Bookshelf Battle

REPEAT – SPOILERS AND PREDICTIONS

Mad Men.  It’s a historical drama at a time when history doesn’t translate well into big bucks, yet somehow it’s stayed afloat since 2007.

I picked it up around 2010 and have been a fan ever since.

Sometimes I wonder why.  Here’s a breakdown of the show:

DON:  Business business?

PETE:  Business!

ROGER:  Play play! Who cares about business?!

DON:  Business schmizness!  Women!

PETE:  Family?

DON:  WOMEN!

PETE:  Yes.  Women.

ROGER:  Me three women!

VARIOUS OTHER ADMEN:  Did you business up the business?

DON:  Business business.

PETE:  60’s reference.  Business.

PEGGY:  Women should get to be in business too!

JOAN:  Hot women should also get to do business!

PEGGY:  Say, what’s that supposed to mean!  I thought we were in this together!

In other words, the advertising deals these “Advertising Men of Madison Avenue” or “Mad Men” make are half the story line, yet I just don’t have the strength to follow who messed up the Sunkist account, or who’s pitching a proposal to General Motors or who made some executive at Phillip Morris angry it’s like…come on.

On the other hand, often the business talk is just a setup to discuss historical issues, explain how things today got the way they are, and have the characters interact with one another, often in sad ways.

DON DRAPER – As the series leading man, Draper (Jon Hamm) does horrible things, yet you usually end up feeling sorry for him.  He cheats on first wife, Betty and loses her.  He remarries second wife, Megan, an aspiring actress and at that point you’d think he has it all but he just can’t stop cheating.

You (ok let me stop saying ‘you’ because I don’t know what you think.)

I don’t approve of Don’s behavior, but the show takes us inside his mind and ever so subtly explains why he’s such a notorious philanderer, who can’t stop himself even though he actually wants to.

It’s all about life, or rather, the fact that it’s in short supply.  Don grew up in “a house of ill repute” the son of a random lady of the evening.  No one wanted him.  His life pretty much sucked.

Flash forward years later (and after some chicanery in the service that we won’t mention) he’s a big shot ad executive, raking in money hand over fist, hobnobbing with rich and powerful people.

His first wife Betty (January Jones) is beautiful and would make most men happy.  And true enough, Don loves her and his kids but – life!  It’s like there’s this little voice that tells him “It’s all going to stop any minute, better scoop up all the women you can!”

So he does.  He gives in.  Then he feels bad because the dalliances are fleeting and meaningless.  Depressed and lonely, he searches for another relationship only to ruin that when he cheats again!  He’s constantly torn between the “get as much drinking and partying and womanizing I can before I’m dead” vs. “Gee I’m lonely I sure wish my family didn’t hate me so I could spend time with them.”

Food for thought – we all say we’d never be a Don.  Keep in mind though, there are few Dons in the world.  You don’t know what you’d do if women were constantly flinging themselves at you.  In Don’s defense, it’s kind of like he just walks outside in the morning and has women rain down on him.

So that’s what I learned from Don – that we need to balance the need to live life to the fullest vs. the need to live life on a day to day basis.

BETTY DRAPER (AND LATER, FRANCIS) – Forget the history text books and documentaries, everything you need to know about the women’s right movement you can learn from watching Betty.

Betty isn’t without faults but she’s a top notch wife.  I wouldn’t mind a Betty.  When Don cheats, you, as the viewer realize the predicament 1960’s women found themselves in:

A)  They’re unemployed and have no money, so they can’t hire a lawyer.

B)  Therefore, they can get divorced if they want, but losing the man=loss of only source of financial support.

C)  Since man has the money, he’ll hire a lawyer and therefore present a better case ending up with him getting the kids (which he’ll probably just have a maid watch them because back then it was ok to just hire a random lady to watch your kid for 3 bucks an hour).

D)  Woman’s choices are 1) Remain in bad marriage, be a cheated on doormat 2) Leave, lose your kids and be destitute or

E)  3)  Find another man!  That was Betty’s only option.  She found Francis, an older man who treated her better.  Betty basically moves from being supported by Don to being supported by Francis.  He’s a better husband by far, but had he not come along she probably would have just had to put up with being cheated on till the end of time.

You heard it here first.  You can learn everything about the history women’s rights by watching Betty

PREDICTIONS (AND SPOILERS)  – Betty’s dying.  Sigh.  Has to end on a sad note.  Don, after working his whole life to finally get to the top of the ad man game, walked out of a big meeting, putting his career on the line to go on some kind of odd existential cross country road trip.

I assume this means that after Betty passes, he’ll collect his sons and raise them in his retirement, finally realizing that it’s better to put permanent family over fleeting fancy.

Then again, he might stick them in an orphanage because he’s kind of an ass.

Personally, I think they should have a flash forward to the 90’s where all the Mad Men are old as dirt, say, “Internet advertising?  That’ll never take off!” and then they all croak.

Thanks Mad Men.  It’s been interesting.