- 20 hours ago
Peggy Olson, Betty Draper and Joan Holloway all led very different lives on Mad Men, but even all of these years later we can still relate to so many parts of their stories. In this compilation,...
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Mad Men starts on Peggy Olsen's first day in her new job as a secretary at Sterling
00:05Cooper.
00:06I'm Peggy Olsen, the new girl.
00:08Like the viewer, Peggy is a newcomer to this strange new world.
00:12Go home, take a paper bag and cut some eye holes out of it.
00:15Put it over your head, get undressed and look at yourself in the mirror.
00:19Really evaluate where your strengths and weaknesses are and be honest.
00:22She has to learn to navigate a 1960s workplace and deal with people who aren't exactly looking
00:28out for her.
00:29It wouldn't be a sin for us to see your legs.
00:31If you pull your waist in a little bit, you might look like a woman.
00:33But as the show goes on, Peggy reveals herself to be the new girl in another way.
00:38She's a new kind of modern woman, representing her time.
00:42I don't think anyone wants to be one of a hundred colors in a box.
00:46And she goes on to surprise everyone with her copywriting talent, her ambition, and her assertiveness.
00:52I'd like to be the first woman creative director at this agency.
00:55She represents progress.
00:57One small step for Peggy Olsen is one giant leap for womankind.
01:01What the hell is this?
01:02My new office.
01:03What?
01:04Why don't you just put on Draper's pants while you're at it?
01:08You have your own office.
01:09You.
01:10You.
01:11You.
01:12You.
01:13You.
01:14You.
01:15You.
01:16You.
01:17You.
01:18You.
01:19You.
01:20You.
01:21You.
01:22You.
01:23You.
01:24You.
01:25You.
01:26You.
01:27You.
01:28You.
01:29You.
01:30Uma.
01:31You.
01:32You.
01:33You.
01:34You.
01:35You.
01:36You're.
01:37You.
01:38track that's all her own.
01:40You're a Jackie or a Marilyn, a line and a curve.
01:43Nothing goes better together.
01:45Which do you think I am?
01:47Gertrude Stein.
01:49Once she's brought into the copywriting world in earnest,
01:52her M.O. becomes putting her work, and herself, first.
01:56So by prioritizing her own dreams and desires,
01:59she's following the lead of the men around her.
02:02The conversation of a raise is not inappropriate at this moment,
02:06but do not be timid.
02:08You presented like a man, now act like one.
02:11Since there isn't really a female example for her to follow,
02:15she has to look to men.
02:16Do you think I act like a man?
02:19I guess you have to a little.
02:24It's easy for contemporary viewers to admire or like Peggy,
02:28but the show keeps reminding us that people in her time
02:31don't always understand her.
02:33It was like watching a dog play the piano.
02:39They seem confused as to why she even wants to be a copywriter.
02:43I'm the first girl to do any writing in this office since the war.
02:47Writing?
02:48Is that what this is about?
02:51I thought you were doing that to get close to Paul.
02:53Peggy's journey is wrapped up in the story of second wave feminism.
02:57The second wave feminist movement started in the early 60s,
03:01coinciding with the introduction of the pill.
03:03I will take you off this medicine if you abuse it.
03:05It's for your own good, really.
03:07But the fact is, even in our modern times,
03:10easy women don't find husbands.
03:13It focused a lot on women's rights in the workplace
03:16and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
03:18They passed a law where women who do the same work as men
03:21will get paid the same thing.
03:24Equal pay.
03:25Peggy's timing is important because she enters the workforce
03:29as a young single woman soon before this movement takes off,
03:33as opposed to someone like Betty who's already a housewife
03:36and a mother by this point.
03:39True to the second wave feminist movement,
03:41Peggy's career is about showing a woman can do any job a man can do,
03:45and claiming a woman's right to equality in the professional sphere.
03:49The challenges that Peggy faces are very different from what a man in her time encounters.
03:54Half of the meetings take place over golf, tennis, and a bunch of clubs
03:58where I'm not allowed to be a member, or even enter.
04:02In season one, she gets pregnant with Pete's baby,
04:04but she doesn't even realize this until she goes into labor.
04:07Honey, you didn't mention that you were expecting.
04:11What?
04:12You're going to be a mother.
