Scumbucket Charisma

The Lovable Anti-Hero

Is it merely coincidence that three of Netflix' most popular shows are 'protaganized' by three of the world's most self-interested deviants?  I'm referring of course to the three above; Walter White from Breaking Bad, Frank Underwood of House of Cards, and the notorious Don Draper from Mad Men.

Oh and let's not forget:

Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy                                          Nancy Botwin of Weeds

Dexter of Dexter                                                      Tony Soprano of The Sopranos

Do we understand the current climate of our television programs? 

In one of my first blogs, I laid out the Hero's Journey according theologian Joseph Campbell, and how Don Draper fit into that archetypal model.  I stand behind the idea that Don Draper, like most protagonists, follow a similar archetypal journey throughout the plot of a given story.  However, somewhere along the way it seems it became good, to be bad.

We love rebellion. Most cult-groups promise some sort of stray from the norm.  The Grateful Dead became one of the most universally recognized cult-bands of all time because they offered a lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock n roll through their music. People with Jeeps can drive far off the beaten path, because they're adventurous and DIFFERENT.

Joseph Campbell wrote "The Hero with A Thousand Faces" in 1949.  He argued that almost every story ever written, including Moses' journey through the dessert and myths of ancient Greece and Mesopotamia, had a similar main character plot structure.  The profane human becomes a hero, goes on a journey with struggles and abysses, learns a valuable lesson, and returns home, transformed.  I believe that the anti-hero television movement aims to stray from this long-established norm.

Consider the 2001 Steven Soderbergh movie, "Ocean's Eleven." While I realize the movie was originally filmed in 1960 starring Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., Soderbergh brought back a powerful idea, of cheering for the bad-guy. Danny Ocean and his crew of 10 dudes, (10 + 1 = 11; i.e. Ocean's Eleven) plan to heist a Las Vegas casino for millions.  Oh and he made sure to incorporate three generations of hunks in George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon.  When you have bad-ass charismatic lead men like this, it almost authorizes them to do whatever they want and the audience will hop on board with the cause.

So thus, we have Walter White dissolving bodies in acid and Frank Underwood pushing his journalist-with-benefits in front of a train.  Don Draper is one of the most interesting case studies in turning south because, excluding his nuptial infidelity, he's not always a terrible guy.  For the first 2 seasons, Draper doesn't want to cheat on Betty, things are nice at home, and he values his relationship with Bobby and Sally.  But at the beginning of the end of his marriage with Betty, Don turns into the monster that we love to watch.

We can thank Matthew Weiner for this.  Weiner won nine Primetime Emmy Awards for his writing on both Mad Men and The Sopranos. Weiner is head-writer and creator of Mad Men. Weiner finished his work on The Sopranos in 2007, the same year Mad Men debuted on AMC. Weiner used the mobster-murderer, Tony Soprano, as the mold in which to cast his new character, Don Draper. Draper became the stage on which Weiner's evil writing could dance.  He can cheat, drink, and verbally abuse anyone he pleases upon his throne as creative director.  Weiner imagined Don Draper as America, but I see him more as the corrupt King of the states, if we were a monarchy.  

Jon Hamm once told Time magazine "People always tell me 'I want to be just like Don Draper.' I ask 'Why? You want to be a miserable drunk?'" We don't really understand why we obsess over these horrible people, other than the fact that they're entertaining and original.  Not many of us have the capacity to be so vicious and remain so calm on the exterior. We can only remain fascinated at the vile actions of these fictional characters, because they're so much better than we are at keeping it cool.

Don & Duck

Does Don plus Duck equal 'Donald Duck'?

 

(Duck Phillips and Don Draper in AMC's Mad Men)

It's clear to me that the Mad Men writers have a file for almost every one-on-one relationship in the show, simply because of the intricacies of dialogue and recurring motifs between characters.  One of the most fascinating relationships is between Don Draper and Duck Phillips.

Is it just a coincidence that whenever these two appear together on screen, the short tempered child comes out in both of them?  Or perhaps is Donald Duck the microcosm of the relationship between Duck Phillips and Don Draper?

The incident that gets their frictional relationship started is when Sterling Cooper drops Mohawk Airlines to avoid a conflict of interest to pursue "a wink" from American Airlines according to Don.  Obviously a national airline, with more flights and passengers meant potentially more money for the firm.  The ambitious new Duck Phillips was all over the chance to put Sterling Cooper advertisements on national television and in big name magazines.  But Don hesitated. He told Duck that dropping Mohawk Airlines would be unethical and look like they have no loyalty to their current and prospective clients.  Moreover, Don fought for the account by saying that "We have a good client, that likes our work, who pays their bills on time." In a later conversation with Roger, Don asks him, "What kind of company are we going to be?"  to which Roger says "The kind where everyone has a summer home."

Ultimately, the American Airlines ambition failed and Don hand fed a heavy-helping of 'Itoldyaso' right into Duck's oddly delicate beak.  When a new face of the agency makes such a violent mistake in his first month, it forever sets a precedent on the relationship that can never be broken.

You may recall an episode in the fourth season depicting the night of the Mohammed Ali vs. Sonny Liston fight in which the recently fired, alcoholic Duck storms into the office and attempts to leave a gift on Don's desk. When Don comes back into the room, the two have an amicable fight which Duck triumphs.

It seems that when these two come together, they produce a frustrated immature dynamic that can only be explained by such a lively and irritable Disney character. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but a notable one at that.