Mad Men is the New Sex and the City

Once upon a time, when it was still considered de rigueur to append "...and the City" to just about any word or phrase (in an effort to borrow a whiff of hipness from that certain ubiquitous HBO Original Series and its foursome of archetypal female characters), women everywhere donned five-inch heels, ordered pink cocktails in oversized martini glasses and turned to their girlfriends at Tao to ask, "So, which "Sex and The City" girl are YOU?"

I won't lie to you: I worshiped at the altar of Sex and the City, as much as anyone else. I saw each episode multiple times. I was first on line to see the movie when it came out. I totally "got" why Carrie kept going back to Big, and I knew I was "a Carrie" even before Facebook, iVillage, and just about every woman's magazine, confirmed it.

But Carrie wore a suit to her wedding. And Charlotte married the bald guy and converted to Judaism. Miranda moved to Brooklyn, and Samantha doesn't even live in "The City" anymore. Are you really going to make me be the one to say this?

It is with a heavy heart that I hereby pronounce Sex and the City: over. So over, in fact, that we need "a new word for over" (to paraphrase Carrie...for perhaps the very last time ever).

But even as I now propose a ban on any further tacking of "...and the City" onto the tail end of any word or phrase going forward (can we please agree to that?), we need not despair for lack of televised "sex" and "the city" (calm down...it's okay in this case because I used quotation marks to separate the "sex" from "the city"), or for lack of female television characters with whom we can play the "Which One Are You" game.

Fortunately, we have AMC's original series, "Mad Men" to fill the void.

Mad Men takes place in and around the New York City of the early 1960s, which is to say that it takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far far away that knew nothing of women's liberation, political correctness or, seemingly, sexual harassment lawsuits. As a result, there is, arguably, even more sex in the New York City in which Mad Men is set than there ever was in Sex and the City. More importantly, with Mad Men's fresh set of compelling female characters, women everywhere can finally cease asking, "Are you a Carrie, a Miranda, a Charlotte or a Samantha" for the eleven-billionth time and, at long last, ask this brand new question:

Are you a Betty? A Peggy? Or a Joan?

Let's take a look, shall we?

Betty:

Betty Draper (played by January Jones) is a 30-year old housewife and mother of two young children. A dead ringer for Grace Kelly, Betty lived the glamorous life as a model in Manhattan before she met her dashingly handsome husband, Donald (played by Jon Hamm), who swept her off her feet and into a house in the suburbs. Betty is protective of her children (as much as a chain-smoking woman in the 1960's can be, without the benefit of car seats or a modern-day understanding that the problem with children playing with dry-cleaning bags isn't that your clothes end up on the floor but that your children might end up suffocating). She always makes sure to have a delicious, nutritious dinner on the table each night, which she always manages to serve wearing some crinoline-skirted shirt-dress that displays her slender waist. Betty tolerates Don's secrets (after years of marriage, he still has not told her anything significant about his shadowy, apparently Appalachian past, including his real name, which is Dick Whitman). And she stoically pretends not to see the signs of his obvious philandering, as if this were part of the marriage contract. Indeed, when her friend and neighbor, Francine, cries to her that she has discovered that her own husband is unfaithful, Betty suggests to Francine that perhaps she (too) can pretend not to know.

So, Betty drank the Kool-Aid, but that doesn't keep the deceptively deep, Bryn Mawr-educated beauty from feeling isolated and empty. Her nagging dissatisfaction sneaks up on her in the form of psychosomatic finger-paralysis, inexplicable crying jags, and inappropriate interactions with nine-year old boys, door-to-door salesmen and auto mechanics. In short, Betty is an intelligent, beautiful, and once-successful career woman who "gave it all up" for the dream of a picturesque family, only to find herself sorely disappointed by the reality and unable to do anything about it (at least for the time being).

If you're still not quite over Sex and The City, you might want to think of Betty as what Charlotte York might have been had she come of age in the late 1950's/early 1960's. If you used to be a "Charlotte", then perhaps you are now a "Betty".