04:15One of the reasons Peggy doesn't know she's pregnant
04:18is that she's been putting on weight for a while.
04:20You call a girl like her a lobster.
04:23All the meat's in the tail.
04:26Show creator Matthew Weiner has suggested her weight gain
04:28is a response to being objectified by men in the office.
04:32Now go write me some titillating copy.
04:36So unlike someone like Joan, Peggy responds to male sexual attention
04:39by divorcing from her body.
04:41You're hiding a very attractive young girl with too much lunch.
04:46And maybe this is a subconscious way of rebelling against her society's view of women,
04:51of refusing to fit into the existing categories.
04:54Women want to see themselves the way men see them.
04:57After Peggy gives birth, she chooses not to keep the baby.
05:01Don't you want to hold him, sweetheart?
05:06This is a painful experience that stays with her over the years.
05:10You think about it?
05:11I try not to, but then it comes up out of nowhere, playgrounds.
05:19But Peggy refuses to be shamed.
05:21And again, she looks to the example of men to justify why this choice doesn't define her.
05:26And no one should have to make a mistake, just like a man does,
05:30and not be able to move on.
05:31The hard truth is that this sacrifice is necessary for her to even have a chance
05:36of building a career, which is daunting enough in Peggy's times as it is.
05:41Over the seasons, we see Peggy repeatedly prioritize work
05:44at the expense of her personal life.
05:46I know what I'm supposed to want, but it just never feels right,
05:52or as important as anything in that office.
05:54Most of her romantic relationships are with men she meets at the office,
05:59which suggests what she's most attracted to is professional achievement.
06:08The most meaningful relationship at the heart of Mad Men
06:11is the unexpected bond between Don and Peggy.
06:15It's been my privilege to not only be at your side,
06:18but to be treated like a protege,
06:21and for you to be my mentor and my champion.
06:25In the first season, it's Pete who wants to be the next Don,
06:28to become his protege.
06:29A man like you I'd follow into combat blindfolded.
06:32Pete as the privileged white male seems to have more in common
06:36with Don on the outside, but Don actually sees himself in Peggy.
06:40I've taken you for granted, and I've been hard on you,
06:43but only because I think I see you as an extension of myself.
06:48Like him, she's strong-willed and creative.
06:50I've got a hard time about this.
06:51I'm telling people it was your idea.
06:53It was my idea.
06:55And she feels like an outsider.
06:56Where are you from?
06:58Are you Amish or something?
07:01No, I'm from Brooklyn.
07:03The fact that Don can see this potential in Peggy
07:06also reveals a seed of progress in him.
07:10Miss Olsen, you are now a junior copywriter.
07:13Don Draper may seem to embody this fading era of the Mad Men,
07:18but his relationship with Peggy proves there's also a part of him
07:21that's better than that,
07:22a part that can look forward to the future.
07:26People can't seem to understand why they would have this platonic relationship.
07:30Everybody thinks I slept with you to get the job.
07:34So, are you in love with them?
07:38No.
07:39It's not a ridiculous question.
07:42While most women on the show want to be with Don,
07:45Peggy wants to be Don.
07:46I look at you and I think,
07:51I want what he has.
07:53She even tries to imitate her mentor by being harsh with underlings.
07:57The strategy is clear-sil stops blemishes that keep you from having fun.
08:01That means no one should be having fun.
08:04Strong-arming clients.
08:06You have to run with this.
08:08It's young and it's beautiful.
08:10No one else is going to figure out how to say that about beans.
08:13And adopting his catchphrase.
08:15If you don't like what they're saying, change the conversation.
08:19Over time though, Peggy realizes she needs to stop putting Don on a pedestal.
08:24You're never going to get that corner office until you start treating Don as an equal.
08:29She has to separate her identity from his in order to become more than his protege.
08:35I knew that Don did not respect her, and maybe because he made her.
08:41And he always saw her again as an extension of him.
08:43Eventually, she doesn't just become his equal.
08:46Peggy's more like Don 2.0.
08:48She embodies all of Don's best qualities, but she also has the self-control he lacks,
08:54and she's not crippled by self-loathing.
08:56At times, Peggy even surpasses her mentor.
08:59Like when she wins the Heinz catch-up account with a pitch that's better than his.
