Is Mad Men a Feminist Show?

Before we go too far with the Don Draper suits sold at Banana Republic in anticipation of season three of Mad Men we might want to ask a question or two about just why the womanizing, heavy-drinking, chain smoker is any kind of role model and what our obsession with the show says about gender roles in 2009.

When I sat down with my Wesleyan classmate Matt Weiner, creator of the show, to write "Seven Deadly Sins" for our alumni magazine, he reminded me that he spent his college years as a poet studying under the watchful eye of Franklin Reeve (father of Christopher) and was particularly taken with feminist canon. He even recounted moderating an all-campus debate between feminists on the topic of pornography (if you want to hear Weiner tell the very funny story listen here and scroll to the bottom of the page).

As it turns out the creator of Mad Men views his show as a feminist show exactly because of its painfully accurate portrayal of the treatment of women in the workplace in the early 1960s. Weiner told me the highest praise he ever gets is when a woman approaches him after a public appearance to say she was a secretary during that era that era and the show got the sexual harassment exactly right. They always thank him for putting a spotlight on what really happened.

But what makes the rest of us watch so intently? As the show has progressed, the female characters have in fact become stronger and stronger despite the abuse. It's relatively easy to root for Peggy as she breaks the glass ceiling, Betty as she slowly gains her footing and even Joan as she beats the men at their own game. Why the obsession with Don? He is lying about even his own name and hasn't seen a woman he doesn't feel obliged to sleep with.

Weiner told me that the way he writes the script he is never thinking about the male characters say, its what they are not saying that drives the plot forward -- a remarkable concession for a man who obviously is fastidious about everything on the show and has been widely praised for his dialogue. Don is certainly cool-looking in his period get-up but my theory is that the attraction is what we see in his eyes while he delivers those lines in his snappy clothes.

We desperately want Don to tell the truth about himself even while we know he never will. As guys in 2009 we are trying to deal with economic depression, foreign war, and the increased expectations as husbands and fathers. We see in Don's eyes the deer in the headlights that is the male experience not just in 1960. From Wall Street to the streets of Detroit we can relate to the contradictory worlds and the attempt to hold together worlds in collision that Weiner shows us through his leading man.

What makes the show tick is our sense that it's realistically portraying something important about the treatment of women at a certain point in the past while portraying something equally important about men today. We are trapped. We just didn't get to wear clothes as cool as Don Draper (until now).

Follow Tom Matlack on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@tmatlack

Comments

[CLNX]

Great commentary, thanks. You should follow this up with detailed analysis of last season, specifically the changes in the characters you mention.

[klondiker]

Wonderful commentary! Telling the truth about history is one of the purely feminist things you can do.

[Michael Rowe - Huffpost Blogger]

What an extraordinary, insightful pop culture post. I concur completely.

[Tom Matlack - Huffpost Blogger]

Many thanks Michael. I don't know about all that but appreciate your reading my post! Tom

[ritz]

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

While I was alive during the time, I was a child and didn't directly experience the 50's/60's culture seen here. There are several young women (20's) that I know who are FLOORED by the sexism. Mia (above) is right, they had no idea.

This show gives the feminist movement context. It's visceral. I love it for that.

AMC must do everything it can to promote this series. It's head and shoulders above anything else on the air. The quality of the writing, art direction, acting -- it's breathtaking some weeks. I hope their promotion garners some interest, and a larger audience.

HBO must be crying. I hope someone got their hat handed to them over that decision!

[sjones66]

Because meanwhile, back at patriarchal HBO, they are running "Hung' about a guy whose thing is all that and saves him. Wow, that's fresh. We really needed another series about boys who refuse to grow up and in their magical world, all women fall at their feet when they whip out their special thing. And all of the women are either self-esteemless needy worshippers or manipulative witches. I know, you've only seen this movie 800 times this year.

Kinda like Rescue Me, except without the great acting and the great writing.

[GatorGrrrl]

Hung actually has a feminist theme too. The most compelling character is his bug eyed pimp and she's a marvel. I've only seen the first 2 shows so far but I can already tell the main character is soon learning that his tool is just about the last part of sexuality, that there so much more to pleasing a woman.

[mia8485]

My mother worked before and after she got married in 1960. Every time we talk about our favorite show, Mad Men, she always comments about how absolutely spot on Mr. Weiner gets every single thing in his show. Particularly how badly women were treated in the workplace.

Young women coming of age today have no idea. Mad Men can be a terrific history lesson.

[phlashba]

Whatever it is, Weiner gets it. I have never seen a period in time portrayed with such painstaking authenticity. It's the gift of a time machine. I LOVE IT!