Joan:

Joan Holloway (played by Christina Hendricks), is the office manager of Sterling Cooper, the fictional Madison Avenue advertising agency at which Donald Draper is the Creative Director. Joan's dearest dream is to get married and move to the suburbs. But Joan has made it into her early 30's without having managed to do so. It's not that Joan isn't beautiful or intelligent and accomplished. In fact, Joan is a ravishingly sexy redhead who runs the office with a unique savvy that belies an innate understanding of how men really think and what men really want. Unfortunately, in her hunt for a husband, Joan has made one terrible strategic error: Joan has fallen in love with an unavailable man. A married man. A married man who has no plans to leave his wife. Joan's enduring love for Roger Sterling (one of the founders of Sterling Cooper and a grey-haired fox played by John Slattery) has rendered her seemingly unable to form a lasting and satisfying relationship with any other man, let alone any available man.

Shades of Carrie and Big? Indeed. You might view Joan's life as what Carrie's would have been had she been born in 1930. If you used to be a "Carrie", then perhaps you are now a "Joan".

Peggy:

Peggy Olson (played by Elisabeth Moss) is a career woman. She is only 22, but she knows exactly what she wants, and what she wants is to get ahead in business. In less than a year at "Sterling Coop", Peggy advanced from "freshman girl in the typing pool" to junior copywriter. Notwithstanding some off-kilter advice from Joan on Peggy's first day at work that led Peggy to believe that she might have to sleep her way to the top, Peggy quickly ascertained that the only way to advance in this man's man's man's world is to be very very very good at her job.

That said, Peggy did make a couple of tactical errors early on in the game, one of which became immediately irrelevant (an awkward play for Don) and one of which will likely haunt her for a long time to come: Peggy slept with Pete Campbell, a then-engaged, now-married account exec and found herself pregnant with his child. He doesn't know this yet, since Peggy spent her entire pregnancy in absolute denial, coming to terms with the pregnancy only on the day she gave birth. Everyone in the office thought she had simply gotten fat (as, apparently, did she). Peggy's child, now a toddler, is cared for in Brooklyn by her uber-religious mother and her already put-upon sister. As for Peggy, she went back to work after a few months off. The guys at work take note of the fact that since Peggy returned from her (unexplained) time off, her career seems "charmed". And perhaps it is.

Sound like a certain red-headed lawyer with an out-of-wedlock child? Perhaps if Sex and the City's Miranda Hobbes had been born in the first half of the twentieth century, her name would have been "Peggy", and she too would have made a few mistakes on her way to the top of her field and motherhood. If you identified with Miranda, then perhaps you can now call yourself a "Peggy".

But What About Samantha?

For better or for worse, there is no one character on Mad Men who can take the place of Sex and the City's sexually-liberated Samantha. Back in SATC's heyday, there were those who believed that the character of Samantha was modeled not on any female or female archetype, but on the fantasy of a hedonistic gay man. Whether or not that was the case, the "Samantha" of Mad Men would have to be any or all of the sexually voracious, hard-drinking men who inhabit the offices of Sterling Cooper.

So, if you are one of the few women out there who can actually say that you identified with Samantha during the Sex and the City years, then you probably are neither a Betty, a Joan nor a Peggy, but a Don, a Roger or a Pete, or any of the other "Mad Men" in the office.

So, there you have it. Sex and the City, rewound to the early 1960's, plus a whole new "Which One Are You" game. If you can play it while drinking Scotch/rocks or a Vodka Gimlet (it's time to step away from the Cosmo), then you're doing just fine.

Now, if we can just put a stop to all further use of the phrases "Mad for Mad Men" and "Mad About Mad Men" and the like, before things get out of hand...

Comments

[rowzeer]

The women on "Sex and the City" always did seem a bit pretentious.

[rowzeer]

On "Entourage" the guys reveal their inner most thoughts and offer each other advice albeit not very wise advice. The relationships between the four make the show...just like "Sex and the City"

[Sportswoman]

This show is written through the prism of the early 60s and if you didn't live it, it's hard to explain the morality of the times. Dads were supposed to come home and adminster punishment. The women are victims of the era and cannot be faulted for much that they do given their constraints. Expectations were heavily placed on men as breadwinners. No wonder they drink and smoke so much!
There is a bit of the Sloan Wilson role modeling here, so I disagree that Sex in the City plays any role in comparison. Different era, different occupational hazards.

