tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081747433018117316.post3562141797717565109..comments2024-03-26T15:33:47.822+05:00Comments on THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS: The Mad Men Finale: Why I Wasn't BuyingTom Shonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938779517705582285noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081747433018117316.post-14164530863900279542010-10-22T19:38:38.563+05:002010-10-22T19:38:38.563+05:00Great post but I'm not sure why everyone's...Great post but I'm not sure why everyone's so surprised...in the last episode when Megan came into his office, she suddenly and very specifically started organizing his life with such confidence, that's when it hit me...in fact, I thought I saw Eve Harrington shoot outta Megan at that very moment.baileyhttp://www.baileyalexander.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081747433018117316.post-22077114516391673952010-10-21T04:28:08.658+05:002010-10-21T04:28:08.658+05:00I felt the same way about the whiplash (and Faye&#...I felt the same way about the whiplash (and Faye's implausible inabilities with children, for that matter -- after all, she's so good with Don, and he's a child, isn't he?). <br /><br />The proposal scene really brought it home for me. It was almost apologetically meta: they knew it was too fast, even for a decision that was supposed to be too fast; and they knew we knew it; so they gave Don and Megan dialogue that was a string of cliches so we'd know this was *supposed* to be a lapse. But even if you believe that the characters were acting in character, the telling of it was ill done. What the heck was Don thinking about at the foot of the bed for all those hours? That's what we care about; showing him briefly staring over her sleeping shoulder out the window at the end is not sufficient. I felt like we lost track of his interiority in a way we had never before, even when he's at his most silent and broody -- and not in an interesting way either. To paper over that with the easy symbolism of his retreat into sunny childishness only makes it worse.JDhttp://nanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081747433018117316.post-69989529845707506672010-10-20T02:51:26.464+05:002010-10-20T02:51:26.464+05:00I am increasingly of the opinion that the viewers ...I am increasingly of the opinion that the viewers voicing their feelings about "what Don Draper should want" or whether he "should" have chosen Faye over Megan are no longer well equipped to serve the show as critics.<br /><br />Don Draper is a tragic figure. He is not a hero. His redemption or path to redemption is no more the obligation of Matthew Weiner than saving the soul of Tony Soprano.<br /><br />What makes Don Draper an interesting fictional character is that the period in which his flawed character is exercising its existential being-in-the-world is a period that has finally begun to open itself to a full historical, cultural, philosophical, psychological, and sociological set of analyses and perspectives. <br /><br />Those of us who were alive and aware during that period are familiar with men whose life-choices are reflected in characters like Don Draper and Roger Sterling. History has not treated them well. Why should we expect an exceedingly well written, well directed, and well acted television series to find a heroic masculine soul in all of this? <br /><br />Matthew Weiner has always sculpted the character of Don Draper to make decisions in his own self-interest. As well he should. Draper is interesting to study because he has a touch more depth and perspicacity than many of the men of his age. (He is certainly less sensitive to the needs of others than any of the women surrounding him.) As well, his open wounds and unique vulnerabilities help to reveal a pattern to the manner in which he solves creative problems and deploys his survival skills. But I think we are deeply mistaken to conflate these wounds and vulnerabilities with any cause for additional sympathy--or with somehow holding some special key to his personal redemption.<br /><br />Episode after episode we see that Don Draper has the potential to be "so much more" than he is. But that is true of every character who has ever existed--as it is true of each and every one of us. Still, episode after episode I listen to viewers speaking of being "disappointed" by Don Draper (and, thus Matthew Weiner) because he did X instead of Y. (If what people want is a dependable hero, maybe they should watch reruns of "Walker, Texas Ranger.")<br /><br />The character of Dr. Faye Miller is obviously much more intellectually evolved than Megan. What the finale shows us is that Don Draper chose otherwise. Will he face existential consequences for this choice next season? Of course. No one gets off scot free.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081747433018117316.post-9097180372109489212010-10-20T02:48:13.190+05:002010-10-20T02:48:13.190+05:00I am increasingly of the opinion that the viewers ...I am increasingly of the opinion that the viewers voicing their feelings about "what Don Draper should want" or whether he "should" have chosen Faye over Megan are no longer well equipped to serve the show as critics.<br /><br />Don Draper is a tragic figure. He is not a hero. His redemption or path to redemption is no more the obligation of Matthew Weiner than saving the soul of Tony Soprano.<br /><br />What makes Don Draper an interesting fictional character is that the period in which his flawed character is exercising its existential being-in-the-world is a period that has finally begun to open itself to a full historical, cultural, philosophical, psychological, and sociological set of analyses and perspectives. <br /><br />Those of us who were alive and aware during that period are familiar with men whose life-choices are reflected in characters like Don Draper and Roger Sterling. History has not treated them well. Why should we expect an exceedingly well written, well directed, and well acted television series to find a heroic masculine soul in all of this? <br /><br />Matthew Weiner has always sculpted the character of Don Draper to make decisions in his own self-interest. As well he should. Draper is interesting to study because he has a touch more depth and perspicacity than many of the men of his age. (He is certainly less sensitive to the needs of others than any of the women surrounding him.) As well, his open wounds and unique vulnerabilities help to reveal a pattern to the manner in which he solves creative problems and deploys his survival skills. But I think we are deeply mistaken to conflate these wounds and vulnerabilities with any cause for additional sympathy--or with somehow holding some special key to his personal redemption.<br /><br />Episode after episode we see that Don Draper has the potential to be "so much more" than he is. But that is true of every character who has ever existed--as it is true of each and every one of us. Still, episode after episode I listen to viewers speaking of being "disappointed" by Don Draper (and, thus Matthew Weiner) because he did X instead of Y. (If what people want is a dependable hero, maybe they should watch reruns of "Walker, Texas Ranger.")<br /><br />The character of Dr. Faye Miller is obviously much more intellectually evolved than Megan. What the finale shows us is that Don Draper chose otherwise. Will he face existential consequences for this choice next season? Of course. No one gets off scot free.Lars Macombnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081747433018117316.post-78827757901002417222010-10-19T23:54:32.823+05:002010-10-19T23:54:32.823+05:00I've had a problem with the dramatization sinc...I've had a problem with the dramatization since Sally's tripping at the office. It just seemed too neat a test, especially when Faye virtually screams to the audience, "Hey I just failed a TEST!"<br /><br />My charitable side thinks the following. Faye's problem is not that she is bad with kids per se, but that she is too concerned with what Don thinks about her. In another words, her extreme self-awareness curdles into self-conscious performance anxiety. When she decides to give Don the Heinz tip, she failed the real test in Don's eyes-- that "spark" of independence and fight that would have told him to get the hell out of her face. Megan, on the other hand, takes control. She says she won't be crying the day after their fling, that "I just want you right now." In other words, she's asserting her desire instead of just waiting on Don. <br /><br />Don wants more than a mother figure (Anna, Faye) and not a daughter figure either (Betty). He wants a woman who goes after what she wants while remaining cool, graceful, caring toward her family. He wants to reclaim being a dad and husband, with a wife who is just as Draper-smooth as he can be. He wants to fulfill what is expected of him. He is deluded, and the tragedy will soon become apparent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com