Wonderful, Susan. You make me want to revisit MAD MEN. “Over the top” in its portrayal of sexism? Hardly. I’ve just finished THE GIRLS IN THE BALCONY, Nan Robertson’s grippingly reported history of sexism at the New York Times. Well into the 70s, the most eye-rollingly awful things were said, in public, about women reporters at the country’s pre-eminent newspaper. If you weren’t a working woman in those days, you didn’t know. And if, like me, you worked at a women’s magazine, you probably didn’t know either.
As a fashion historian, I used to be asked (a lot!) if I ever watched Mad Men. (Always by younger women who loved the costuming.) My stock answer was “I don’t have to; I lived it”. We moved from western Nebraska to Bergen County, New Jersey in 1957. We lived there for four awful years, while Dad enjoyed martini lunches in The City and had an affair with his secretary. My brother was bullied, I tried to learned the new rules of suburban puberty, and my mother had the first of several nervous breakdowns. I know I missed some amazing performances by never watching, so perhaps eventually I will take a peek.
As I write about John Cheever every week (more or less) one of the things I try to avoid is comparing the story I'm writing about to Mad Men. I only try not to because if I gave into my desire, my Substack might as well be called John Cheever Should Have Written About Mad Men
Great article on Mad Men. I din't know that the great Sopranos episode "College" was an inspiration.
One thing about Don Draper's worklife that stood out to me was how little he actually worked. My memory of the show was that in between the alcohol binges and the affairs and recovering on his couch, he'd come to a meeting for a few minutes, have a good idea, and win over the client.
Wonderful, Susan. You make me want to revisit MAD MEN. “Over the top” in its portrayal of sexism? Hardly. I’ve just finished THE GIRLS IN THE BALCONY, Nan Robertson’s grippingly reported history of sexism at the New York Times. Well into the 70s, the most eye-rollingly awful things were said, in public, about women reporters at the country’s pre-eminent newspaper. If you weren’t a working woman in those days, you didn’t know. And if, like me, you worked at a women’s magazine, you probably didn’t know either.
As a fashion historian, I used to be asked (a lot!) if I ever watched Mad Men. (Always by younger women who loved the costuming.) My stock answer was “I don’t have to; I lived it”. We moved from western Nebraska to Bergen County, New Jersey in 1957. We lived there for four awful years, while Dad enjoyed martini lunches in The City and had an affair with his secretary. My brother was bullied, I tried to learned the new rules of suburban puberty, and my mother had the first of several nervous breakdowns. I know I missed some amazing performances by never watching, so perhaps eventually I will take a peek.
As I write about John Cheever every week (more or less) one of the things I try to avoid is comparing the story I'm writing about to Mad Men. I only try not to because if I gave into my desire, my Substack might as well be called John Cheever Should Have Written About Mad Men
Great article on Mad Men. I din't know that the great Sopranos episode "College" was an inspiration.
One thing about Don Draper's worklife that stood out to me was how little he actually worked. My memory of the show was that in between the alcohol binges and the affairs and recovering on his couch, he'd come to a meeting for a few minutes, have a good idea, and win over the client.