[CKieffer]

I don't get a sense of Joan carrying any torch for Sterling in any way other than affection for a previous lover. In fact, my sense was he wanted to put her in a box and she refused - - remember the bird he gave her and how much she resented having something rely on her? She is an interesting blend of savvy/astute/manipulative and yet, she completely limits herself based on society's parameters. However, it is the tools that society says she can use; that she does use to their fullest. Peggy meanwhile, does just the opposite. She questions the tools themselves.

Betty's repression is mirrored by Don; they both reflect dissatisfaction -satisfaction wrapped in self-destructive patterns and yet, their image would imply just the opposite.

All in all, many of the characters rail against the tight boundaries of that time in society.

As for comparing SATC to MM - - apples and oranges. I find MM much more interesting with multi-faceted nuances.

*Kudos to catching that hilarious moment with the dry-cleaning bag.

[ptillen]

I agree with you about Joan and her relationship with Sterling. Seemingly, after Cooper told her "don't waste your youth on age" at the end of last season, she came to her senses, and is now completely acting in her own best interests. That's why I think she is much more comparable to Samantha than to Carrie. Never carried (pardon the pun) away by her emotions, always in complete control of herself and her situations, always willing and able to use her considerable physical charms and formidable brains to get what she needs and wants.
I think if Joan were living in this era, the corporation would be called "Sterling Cooper Holloway"..."Holloway and Draper"...or perhaps "Holloway and Associates". Her frustration stems from the fact that she's always by far the smartest person in the room (usually the most beautiful, too) and she knows it.

[Lauren Cahn - Huffpost Blogger]

Holloway and Associates! YES!!!! ABSOLUTELY!!! I love it!

[Charity]

excellent column. i loved "sex" and now "mad..." i think you've nailed the comparison of characters. whenever i watch "mad men" i don't particular identify with any character since if i go back to that time, i am one of the children characters about 11, 12, 13 years old (as the series progresses). however, i knew almost all of these adult characters at one time or another as i grew up in the 50s and 60s and entered the work force in the late 60s/early 70s.

the "unmarried woman" stigma was real but worst of all was "the unwed mother" - there were "homes" for unwed mothers. in florida, we had the florence crittenden home for unwed mothers.

no one on this board may recall the abortion "scandal" that rocked the country in 1962 of sherri finkbine. i was 14 years old, impressionable, and mrs. finkbine's case was all over the newspapers and TV. she had taken thalidomide, a drug given to women to curb morning sickness (and as a tranq, also, i believe). soon women began having deformed babies - no arms, legs, flipper arms. when mrs. finkbine realized she'd taken thalidomide she was supposed to get a hospital abortion, but it was later withdrawn because she was a celebrity - she was the local romper room lady. long story short, she flew to sweden for a legal abortion but the ensuing publicity quite nearly ruined her and her family's life.

peggy in denial is completely plausible given the

[langstonhughesfan]

Only one problem...None of the women on Mad Men are the least bit likeable--only Joan comes close to being at least a woman who is true to herself, even though she too lacks a moral center. I love Mad Men and watch religiously, but I do so not really LIKING any of the characters. I was a huge SATC fan, and while those four women were certainly flawed, they each had many redeeming qualities. I have yet to figure out anything to admire about Betty. A good mom? Not really. Yes, she puts food on the table but is always quick to let her little girl know not to eat too much of it. She calls her young son a liar and demands Don beat him. Joan? Yes, she's powerful in her own way, but she has definitely settled for being either a mistress of Sterling or the unhappy date of men she does not love. She is at least entertaining. And Peggy??? The worst of them all. Nothing redeeming about her whatsoever. She slept with married, oily Pete, had his baby, barely acknowledges same baby, and is a total climber. Yes, Miranda's pregnancy on SATC was unplanned and she was a reluctant mother, but she came through in the end, moved to Brooklyn for Brady, and sucked it up. Redemption. For Peggy, there is no such redemption. Even the young priest--so far--has not been able to reach her.