09:03J. Walter Thompson bought it in the room.
09:06Are you kidding me?
09:08Or after the merger, when she ends up supervising his work for the first time.
09:12Season 6 ends with Don on a forced leave of absence after yet another outburst,
09:23while Peggy sets up shop in his office.
09:26The shot of her from behind as she looks out the window mirrors the image of Don
09:31in the opening credits.
09:32But that opening animation is full of images of Don falling,
09:39whereas Peggy is on the rise.
09:41If Don is the tortured antihero of Mad Men, Peggy is the show's down-to-earth heroine.
09:48Viewers have even labeled her the secret protagonist of the show,
09:51because she undergoes a more significant transformation than Don does.
09:56So there's an interesting hidden symbolism in this image.
10:00This show that's apparently about the decline of its stated subject,
10:03the Mad Men,
10:04is in its soul really about the progress of the other, outsider characters
10:09with whom Weiner seems to truly empathize.
10:17As much as Mad Men glamorizes advertising guys having boozy lunches
10:21and living the high life,
10:23the story is showing that this heyday is coming to an end,
10:26and the future belongs to people like Peggy.
10:29In our Betty video, we talked about how Betty's tragic fate follows from her outdated values
10:35and inability to change.
10:37Meanwhile, Peggy's very optimistic ending is the reverse.
10:40It's a way of affirming that her choices are on the right side of history.
10:46At the end of the series, Peggy is the only female character who seems to have it all.
10:51Peggy now has a happy personal life and a bright professional future.
10:55Keep it up, you'll be a creative director by 1980.
10:57God, that sounds like a long time.
10:59I'm telling you, it will happen.
11:03Her path hasn't been easy, but in the end she's been rewarded
11:06for envisioning a future for herself that other people couldn't see or believe in.
11:11Believe me, nobody wanted me there.
11:12All right, Peggy, we'll have a civil rights march for women.
11:18In season four, the secretary Miss Blankenship dies,
11:21and Bert Cooper reflects on her meteoric rise.
11:24She was born in 1898 in a barn.
11:27She died on the 37th floor of a skyscraper.
11:33She's an astronaut.
11:35For a woman of her generation, becoming a secretary was the greatest height she could dream of reaching.
11:41Nice to see you, Miss Blankenship.
11:43I look forward to hearing that every day.
11:45Peggy is like the astronaut of the next generation.
11:48I have my own office, with my name on the door.
11:55And I am not scared of any of this.
11:57She starts as a secretary and skyrockets to being a copy supervisor.
12:01You're the copy chief at one of the top 25 ad agencies in the country.
12:05You're not even 30.
12:07I'm jealous.
12:08It's no coincidence that the moon landing happens in the same episode as her epic Burger
12:13Chef pitch.
12:14There may be chaos at home, but there's family supper at Burger Chef.
12:23The writers are aligning Peggy's career achievement with groundbreaking historical progress.
12:29So Peggy enters the 1970s full steam ahead, with other women following in her footsteps.
12:36Working ahead, we can imagine that someone like the secretary Dawn has the potential to be
12:41a new kind of astronaut.
12:42I was the only one like me there for a long time.
12:46I know it's hard.
12:51For viewers watching the show today, Peggy's grit plants the question of what the next astronaut
12:56could look like in our times.
12:58As the new girl of her era, Peggy sets herself apart with a self-determination that's ahead
13:03of her time, but which would become more and more accepted and even celebrated in the years
13:09to follow.
13:10I know what you did, and it is a big deal.
13:12And when it happened to me, they acted like it happens all the time.
13:16It doesn't.
13:18So the lesson Peggy Olsen teaches us is that we don't have to just accept the status quo.
13:24If you work for something there's no precedent for, you just might be the next woman to land
13:30on the moon.
13:31No one cares more about keeping up appearances than icy, beautiful Betty Draper.
13:37She's committed to maintaining the perfect image, no matter how superficial it may be.
13:42Besides getting the handsome prince, are you an actress or something?
13:46No, I'm a housewife.
13:48The irony is that Betty's approach to life makes her very unhappy, but she can't seem
13:53to admit that what she's doing isn't working for her.
13:57Over time, Betty's values get left behind, and she fails to change with the times.
