Nice work, TLP.
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
August 14, 2010 12:20 PM | Posted by : | Reply
I love reading Daphne Merkin's writing about psychiatrists because I am one. And also a patient. 'Nuf said about that.
Every brilliant TV show goes insipid after its 2nd year. Sad.
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
August 14, 2010 12:53 PM | Posted by : | Reply
Even the best shows risk turning into a cliche hell as they age. I guess the writers and producers just lose interest.
Law & Order is another glaring example. Watching some of the later episodes, I could picture the creative process taking place. "Sigh... What should we write about THIS time? Stem-cell research is a hot topic, right? What are people saying about it? There's our dialogue. Plot? Well duh! Someone dies, the police investigate and the prosecutors prosecute."
I do realize this is what many people want. They get upset when the ambassador of their cause, condition, religion etc. is being portrayed as anything less than a hero. Take the Cold Case episode One Night for example. After it aired there were a bunch of angry comments on various boards and review sites from people with MS complaining how the disease was misrepresented.
Most of my favorites shows tackle social issues, one way or another, but once it becomes a spokesperson for anything, I stop watching. Period.
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
August 14, 2010 3:52 PM | Posted by : | Reply
Wow, great points. I totally see how the characters have collapsed into types.And you've put into words something I felt but couldn't articulate, "using the era to describe the characters." Of course that's why we were watching the show, but when I'm talking with my friends we're relying on them to help us understand the era, and it only works because they were so well described.
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
August 14, 2010 7:35 PM | Posted, in reply to , by : | Reply
Meh, I skipped it. It seems like such a self-absorbed topic, not just on the part of Merkin, but on the part of the Times itself. It's a big world out there, and there are more interesting and important things going on than Frank Bruni's history of eating disorders or Daphne Merkin's history of -- whatever has kept her in psychotherapy for decades. I'd rather read about what's happening outside of the heads of Times writers.
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
August 14, 2010 8:00 PM | Posted by : | Reply
You're my favorite woman-forward antifeminist. I mean that with the deepest fraternal affection.
Score: 5 (9 votes cast)
August 15, 2010 12:19 AM | Posted by : | Reply
I forgot to say that I hate myself.
Score: -2 (4 votes cast)
August 15, 2010 2:40 AM | Posted by : | Reply
Like the previous comment noted, your Pete Campbell example is from last season. In other words, by virtue of your own example, the quality of the show has been consistent. Up until this season, of course, but then we're only three episodes in (even though your examples are only two episodes in).
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
August 15, 2010 12:23 PM | Posted by : | Reply
You should analyze Breaking Bad sometime.
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
August 15, 2010 8:56 PM | Posted by : | Reply
What would have made it very racist (and unbelievable) was if he pretended not to be aware of societal prejudices: "so, tell me... I love chicken... what do you think of chicken...?"
That kind of writing won Crash the Oscar, so...
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
August 15, 2010 9:58 PM | Posted by : | Reply
Good read. I loved the Dave Chappelle clip.
You seem very angry in this post.
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
August 16, 2010 4:24 AM | Posted by : | Reply
Mad Men has always been pants.
Nice use of Wittgenstein in the title. Is that German or Austrian ;)
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
August 18, 2010 4:51 AM | Posted, in reply to , by : | Reply
With the exception of The Sopranos. Of course.
Score: 1 (3 votes cast)
August 26, 2010 10:18 AM | Posted by : | Reply
That's strange, I have been enjoying season 3 for exactly the reasons you are dismissive.
I thought the recent episode about Honda was an amazing show not tell moment of demonstrating how the generational divide that created the cultural revolution of the 1960's came about.
I also thought the scenes with Sally Draper becoming even more troubled and disruptive due to her parents selfishness were amazing.
It's interesting to read such a different perspective and i look forward to following your posts as the season progresses.
Score: 1 (3 votes cast)
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June 15, 2011 8:20 PM | Posted by : | Reply
"Never mind that the phrase "slippery slope" wasn't in popular rotation in the sixties" - Well I don't know what 'in the popular rotation' is supposed to mean (a 'get out of falsification free' card, perhaps?) but 'slippery slope' has been in use since at least Cornford's Microcosmographia Academica in 1908.
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
August 22, 2011 10:59 PM | Posted by : | Reply
are you referring to this scene? this is season 3 episode 5 ? http://youtu.be/h22LlfL35ew
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