This week I look back at the recent controversy on the hit AMC series, Mad Men, and reflect on the gravity of the situation at hand.
After watching the last two episodes of AMC’s Mad Men, I simply could not let this week’s column be about anything else. I laughed, I cried, and of course, gawked at the 8th world wonder of the world that is Ms. Joan Holloway. I refuse to call her Mrs. Joan Harris, because ever since that awful ex husband of hers raped her, I’ve been waiting for the right time to place a hit on him.
So, let me begin by saying when this season first started, I was a little disappointed. It felt…lackluster. It simply did not have that joie de vivre of past seasons. However, as it progressed, my tune has changed. It’s become one of my favorite seasons, full of twists and turns – both dark and light – that have surprised me along the way. Each character has been developing, changing, and growing, most noticeably Sally, played delightfully by Kiernan Shipka.
But enough about Sally. Frankly, enough of about everybody else who isn’t Joan. Don’t get me wrong, the characters on this show make for one of the best ensemble casts on television in years. I was truly very emotional when they showed Lane, poor nerved-out bumbling Lane, hanging to death in his office by his own hand. Lane had never been one of my favorites, but I respect Jared Harris as an actor immensely, even more so once I found out his father was Richard Harris, the original Dumbledore in the first two installments of the Harry Potter film franchise.
But back to the subject at hand. First, to comment on the obvious, Christina Hendricks, who portrays Joan as only she could, might just be the most visually stunning woman on television today. I personally love that Christina has won so many awards for her physical appearance based on the fact that she breaks the mold. Yes, she’s stunning, but she’s not the stick figure cut-out mold that Hollywood loves to churn out in droves.
Speaking of her now infamous curves, the episode from two weeks ago was really quite shocking. Joan, well, Joan got loaned. A slimy executive from the Jaguar Car Company made his prerogative quite clear. If SCDP wanted their business, he was going to get all up in her business. The always selfish Pete Campbell is the first to make the proposition known to the fiery redhead, who at first is truly offended, as she should be. As the episode progresses, and Joan realizes what this account would mean to the firm, she changes her tune. In order for her to go through with what is essentially prostitution, she demands to be a partner at the firm, basically setting her financial worries for her and her family at bay for the rest of her life.
The way critics and fans have reacted to Joan’s bodily sacrifice has given me mixed feelings. Of course, I would never promote prostitution, and would hope that there would always be other ways to get where you want to be, but for Joan, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. During that era, Joan’s office manager position was already considered progressive, even accomplished. Now that she went from office manager to partner in one night, as well as secured herself a lifetime of financial security, she’s pretty much the shit. Excuse my French.
My point is, it’s her body. It’s her life. I think it’s easy to sit back and say you would never even consider it when you haven’t been in that position. I don’t know what I would do, but I do know that whatever I decided, I wouldn’t look back, and neither will Joan. She made a choice, a choice all her own. Of course I would rather have not had it happen at all, but I guess that’s what so brilliant about Matthew Weiner, the creator of the show. He challenges the viewer and is never predictable. He makes you uncomfortable by taking you out of your comfort zone. All in all, it makes for one hell of a television program.
I’m curious to know what all of you readers out there think about Joan’s ordeal. Am I being too progressive in thinking that what she did wasn’t totally insane? Maybe even logical?
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