Moment of 1960s culture shock

[yakalskovich]

So, I have been mainlining 'Mad Men' lately, as I already mentioned before, originally entirely out of the wish to look at Christina Hendricks more.

And of course, I have been expecting the usual sexism, racism, misogyny, chauvinism, blatant consumerism etc. and took notice of it when it cropped up, like an anthropologist taking notice of customs she'd read about in books by anthropologists that visited the same tribe before her. The abominable treatment of Rachel Menken in the first episode -- check. Don Draper checking up on the progress of his wife's psychotherapy by phone, with the doctor matter-of-factly telling the husband the wife's innermost thoughts because he is of course entitled -- check. Savaltore Romano being so deep in the closet he even marries some unsuspecting if charming young woman -- check. The bearded beatnik type's having a black girlfriend being of some kind of shock value, and all other black people just being waiters, liftboys, servants etc. -- check. Big huge gas-guzzling monster cars - check. Drinking and smoking at any time and place, even around kids and during pregnancy -- check.

But today, culture shock got me. Bad. I was all 'OMG FFS they can't possibly do this!!11!!!1!! for the first time since starting to watch the series -- and I am on episode 2-07, 'The Gold Violin'. What happened was this:



Don and Betty Draper took their new Caddy for a spin with the kids, and they had a picnic in this idyllic spot. And when they were done, Don pitched his beer can into the general greenery, and Betty just shook out the blanket they'd all sat on, they packed their cooler and the blanket in the car, kids scrambled in (this thing is the size of the Titanic, more or less) and swanned off.

Leaving all sort of wrappers and plastic and stuff (the white bits in this picture) just lying under that ancient tree in that majorly idyllic spot. That shocked me. It really did. I mean, were these people pigs or what? Didn't they even realise if they ever wanted to have another picnic in the same idyllic spot, they' find their own corroded and disgusting refuse? Let alone anybody else?

I guess that was how people did it in the Sixties. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been an entire British children's TV series a bit later that lived entirely on 'Don't litter!' plus some brilliant musical spoofs.

Especially as essayel and I had talked about the five, seven and nine ways of sorting our rubbish in effect in the different places where we live, the traditional Bavarian beer bottle returning system, and the fact that her county council aims to completely abolish any leftover rubbish by 2015, this stark contrast of that upper middle class family (and I am not blaming America! I am sure people did the same in Gevelsberg, Abergavenny or wherever at that time -- she was around as a toddler, I wasn't yet, but my mum and grandma were and did take drives and have picnics) just dumping their stuff in the very place they'd enjoyed moments before, and driving off, really shocked me badly.

Comments

[yakalskovich]

I'm watching it, originally just because of Christina Hendricks, but I have really fallen for the entire concept and mood for the thing.

There are clandestine hopes that arte (the French-German culture channel, publicly funded) will pick it up after all.

And your meta explanation does make sense. Thanks!

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Weiner, of course. I don't know where I got Weinberg.

Season 4 starts in July (25, I think) in the US, and we are all very excited. Not long after the World Cup, too, so great timing!

[yakalskovich]

Eurgh, yes, we get football orcs again this summer...

And I'm looking forward to the fourth season. By then, I will most likely have caught up until the end of season three. I have the next episode open two tabs away from this entry, and will finish it before going to sleep tonight.

Deplorable, though, that rumours have it there won't be more than six seasons. I was hoping they'd do the entire sixties and end with the first man on the moon. I remember that! It would have been cool.-

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Matt's slippery, though. He's really into misdirecting the fans. At this point, given how often he's led us down the garden path, I'm not making assumptions about anything, except that he knows what he's doing.

[yakalskovich]

Well, he might once more put in larger gaps between seasons, or cover more than a year in a season, in order to reach the end of the sixties at the end of the sixth season. But it would be a pity.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Some interesting thoughts and commentary on the episode here: http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2008/09/mad-men-gold-violin-for-man-who-has.html

[yakalskovich]

Thanks!

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Mad Men seems to bring out the best in a lot of online television critics. Alan Sepinwall is one of the best sources for discussions of that show.

The real go-to place, however, is Basket of Kisses, www.lippsisters.com. They had an extremely bizarre incident with their regular AND backup servers (long story short--the guy who had them in his house was arrested for murder), but they're back up now and gearing up for season 4. Roberta and Deborah Lipp aren't officially affiliated with Mad Men or AMC, but the site is so good that it's considered the best, not only by fans, but by the cast and crew of Mad Men itself.

[yakalskovich]

I need a Mad Men icon, but not now.-

Thanks for the links! **bookmarks**

Well, perhaps you can answer my question that I've been sort of asking myself in the back of my head for quite a while: What on God's green earth is that long thin metal thing Joan is always wearing on a long chain around her neck?

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Apparently it's a pen, though I've never seen anything like that in RL.

It's so strange, watching the pilot and realizing that Joan's NOT wearing her pen on a chain. It's her trademark at Sterling Cooper.

[yakalskovich]

A stylised pen, or a real pen to be used?

Sorry, just terribly curious just now.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

http://www.amazon.com/1960s-Vintage-Inspired-Gold-Necklace/dp/B001I4RSQ6

Comments say it can be used as a pen, too, so I guess it really works.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Official AMC blog discussion about The Pen: http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/talk/2008/09/joan-holloway-4.php

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

BTW, spoilers beyond where you've seen after the 2008 comments, so beware of 2009.

[yakalskovich]

I read the episode descriptions in Wikipedia, I know what's going to happen, and that's not the important thing about it all, or why I watch it, anyway. I don't worry about spoilers.-

And thanks for the extensive links. It's fun how those Amazon sellers all but use the 'as worn by Joan on 'Mad Men'' argument for their product.

And I can understand how 'Mad Men' inspires fashion, too. I really like that purple thing with the magenta collar or bib that Joan sometimes wears. The colours are so wonderfully bold.-

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks. I just never know how people will react about spoilers. I'm absolutely stupid about them myself, and it rarely occurs to me that other people might not want to read ahead the way I do. Nice to find someone else who feels that way. : )

Christina looks marvelous in those deep jewel tones, blue and green and red, doesn't she?

[yakalskovich]

Absolutely! That bright red she wore for the lipstick trial session in season 1 (when all the men were ogling from behind the one-way mirror) was remarkable.

This one:

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

What I love is how she's so obviously playing to the camera. She KNOWS they're there.

And then the guys all stand up and salute (a metaphor?). *snerk*

[yakalskovich]

She knows, and she doesn't mind, and she plays them like puppets on strings...

That little doctor she's engaged to is so totally no match for her.