14:02Maybe I'm old-fashioned.
14:05Betty Draper, that is indeed how I would describe you.
14:09Her inability to confront her unhappiness and take control of her life is what makes her
14:13Mad Men's most tragic character.
14:15What's wrong?
14:16What's wrong?
14:17I hate this place, I hate our friends, I hate this town.
14:29Betty's fixation on her appearance is a sign that she's devoted to values that are becoming
14:34old-fashioned.
14:35She was raised to believe that beauty was the ticket to marriage, and marriage was the
14:39ultimate goal.
14:41Betty's values come from her mother.
14:43She wanted me to be beautiful so I could find a man.
14:46There's nothing wrong with that.
14:50Most of the other characters rebel against their parents in some way.
14:54But Betty idolizes her late mother, and holds onto her outdated way of thinking.
14:59My mother always said, you're painting a masterpiece.
15:06Make sure to hide the brushstrokes.
15:08She was really beautiful.
15:10Betty's also trying to pass down this value system to her own daughter.
15:13She still believes that Sally's future rests on her appearance.
15:17So after she crashes the family car, she's more worried about Sally's face than her safety.
15:22Sally could've survived and gone on living with this horrible scar on her face and long, lonely,
15:32miserable life.
15:34Other shows act like they're exceptionally attractive actors are the norm within the world of the
15:39show.
15:40But Mad Men keeps reminding us that Betty is treated differently for her looks.
15:44That is some face you've got there.
15:47Anybody ever tell you you're a dead ringer for Grace Kelly?
15:50Her society rewards her for her beauty, not for brains or talent.
15:54Where would mom be without her perfect nose?
15:57She wouldn't find a man like you.
15:59She'd be nothing.
16:01And because Betty's whole identity is based on her appearance, she can't age or physically
16:06change without jeopardizing what she sees as her most valuable asset.
16:10Dr. Wayne tried to look down my neckline the other day.
16:14And as far as I'm concerned, as long as men look at me that way, I'm earning my keep.
16:19When she gains weight in season five, she feels she no longer has anything to offer.
16:24The viewers' feelings about Betty are also shaped by her appearance.
16:28At least for a while, it may be hard for us to see past Betty's beauty, because we're
16:33enjoying the superficial pleasure and fascination of watching this picture-perfect housewife from
16:39a bygone era.
16:40On one level, we root for Dawn and Betty's marriage, even though it's obvious they're
16:44incompatible, because we just love how they look together.
16:47Oh my, I am such a fan.
16:50You know, when you imagine someone saying that to you, you always hope it's her.
16:55And this one, my god, are you two sold separately?
16:57Meanwhile, even though we're seeing Betty's unhappiness, the viewer might struggle to sympathize
17:03with her, because she's so beautiful and perfect-seeming.
17:06Betty doesn't live in a time when it's impossible for her to escape her situation.
17:19Other female characters on Mad Men do thrive and change dramatically.
17:23Peggy and Joan develop professional skills, experiment, and mature in their 20s and 30s.
17:29But Betty doesn't take this time to find herself.
17:31It's as if she skips that stage altogether.
17:34She's gone from being a daughter to being a wife with almost no time in between.
17:39So it's like Betty lives in a state of arrested development.
17:42Mostly, she seems consumed with petty jealousies and overwhelmed with everyday activities.
17:47Basically, we're dealing with the emotions of a child here.
17:50And maybe this is why she acts so immature.
17:52Sometimes I feel like I'm living with a little girl.
17:55She deals with feelings of resentment by trying to sabotage others, like when she's jealous
18:00of Megan's and Don's relationship and gets revenge by telling Sally about Anna Draper.
18:04If you call her, you're giving her exactly what she wanted.
18:08The thrill of having poisoned us from 50 miles away.
18:11Her friendship with Glenn Bishop tells us that, emotionally, Betty still feels like a child.
18:16It's easier for her to connect with a little boy than with the adults in her life.
18:20I can't talk to anyone.
18:22It's so horrible.
18:25I'm so sad.
18:27Betty takes pride in saying she's a housewife.
18:30I'm a housewife.
18:32She likes the idea of it and the status it represents to her.
18:35But Betty's personality is not at all a right match for the day-to-day experience of being
18:39a stay-at-home mom.
