“ The concern is way overrated with “Mad Men”, because their numbers are still low, and I imagine the density of the narrative runs most stupid people off. But this is always going to be a problem with any attempt to insert political and cultural musings into entertainment. You either make your intentions really obvious to calm concerns like the ones about, and say, when Don Draper does something sexist, bring the narrative to a screeching halt and use graphics to draw a big red circle around the offending behavior with flashing red letters that say, “Violence against women is rooted in sexism, and both are wrong.” And the second you do that, you give up on the smart audience, who goes off to find some entertainment that doesn’t treat them like they’re feeble-minded infants.
Pandagon. Last night (after another “Premiere later! Excited! Blah!” outburst from me) a co-worker (who does not yet watch the show) said, with a straight face, “I don’t watch shows that glorify misogyny and alcohol abuse.” I stared at him for a few seconds, and then laughed. But honestly, even though “we” are all watching this show, not that many people are: none of my co-workers are, my mother’s not, her co-workers are not. And while I agree with what Amanda writes here, that it’s impossible to find a perfect balance, I feel they handle it as deftly as can be expected.
2 years ago
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