Mad Men - Part I (No Spoilers)
May. 13th, 2013 01:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cinema_babeIf you've seen the series up through the end of last season, there are no spoilers. If you haven't and plan to, stop now.
And no, I'm not putting it behind a cut.
Joan is an interesting character and she becomes more so as the series barrels towards the 70s.
He mother raised her to serve one purpose: to be in the home and on the arm of a successful man. It was something to strive for, marrying well was the ultimate brass ring.
She sees herself through the lens of her worth to men. Her pride in her job is derived from the compliments she gets from the men in charge, remember that she never particularly liked or respected the other secretaries. I think that's also at the heart of her being willing to sleep with that piggy guy from Jaguar for a partnership. Whereas for Peggy the only way to get a partnership would be to earn it through working, it's not surprising that instead of demanding it based on her professionalism in running and increasingly busy office, having sex in exchange for a partnership wasn't an impossibility, just distasteful.
For Betty, marrying a successful man was a birthright. For Peggy, it's about making your own success on your terms. For Joan it's always been tied to the status of a man: mistress, wife, secretary.
Betty will always have some Daddy figure to care for her dour person. Peggy will always define success and pursue success on her own terms (albeit within a male paradigm). She will not hesitate to jettison her BF if he becomes too much of an impediment.
But Joan? I can really only go in one of two directions:
1. After several rocky years (and probably after the death of her mother) she finds her own self worth as an individual and builds on her success from there.
2. She keeps up the professional success but she keeps looking for that man to hitch her star to. She ends up drinking too much, depressed, bitter and maybe even commits suicide.
I hope they do something like Six Feet Under did at the end of their of their series where they tell you what happens to all of the characters.
And no, I'm not putting it behind a cut.
Joan is an interesting character and she becomes more so as the series barrels towards the 70s.
He mother raised her to serve one purpose: to be in the home and on the arm of a successful man. It was something to strive for, marrying well was the ultimate brass ring.
She sees herself through the lens of her worth to men. Her pride in her job is derived from the compliments she gets from the men in charge, remember that she never particularly liked or respected the other secretaries. I think that's also at the heart of her being willing to sleep with that piggy guy from Jaguar for a partnership. Whereas for Peggy the only way to get a partnership would be to earn it through working, it's not surprising that instead of demanding it based on her professionalism in running and increasingly busy office, having sex in exchange for a partnership wasn't an impossibility, just distasteful.
For Betty, marrying a successful man was a birthright. For Peggy, it's about making your own success on your terms. For Joan it's always been tied to the status of a man: mistress, wife, secretary.
Betty will always have some Daddy figure to care for her dour person. Peggy will always define success and pursue success on her own terms (albeit within a male paradigm). She will not hesitate to jettison her BF if he becomes too much of an impediment.
But Joan? I can really only go in one of two directions:
1. After several rocky years (and probably after the death of her mother) she finds her own self worth as an individual and builds on her success from there.
2. She keeps up the professional success but she keeps looking for that man to hitch her star to. She ends up drinking too much, depressed, bitter and maybe even commits suicide.
I hope they do something like Six Feet Under did at the end of their of their series where they tell you what happens to all of the characters.