[Veronica]

It's beyond me how you could watch Betty last season, holding Glenn's hand through the car window with tears in her eyes and think she is completely unsympathetic. She gave into a lonely, strange little boy's request for a lock of her hair out of nothing but an overwhelming sense of empathy. Is she uptight about Sally's weight? Yes. Does she come from a completely different time with completely different values? Um, duh. And no, she did not demand that Don "beat" their son. WTH? She thought he should be punished for lying. Yes, she overreacted, but that doesn't make her a bad mother!

Are we even watching the same show? I don't understand this urge to judge other women, whether they be real life or characters in a TV show, from a perch of inexplicable self-righteousness.

As for SATC, what in god's name is redeeming about the disgusting, materialistic, money-grubbing, selfish Carrie? Retch. Charlotte and Miranda had their redeeming qualities, even Samantha at times, but Carrie was revolting. And she was the "star." That says plenty about SATC. That agressively shallow show can't hold a candle to Mad Men on any level. Honestly, I don't even see the comparison.

[langstonhughesfan]

Wow...I said I liked Mad Men a lot! And as for being self-righteous, take a look at your own comments about the SATC women. Look, they're both good shows and I am a great fan of each. Of course the values and choices were different for women during the 1960s which is why the show is so interesting. However, even in those very different times, I would like there to be ONE character that I can cheer for without reservation--even if they are flawed. I've yet to discover who exactly is the hero of this show. Which characters are making brave choices in their lives? I'm really not sure, but there's still much to discover and the journey is fascinating. And for the record, I too found Carrie infuriating at times, and I actually cheered for AIDAN when they broke up! He deserved better.

But back to the issue at hand, what I am saying is that Mad Men cannot REPLACE SATC. This doesn't mean one is better than the other, in my opinion. They are not parallel in structure and are just completely different experiences. That's all I was trying to say. Sheesh!

[imfedup]

I have to disagree with you on many levels. I have said that if a man needs a primer on women, how they think, and what they go through, they should watch every episode of SATC. These women are in NYC, and that colors their experiences and their behavior. However, they deal with most all of the universal issues women have to deal with. Unfortunately, most men I've watched it with are so put off by how sexually active the women are they they can't enjoy it with me. I think they are thinking I advocate the bed hopping and identify with these women sexually. The former isn't true, but the latter is.

[langstonhughesfan]

Continued:

So, while I love both shows immensely, I see very little connection between them. What I have marveled at with Mad Men is the fact that, again, NOBODY is likeable, but they are amazingly interesting. It's a great show, but it in no way replaces SATC.

[Lauren Cahn - Huffpost Blogger]

I didn't like the SATC women so much either though...As much as I identified with Carrie, there were times she made me want to tear my hair out. And Samantha disgusted me. Miranda annoyed me because she was always a lesbian in hetero clothing - I wanted her to come out, and of course she never did...except in REAL life. And Charlotte was very much a caricature of a certain type of woman, one who would never marry a bald Jewish man and raise a Chinese daughter. The unreality of it all annoyed me most of all...although apparently I LOVE to be annoyed because I was a HUGE fan!

The women on Mad Men are tragically realistic, I think.

[imfedup]

I was (am) a HUGE SATC fan, and I think Carrie is a totally self-absorbed character. I just saw three re-runs last night, and one was the one where Brady won't stop crying and Samantha gives Miranda her hair appointment. Carrie, on the other hand, is obsessing about what Aidan thinks of her long after their breakup because of Nina Katz's "face." Miranda is losing her mind with a demanding career and baby, and Carrie is thinking, as usual, that everyone's most dire concern is with her. So yeah, she makes me want to tear my hair out too.

I'm loving Mad Men, but you're right that there is really no female hero. Peggy may become one because she has made her mistakes, and now she is starting to grow some balls. I'm enjoying watching her learn to manipulate just like the men do. Given the constraints women faced in those days, all of these women are making their own ways and learning to get what they want. I am going to be very interested to see where they take the Betty character. She's starting to evolve a little too.