18:41She finds the role itself isolating and unstimulating.
18:43I'm here all day, alone with them, outnumbered.
18:47Her anger usually takes the form of lashing out at her children.
18:50You're mean.
18:51You betcha.
18:52Get in there.
18:53Betty's parenting style involves threats.
18:56I didn't do anything.
18:57Don't you dare lie to me.
18:58I'll cut your fingers off.
18:59Dismissing her kids' feelings.
19:00He's really, really, really gone.
19:03Sally, go watch TV.
19:05And just doing anything possible to get them away from her.
19:08I don't care what they do when they're up there.
19:10They just like a few hours of quiet.
19:12Betty is so unhappy because, even if she's not literally trapped, she feels powerless
19:17to escape the prison of her life.
19:19Her attempts to take control of her life never really work out.
19:22In season one, she wants to return to modeling, but she can't get her career off the ground.
19:27So she takes out her anger by shooting at a neighbor's pigeons.
19:30Don's nickname for Betty is Bertie.
19:34Bertie.
19:35I'll fix it.
19:37So here it's like Betty's shooting her own hopes, or that naive part of herself that dared
19:42to dream she could ever be less unhappy.
19:45In season two, an unexpected pregnancy stops Betty from separating from Don.
19:50She's talked out of getting the abortion she wants.
19:53There are alternatives, obviously.
19:57But I find it hard to believe that as a married woman of means you would even be considering
20:02that.
20:03And in the end, her only small satisfaction is sleeping with a stranger before reuniting
20:08with Don.
20:08A big part of the problem is that Betty hasn't developed the emotional tools to face or understand
20:18her unhappiness.
20:19I'm in a foul mood.
20:21She can't bring herself to openly criticize or question the ideals she's built her life
20:26around.
20:27Are you unhappy?
20:29Of course I'm happy.
20:34So her unhappiness has to come out in other ways, like her numb hands in season one.
20:38Betty's psychological pain manifests physically, because she can't even admit her feelings
20:43to herself.
20:45And she tends to rewrite the narrative of her life to convince herself she's happy.
20:49When divorcee Helen Bishop moves to the neighborhood, Betty can't acknowledge that Helen is free
20:54in a way she herself isn't.
20:56I'm supposed to be stuffing envelopes at Kennedy headquarters tonight, and my sitter just canceled,
21:01and I hate to back out because, well, New York State is so important.
21:05So instead of taking a hard look at why she feels so resentful towards her new neighbor,
21:10Betty convinces herself that Helen envies her.
21:13Honestly, I think she's jealous of me.
21:16I've seen it before, I was in a sorority.
21:20But there is one big moment when Betty acts on her unhappiness and says, enough is enough.
21:25She discovers Don's real identity, and is bowled over by the extent of his lying.
21:30And now I'm not good enough for some spoiled mainline brat.
21:33That's right!
21:34Her decision to divorce Don,
21:35I made an appointment with a divorce attorney, and I suggest you do the same,
21:39plays out alongside the assassination of JFK, and the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald.
21:44Betty's more taken aback by these events than the other characters.
21:48What is going on?
21:49And it's because they represent an upheaval of the old rules.
21:53If the established conventions don't matter anymore, she doesn't have to play along.
21:58This seems like a radical reinvention.
22:00But of course, Betty divorces Don, only to get remarried to Henry pretty much simultaneously.
22:06So she's going back to the same old habits, becoming a dissatisfied housewife to another
22:11man.
22:12As Betty's second marriage is loving and honest, she's still with someone who doesn't see her
22:17as an equal.
22:18From now on, keep your conversation on how much you hate getting toast, crumbs, and butter,
22:21and leave the thinking to me!
22:27The other characters of Mad Men adjust to the changing times and move on in their lives.
22:32But Betty can't.
22:33She's a casualty of this era.
22:35By the end of Mad Men, it's clear that the measures of female success have transformed,
22:40and Betty hasn't transformed with them.
22:42Her social circle used to frown on women working outside the home.
22:46She's so selfish.
22:48Those long walks and that pathetic job at Benson's Jewelry.
22:52But now it's being a housewife that seems pitiable.
22:55When Francine tells her about her part-time job, Betty struggles to justify why she's still
23:00at home.
