Betty Draper takes aim at stereotypes, thanks to Mad Men's women writers
If you're anything like me, you can barely contain your excitement that season 3 of Mad Men begins on Sunday. It took me awhile to get around to watching the show (I didn't bother to get a converter when TV went digital, and won't shell out for cable), but finally my coworker Dana Goldstein convinced me: "Ann, it's all about sexism and vintage fashion. How can you not watch?"
And indeed, I love how the show paints an unvarnished picture of '50s gender roles and how the female characters are so three-dimensional. They don't easily map onto the sorts of stereotypes prevalent in TV shows and movies set in all decades. The bookish achiever (Peggy) is also kind of a slut. The slut (Joan) is also kind of a bookish achiever. And the devoted wife (Betty) is primed for a feminist awakening. (I've often wondered if the character was named after Betty Friedan.)
So I wasn't surprised to learn that 7 of the show's 9 writers are women, and in this upcoming season, women directed 5 of the 13 episodes. Compare that to elsewhere in Hollywood...
According to the Directors Guild of America, the labor union that represents film and television directors, about 13% of its 8,000 directors are female. Women comprised 23% of television writers during the 2007 to 2008 prime-time season, a 12 percentage point decrease from the same period a year earlier. Nearly 80% of TV programs in the 2007 to 2008 prime-time season had no women writers...
Maybe if all TV shows and movies had a better proportion of women writers, actresses wouldn't be considered past their prime at age 35 and would be given way more substantive leading roles. Turns out women-written movies and shows also tend to be pretty fucking popular.
I did notice that the seven Mad Men writers pictured all appeared to be white. While the show has touched on the issue of race (namely, when lead character Don Draper has an affair with a Jewish woman, and when one of the copywriters dates a black woman), it is a far less common theme than gender. I wonder if that would change, too, if the demographics of the writers did.
Who else is counting the minutes 'til Sunday night?
Related:
Funny ladies of Hollywood discuss getting "old"
An Entourage of Their Own
Unnoticed sexism: Movie Trailer Narrators
Women Make Money at the Movies, But Don't Say Much
On roles for women of color in Hollywood
Also see Amanda's writing about Mad Men, and two posts on Racialicious. (But be forewarned, they're spoiler-ridden!) Plus, watch Jezebel's 15 feminist moments from Mad Men.
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What is a "slut" exactly?
I have mixed feelings about the use of the word 'slut' in this context. I also don't see Peggy as 'the bookish achiever.' I think of her as someone who has taken advantage of the opportunities that have presented themselves to her, and as someone who thinks outside the box and uses her intelligence and intuitiveness to move up in the company. Being bookish implies education or studiousness, neither of which she has or displays. I think her character (actually, all of the characters) is incredibly complex.
I have mixed feelings about the use of the word 'slut' in this context. I also don't see Peggy as 'the bookish achiever.' I think of her as someone who has taken advantage of the opportunities that have presented themselves to her, and as someone who thinks outside the box and uses her intelligence and intuitiveness to move up in the company. Being bookish implies education or studiousness, neither of which she has or displays. I think her character (actually, all of the characters) is incredibly complex.
I hate Don Draper too badly to like the show. I get so tired of moody, asshole, narcissistic men as protagonists in "edgy" dramas these days.
I did enjoy the first season a little more than the second. The derail when Don went to California last season was just too much. I love Joan and Peggy and Betty though. Just wish there were no Don, or at least, he were more clearly the guy everyone should hate and not pay that much time trying to figure out. I could stomach him as a minor character.
I love Mad Men! I'm always rooting for Peggy to kick ass at the office, and the more I rewatch the show, the more I realize how nuanced a character Betty really is. She's just as enigmatic as Don is.
Its actually takes place in the early 60's, which makes it even better. Culture teetering on the brink of transformation. Awesome!
Small nitpick: a female actor is not an actress, just like a female doctor is not a doctress, and a female engineer is not an engineeress. The various Academies might separate it that way--and we all know their track record on nominating females in categories outside those separates--but most, if not all, women that I've heard talk about their craft call themselves actors.
Maybe Matthew Weiner will have the guts to have a black woman write or direct an episode....
Maybe Matthew Weiner will have an an episode written or directed by a black woman ....
Maybe Matthew Weiner will hire a black woman to write or direct an episode. Less critically-acclaimed shows have, so I'm sure it's in Mad Men's realm to do so....
Love Mad Men! If you go on the website you can "Mad Men" yourself and create a fun 60s avatar - I use mine for facebook and twitter!
I heart Mad Men so hard. And yes, totally wondered the same thing about Betty. She's due for a catastrophic feminist click. I'm so happy to know about the writers/directors. Thanks Ann.
actually there was a post about Mad Men today today over at Racialicious
Maybe I'm the only one, but from what I've read about Mad Man it's not a empowering show about women, but a show about men who are throwing their masculinity around, dick place firmly in hand. A show that demeaning towards women and can essentially can get away with a misogynistic tone because of the time period in which it takes place.
Sure, it's great they have as many women writers as they do, but that doesn't necessarily make the show pro-women. I know countless women who support patriarchy because it gets them ahead, how do we know if this isn't the same old story?
You should watch it. It depicts the time accurately, so it includes sexism and such, but they focus on sexist moments and the ridiculousness of them. It's a satire of the time. This blog post can explain better than I can:
http://www.fourthwavefeminism.com/2008/09/women-of-mad-men.html
Have you seen the show? I'd be curious as to what you think about it, as opposed to hearing an opinion about what someone else wrote about the show.
Counting the minutes? I count the seconds. I love Mad Men so much I wanna take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant.
To address the race issue, I like to think that the show will be around long enough to evolve and take on feminism, homosexuality, race, and Watergate. This show is awesome. Bless you AMC, bless you!
I also find Big Love interesting too.