By: Allison Perlman

Allison Perlman — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:28:00 +0000

At least since the second season, I have felt that one of the more cynical aspects of Mad Men is its treatment of civil rights. With the exception of Paul’s African American girlfriend and southern sojourn, the show typically slips in references to civil rights, frequently to illustrate the indifferent or callous reactions of our characters — like Betty telling Carla, after the Birmingham church bombing, that perhaps now is not the time for fights for racial equality or Bert Cooper, in this past week’s episode, deriding both the Civil Rights Act and LBJ’s Great Society programs as socialism on the march. The dialogue never lingers long on these conversations, and they are presented as just one topic of many, substantially less important to our characters than office politics or gossip. They often feel included for the audience’s benefit, to signal to us where the show is in time or to remind us just how much the series departs from previous, celebratory depictions of the 1960s.

I admit that the cynicism works for me, insofar as the show’s treatment of civil rights could not be more different than other popular depictions in which white characters unlearn their racism via their relationships with virtuous African American characters, ultimately linking arms in the fight for racial justice. But I agree that the show’s revisionism hinges exclusively on its white characters’ relationship to politics of the period, the people of color in the series often feeling like props to underscore the racial hierarchies and ugly sentiments of the era but not meaningful characters in their own right.

By: Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:28:30 +0000

I really like what you say, here, LeiLani, about how the show frequently doesn't depict non-whites, but does in the process find ways to depict white privilege. It's a tenuous strategy, though, since they need to give enough brief interchanges between the characters and "race" (because of course the characters have the privilege of not needing to feel they even have a race), or else it's simply an issue of non-depiction and of the writers avoiding the issue. Like you, I tend to want to give the show the benefit of the doubt, but I've probably been over-lenient in my expectations, and part of me says that it's now Season 4 and it's time they do more. The Wire's a nice model here, of a serial show that realized it didn't need to do everything at once, but that successive seasons would be an option to start adding layers. I hope Mad Men adds more this season

Comments on: Mad Men, Episode 4.2: Everything New is Old Again

By: Allison Perlman

By: Jonathan Gray