23:01Being alone in the house all that time, I really needed a challenge.
23:06Well, there's still plenty of challenges ahead, believe me.
23:10In season seven, Betty is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
23:13I always knew that Betty would die, would contract lung cancer.
23:18And it was something that I kind of want to talk about harvesting storylines that from
23:22the beginning, her mother died right before the show started, very young.
23:27And Betty has a sense of tragedy about her.
23:30We might wonder why she's the one who pays for the unhealthy habit all of the characters
23:35share.
23:36But symbolically, it's because Betty's the product of another era.
23:39And she's failed to evolve.
23:41It's almost as though the future is a hostile environment for her.
23:45Even though she's gone back to school to pursue a psychology degree, it's a little too late.
23:50The irony is that Betty herself once said she'd like to die young, rather than lose the beauty
23:55that defines her.
23:56To think one of the great beauties, and there she is, so old, I'd just like to disappear
24:02at that point.
24:05It makes perfect sense.
24:06And when an early death becomes a certainty, we see that Betty hasn't let go of her original
24:11mindset.
24:12Her biggest concern is how she'll look in the casket.
24:15The upward arcs of some of the other female characters are thrilling.
24:27But Betty's disappointments may be a more realistic and representative mirror of life
24:33for many women in the Mad Men era.
24:35It was probably more common for women to feel like Betty, victims of social circumstance
24:40who didn't see a way out of their unhappiness, who were raised to believe the world was one
24:44way and then left behind when it changed on them.
24:48So while Dawn gets a hopeful, cathartic ending that hints at his bright future, Betty's is
24:53wholly tragic.
24:54She's resigned to her fate, and it's the same acceptance of the status quo we've seen in
24:59her all through the show.
25:01We only wish she could have put up more of a fight all along.
25:05Head-turning and all-knowing, Joan Holloway is one of the most subversive characters in
25:10Matthew Weiner's Mad Men.
25:12Her complicated journey from head secretary to executive exposes some of the most horrifying
25:17sexism of the 60s, and arrives at a place that's surprisingly modern.
25:21We won't answer to anyone.
25:23It'll be something of ours with our name on it.
25:28Unlike other female characters on the show whose ambition or dedication to domesticity come
25:33first, Joan initially seems torn between these two paths.
25:37The unexpectedness of her character arc and how much her evolution surprises even herself
25:42is what makes Joan so compelling.
25:47Desired by all, Joan's a kind of 1960s Venus who's used to attracting attention for her
25:52curvaceous body, red hair, and dull face.
25:55My mother raised me to be admired.
25:57She's routinely compared to other historical sex symbols.
26:01First, there's the obvious physical comparison to Marilyn Monroe.
26:05Jackie?
26:06Marilyn?
26:07Well, Marilyn's really a Joan, not the other way around.
26:13Joan's devastated response to Marilyn's death is telling.
26:16Hey, you're not like her.
26:19Physically a little, but don't tell me.
26:21That makes you sad.
26:22It's not a joke.
26:23This world destroyed her.
26:26It reveals that sexualized women of the time were thought to be headed for tragedy.
26:30Show creator Weiner has said that Joan is like Helen of Troy, in that men like Jaguar executive
26:35Herb Rennett will go to great lengths to sleep with her.
26:38And Pete tries to persuade Joan to sleep with Herb by likening her to another beautiful, lusted
26:43after woman.
26:44Do you consider Cleopatra a prostitute?
26:46Where do you get this stuff?
26:49Joan's reputation as a Venus isn't just in her world, audiences and media reactions to
26:54the character largely focused on the same.
26:56Frequent shots of Joan walking towards or away from us encourage us to notice her Rubenesque
27:01figure, letting us see her as men do.
27:04So we too are making this journey over the course of the show of coming to see her as more
27:08than a sex symbol.
27:09I didn't know you were such a reader.
27:10I was part of my job.
27:12And I thought you just walked around with people staring at you.
27:15A contradictory character through and through, Joan both upholds and disproves sexist conventions
27:22of her time.
27:23On the one hand, there's what she says and expects from life.
27:25Let's look for some actual bachelors.
27:28Empty their wallets.
27:30And on the other, there's what she does and where her life ends up.
