Other than Don, Joan seems to be the adult dealing with the most tragedies so far. Dr. Harris's imminent departure is shattering enough on its own, but it's also bringing other trouble spots to light - namely, that she has no real friends in her life, and she's aging out of the classy sexpot role she lived in for so long. And all of these troubles make her especially vulnerable to the ugly sexism of one Joey Baird.
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| Believe me, using the word "ugly" wasn't easy. |
Of the two infractions Joey committed in this week's episode - drawing a dirty picture of Joan and Lane, and accusing Joan of "walking around like [she's] trying to get raped" - the comments were clearly more disturbing. The fact that we saw Joan actually get raped two seasons ago doesn't have anything to do with it; throwing a woman's sexuality in her face, and essentially victim-blaming, is revolting, cruel, and hateful. And, in keeping with the darkened mood of these episodes, it's quite a departure from the portrayal of sexism we're used to from Mad Men.
Honestly, until this year you could've accused the show of soft-pedaling the sexism issue. The way Sterling Cooper men treated and talked about women was of the "oh, that's just how things were then" variety. Most of Roger's inappropriate comments are said with a cavalier and jovial air that immediately de-barbs them and makes them funny, not hateful. (More on Roger in a little.) The young ad men and the women they're with always seemed to be having fun. Whether it was sitting on Kenny and his haircut's lap or being chased around the bullpen during election night, there was a general "boys will be boys and isn't it fun" attitude that made it harmless and almost cute. When Don finger rapes a woman in the hallway, he's basically let off the hook because a) she forgives him, and b) it turns out she likes being forcefully dominated. The only other woman he gets violent with, and whom he calls a whore, is his wife - who happens to be the most despised character on the show.
With Joey's cruelty and hatred laid bare like it was, Mad Men made a bold move. Joey has been a lovable, scrawnily attractive little scruff all season and I can't think of a person who disliked him until this episode (in fact, I'd heard him referred to as a muffin at least twice). It would've been easy to give him the same casual sexism as the other boys in seasons past - Don even marks it as such at first, going so far as to say "boys will be boys." It also would have been easy to just let him be the younger man who doesn't see Joan's appeal, because of the generational difference. For a while - particularly in the last two episodes - it seemed as though that's where he was going to stay. He mentions his mother wearing a pen as a necklace "so people would stare at her tits," which strips all of the glamour and sexiness away from Joan's dress sense; and in the previous episode, he refuses to clean up his office at Joan's request because he's "not a janitor."
Instead of playing it safe, though, they give him some of the nastiest dialogue Mad Men has ever used, giving us a jolt akin to seeing Roger in blackface.
A jolt that forces the audience to realize that this isn't "just" being ignorant, or not being able to think of women as equals in the workplace because "that's just how it was." This is active hatred of women. This can't be ignored or explained away. It's just hatred, and it's ugly. It was a bold move, and a commendable one.
I'm very curious to see what the lasting consequences of this episode will be. Peggy nipped the Joey situation in the bud by firing him, a move which established her authority but alienated Joan, but it will be interesting to see how the other men in Creative treat both women from now on. Whatever the case, I have a lot of faith in this show. Ill-advised voice-over aside...
Honestly, until this year you could've accused the show of soft-pedaling the sexism issue. The way Sterling Cooper men treated and talked about women was of the "oh, that's just how things were then" variety. Most of Roger's inappropriate comments are said with a cavalier and jovial air that immediately de-barbs them and makes them funny, not hateful. (More on Roger in a little.) The young ad men and the women they're with always seemed to be having fun. Whether it was sitting on Kenny and his haircut's lap or being chased around the bullpen during election night, there was a general "boys will be boys and isn't it fun" attitude that made it harmless and almost cute. When Don finger rapes a woman in the hallway, he's basically let off the hook because a) she forgives him, and b) it turns out she likes being forcefully dominated. The only other woman he gets violent with, and whom he calls a whore, is his wife - who happens to be the most despised character on the show.
With Joey's cruelty and hatred laid bare like it was, Mad Men made a bold move. Joey has been a lovable, scrawnily attractive little scruff all season and I can't think of a person who disliked him until this episode (in fact, I'd heard him referred to as a muffin at least twice). It would've been easy to give him the same casual sexism as the other boys in seasons past - Don even marks it as such at first, going so far as to say "boys will be boys." It also would have been easy to just let him be the younger man who doesn't see Joan's appeal, because of the generational difference. For a while - particularly in the last two episodes - it seemed as though that's where he was going to stay. He mentions his mother wearing a pen as a necklace "so people would stare at her tits," which strips all of the glamour and sexiness away from Joan's dress sense; and in the previous episode, he refuses to clean up his office at Joan's request because he's "not a janitor."
Instead of playing it safe, though, they give him some of the nastiest dialogue Mad Men has ever used, giving us a jolt akin to seeing Roger in blackface.
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| Record scratch... |
I'm very curious to see what the lasting consequences of this episode will be. Peggy nipped the Joey situation in the bud by firing him, a move which established her authority but alienated Joan, but it will be interesting to see how the other men in Creative treat both women from now on. Whatever the case, I have a lot of faith in this show. Ill-advised voice-over aside...
It should be noted that Jezebel calls "Dr. Harris" (if you can really call him a doctor) "Doctor Rapist", which I think is entirely more accurate. Poor Joanie. But yes, you're correct, there was a total lack of confidence in all females, except for possessing gifts for back-of-the-taxi sexy times.
ReplyDeleteW.R.T. where the current post leaves off: any comments, then, about the conflict between Joan and Peggy?
ReplyDeleteLet's hope that Don voice-over business was a one time thing...
ReplyDeleteAs for Peggy, she definitely should have fired him, but she could have done it in a way that made her seem more in control instead of "look what I can do because Don just told me a I could." In other words, she should have faked it a little bit (but that's not really her forte either, I guess).