27:33At the beginning of the show, she hopes to get married and leave her job as office manager.
27:37Of course, if you really make the right moves, you'll be out in the country and you won't
27:40be going to work at all.
27:42To outsiders, Joan's engagement to handsome surgeon Greg seems perfect, but as viewers,
27:47we see that their relationship is a sham.
27:49His insecurities poison their interactions.
27:52He refuses even to let Joan be on top during sex.
27:56Greg rapes Joan in Don's office, and her decision to marry him in spite of this shows how far she's
28:02willing to go to achieve that heteronormative ideal.
28:05Joan's disillusionment with marriage proves that this conventional life is a lie.
28:17Greg is emotionally immature and paternalistic, and the baby they have together was actually
28:21conceived by Roger.
28:23I'm glad the army makes you feel like a man, because I'm sick of trying to do it.
28:30Although Greg and Joan are incompatible, each is strongly shaped by societal expectations
28:35of their respective genders.
28:37Even if there haven't been other women, he's not used to listening to a woman.
28:41Both suffer for it.
28:42Greg is scarred by his failure to achieve masculine success as a doctor and a lover.
28:47And the expectation that Joan will be a housewife is also exposed as nonsensical.
28:52Why don't you just not show up?
28:54I'll lose my job.
28:55We'll make it.
28:56Until when?
28:57Greg is incapable of being a breadwinner, and Joan misses her work.
29:02In spite of these disappointments, Joan not only pretends to have a happy marriage, but
29:06even continues to encourage others to believe in this false narrative of marital joy based
29:11on typical gender roles.
29:13Joan is still, you know, supporting that mythology to other people, even though it hasn't happened
29:21for her.
29:22Joan's commitment to the happy marriage myth shows how deeply she's been shaped by social
29:26beliefs of her time.
29:27And one of the reasons it's so fascinating to watch is that, as modern viewers, we can
29:32actually relate more than we might expect.
29:35The masculine and feminine ideals Greg and Joan struggle to live up to aren't so outdated
29:40as we'd like to think, and that frustrated feeling of inadequacy that can come with not
29:44being respected by peers as a real man or a real woman is still very commonly felt.
29:50Joan is especially vulnerable to these feminine expectations because her self-image comes from
29:56how others see her.
29:57Given how much validation she's gotten for her looks and how little for other aspects
30:01of her personality, it makes sense that she places such importance on finding a man,
30:06and that she's stuck in this mindset even though she knows on some level that it's hollow.
30:10If he's going to end it, which I doubt, you'll know what to do.
30:14If he's going to propose, you better have your answer prepared, especially if it's no.
30:19We might even read some subtle cues into her name.
30:22Holloway sounds like Holloway, perhaps alluding to the superficial drive to marry well, which
30:28isn't serving her.
30:29While Joan evokes the independent Joan of Arc, perhaps a nod to her true nature as a self-reliant
30:35individual.
30:36They'll drag you into the garbage out there.
30:38They just want you to be as miserable as they are.
30:41I say let them have it.
30:44Yeah, while most notice her body first, Joan's intelligence is almost as quickly conveyed
30:49to us.
30:50Bordering on cynical, Joan knows exactly what others are thinking about her, as well as what
30:54they're plotting in general.
30:56Apart from her one big delusion about Mr. Right, what we might call her blind spot, her eyes
31:01are unclouded by naivete or wanting to see the best in people.
31:05She knows the bottom lines and understands the world she's living in far more accurately
31:09than almost any other character.
31:11Joan displays great aptitude for working within the sexist parameters of the time to get ahead.
31:17Like Peggy, she overcomes the obstacles to female success in the workplace, but the two
31:21take opposite approaches to their femininity.
31:31Weiner has said that Peggy's weight gain in the first season is a response to feeling
31:35sexualized by men in the office.
31:38In contrast, Joan would never consider trying to unsex herself or appear more masculine.
31:43She wears form-fitting clothes that enhance rather than hide her body, and she's resourceful
31:47about using her sexuality as a currency.
31:50Although she does find the prospect of sleeping with her propulsive, she agrees because it's
31:55the only way for her to reach the professional level of partner.
31:58It is a lot of money, Lane.
32:00It's four times what I make in a year.
32:02The quality of her work is irrelevant in this work environment, as we see in season two when
32:07her beloved script reading job is given to a man.
32:10He's going to be in charge of broadcast operations.
32:12Excuse me?
32:13I've really appreciated you filling in, I couldn't have asked for more.
32:16Joan knows everything about this.
32:18That makes one of us.
32:19Joan's pragmatism and acceptance can sometimes backfire on her, though.
32:23Well, no matter how powerful we get around here, they can still just draw a cartoon.
32:28And her skill at realistically navigating the system can't protect her from still being
32:32exploited and feeling humiliated.
32:34I'm not some young girl off the bus, I don't need some madam from a Shanghai whorehouse to
32:38show me the ropes.
32:40Businessmen from other offices also refuse to take Joan seriously, subjecting her to endless
32:45sexual harassment and innuendo.
32:47You should be in the bra business.
32:50You're a work of art.
32:51Men often act like Joan is distracting in a business context, when they're the ones unwilling
32:56to focus on the business at hand.
32:58Though she doesn't let others see it, the weight of the patriarchy takes a big toll on
33:02her.
33:03Even her romantic partners can't comprehend how Joan could be equally committed to her
33:16work and to a relationship.
33:17I can't just turn off that part of myself.
33:20I would never dream of making you choose.
33:25In many ways, Joan is Dawn's feminine counterpart.
33:29She's similarly carnal, confident, desirable, and shrewd.
33:32But these qualities don't always work for her, as they do for Dawn.
33:36Joan's decision to sleep with Herb in exchange for the agency partnership is viewed unfavorably.
33:40You know what, I'm sorry my accomplishments happened in broad daylight and I can't be
33:44given the same rewards.
33:46But Dawn's sexual impropriety within the office is rarely held against him, and his
33:50sexual encounters can also have a transactional nature to them, as when he asks Dr. Fay for
33:55the names of dissatisfied clients he can poach.
33:58It's significant that Dawn never pursues Joan romantically, because apart from Peggy, who's
34:03like a daughter protege to him, he has at least some sexual or flirtatious interaction
34:08with almost every other young, attractive woman we meet.
34:11But Joan and Dawn feel almost like siblings, or male and female equivalents.
34:16But no flowers from you.
34:18You scared the shit out of me.
34:21Two alike somehow, like they see through each other.
34:24When Dawn gets upset about Joan sleeping with Herb, his reaction comes off like the protective
34:29brother defending his relation's virtue.
34:31I wanted to tell you it's not worth it, and if we don't get Jaguar, so what?
34:38But Weiner has suggested the deeper reason for Dawn's reaction is a subconscious rivalry
34:43or competitiveness.
34:44Her action invalidates the importance of his advertising pitch, and in this case, Joan's
34:49desirability trumps his, which is a feeling he's not really used to.
34:53He wants to win it.
34:54He doesn't need any help.
34:56It's hard for people to understand that, but the man has a really big ego.
34:59And there's another very significant way in which the show leaves Joan in a similar
35:03position to Dawn, her ultimate relationship status.
35:06Out of the major female characters on Mad Men, Joan is the only one who's not in a relationship
35:12at the end of the show.
35:14But it seems to me your life is undeveloped property, you can turn it into anything you
35:17want, it's got a hell of a view.
35:19She's grown into an independent, self-assured single mother and business owner.
35:24Her decision to name her company using her maiden and married last names, instead of searching
35:29for a partner, reflects an acceptance of her full self.
35:35She's no longer trying to satisfy gendered expectations that don't serve her.
35:39Finally, she is her own boss.
35:41The irony is that the Joan we first met was not trying to end up here, and would not have
35:46wanted this life.
35:47All partners present?
35:49Aye.
35:50Rather than fulfilling the feminine ideals she's been chasing, she's actually succeeded
35:54more by the masculine standards of her time.
35:57Yet she's achieved far greater success than it occurred to her to dream of.
36:02And she outgrew not just our expectations, but her own.
36:05That's the take.
36:07Click here to watch a video we think you'll love, or here to check out a whole playlist of
36:11awesome content.
36:12Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications.
Recommended
11:40
|
Up next
0:40
1:37
14:36
0:39
1:56
4:18
1:14
1:18:24
Be the first to comment