Faye, You Were The One...

Oh Faye... Let me use the beginning of this article to say that we are all dearly sorry for what transpired between you and Don Draper. He knew not what he did. Don's useless arrogance overshadowed the importance of his relationship with a driven and career-oriented woman who genuinely cared for him despite his endless pursuit of the bottom of the bottle.

This is starting to feel like an obituary.

The 10 episodes of Mad Men you graced us with gave us hope that Don might finally situate himself with someone who could heal the wounds of Anna's death. Not to mention, you're the only woman in the entire Mad Men series given the respect and credibility of a professional. With your gentle, considerate demeanor complimented by the powerful and intimidating doctorate degree in psychology...

No, perhaps this is a love letter.

Faye, you're a classy chick. You didn't whore your way into Don's good graces either; you made him work for it. After he hit rock bottom the night of the Sonny Liston v. Mohammed Ali fight, he realized if he ever wanted to be worthy of someone like Dr. Faye he was gonna have to clean up his act. And they couldn't have picked a better actor to play her part.

Cara Buono, I might actually be falling for you.

A New York City girl born and raised, you graduated from Columbia in 1995 to go full time with your acting career which was already well underway.  Buono even wrote and directed the short film "Baggage", which I must say is up there with Wes Anderson's "Hotel Chevalier" as one f my favorite short films I've seen. But most of all, your character Dr. Faye was so natural because it seems she wasn't far off from the person you are in real life.

Faye was the one.

Faye's character makes men ache for the women they've hurt in the past, and I imagine women feel that same pain much more directly.  The story of Faye seems to comfort and massage all of our hearts before violently ripping them out of our chests.

We the fans still love you Faye.

We appreciate how you got our protagonist back on his feet. You don't cook and you're not good with kids, but Don would have much rather gone to dinner and pass his kids along to ex-wife anyway. You thought you two were going all the way, and we were strapped in for the same happily ever after. And then Don drove that bus off a cliff. SURPRISE!!! Don's sleeping with his secretary again.
But this time, Don's naive and vulnerable enough to think he's experienced the "struck-with-lightning" love he told Rachel Menken doesn't actually exist. Turns out he was right. Don proposes to Megan in Disney World (real original Don) and Faye's world gets shattered with a soulless break-up phone call from Don.

A good man doesn't do that. But Don isn't a good man. Even though it seems you might never love again, we're all cheering for you Faye. And it's good to know that Cara Buono is happily married and leading a continually successful acting career.

If you ever read this Cara Buono, know that I deeply respect your acting work in Mad Men and The Sopranos. AND your poise has struck me similarly to how you struck Don Draper, and I (along with many others, I'm sure) am deeply enchanted by you. Intelligent, intimidating and beautiful in all sorts of ways.

P.S. I'm glad you talk so fondly of your husband in interviews.  It makes us all very happy to know that there's not some miserable alcoholic putting you on the back burner of his agenda in real life.

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.

Take Me to the Pilot

I have recently restarted Mad Men on Netflix, marking the start of my seventh lap through the series. 

The pilot episode of any TV show is usually one of the best episodes in the series.  To illustrate the importance of a pilot episode I'll quote Samuel L. Jackson's character, Jules, from Pulp Fiction: 

"Well, the way they pick TV shows is, they make one show. That show's called a pilot. Then they show that one show to the people who pick shows, and on the strength of that one show they decide if they want to make more shows. Some get chosen and become television programs. Some don't, become nothing."

So as you might imagine if the producers are excited about a show they'll pump a lot of money into the pilot, hoping it will be picked up.  A successful pilot begs for whatever's next.

So what's so cool about Mad Men's pilot?

Betty and Don Draper (played by January Jones and Jon Hamm)

As any pilot should, it sets the stage for the remainder of the series.  It introduces us to Don Draper, "the greatest ad-man ever."  He wings his way through a meeting with Lucky Strike cigarettes, pulling the phrase "IT'S TOASTED" out of the smoky air.  Through the course of the 50 minute show he sleeps with an artist named Midge, charms his female client Rachel Menken, declines a strong offer from his new secretary Peggy, and in the end goes home to his wife, Betty (played by January Jones, who I might add is a total babe.)

One of the best sequences in the episode is when Don has his first conversation with Pete Campbell, simply because Don so eloquently and offhandedly sums up Pete's entire career in advertising as he walks into a meeting. 

"Advertising is a very small world and when you do something like malign the reputation of a girl in the steno pool on her first day, you make it even smaller. Keep it up, and even if you do get my job, you'll never run this place. You'll die in that corner office, a mid-level executive with a little bit of hair who women go home with out of pity. Want to know why? Cause no one will like you."

As we get this misogynistic, yet heroic portrait of the most creative mind on Madison Avenue, there are still a lot of blank spaces left to be filled.  The pilot only scratches the surface of the most important parts of Don, like his family and background.  And it drops anecdotes about his arrogance, ignorance, and lack of a sense of meaning in life.  



"The reason you haven't felt it is because it doesn't exist. 

What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell
nylons...

 ... I'm living like there's no tomorrow, because there  isn't one. "





So we've established within this first episode that Don Draper is a charismatic asshole who makes love to many, but doesn't truly love anything, except booze.  He has a history in the army, resides in the top 1% tax bracket, and treats his family, fellow employees, and clients like garbage but still gets mad respect from all of them.  

If you love character based stories, you'll probably be jumping around like a kid about to pee himself until you watch the next episode.  And THAT, is precisely why this pilot is so good.  

Seven time through the series, and I've always watched the second episode immediately after the first.  The desire to unravel the enigma that is Don Draper is more addictive than Lucky Strike cigarettes.  

The Mythology of Mad Men

Philosopher and theologian Joseph Campbell said that mythology does 4 things;

1. It uncovers 'mystical' or mysterious truths of life.

2. It 'pedagogically' teaches us how to live fruitful and prosperous lives.

3. It makes us 'sociologically' aware of others.

4. It acknowledges the 'cosmological' questions and paradoxes which we can never fully understand.

Mythology is a testament to the human condition told through stories.  As with all stories, myths have characters, archetypes, themes, symbolism, settings, and truth.  But the truth of mythology does not exist within the profane realm.  Myths are stories, that didn't necessarily occur, but help us live a life of meaning.  

Santa Claus is one of the world's greatest myths.  Every year on Christmas Eve parents around the world tell their children a fat man is going to land on the roof and deliver presents.  As the kids age, they start to question the validity of Santa's gift-giving spree that happens every year on a really cold night.  Many parents tell their children that Santa was a fake and that they lied to them, and it makes them sad.  Although I don't have kids, I would tell children that although the story of Santa's sleigh isn't necessarily true, it doesn't mean it's not truthful.  

Santa Claus comes only once a year and he makes everyone happy, and generous, and he spreads a lot of cheer.  Santa brings with him the joy of the Christmas season.

So what does any of this have to do with Mad Men?

Mad Men is a very rich, complex accumulation of characters in a TV drama that dances effortlessly between several layers of story line.  When analyzed as myth, the drama unleashes truth through mannerisms and tone of speech.  Maybe we can't have a drink with Don himself (although we'd all like to), but we can watch his suave character transform based on his context.  We see him make the same mistakes again and again, but we don't want to change him for it.  We're along for the ride with the protagonist; the hero. 

It teaches the 'mystical' secrets of living in a time where "the bomb" could drop any minute, and there may be no tomorrow.  Don teaches his associates how to live, write, and prosper by being the best at all of those things and leading by example.  Don's platonic and sexual relationships give us sociological perspective on our own relationships.  Finally, Mad Men teaches through a cosmological function which establishes the niches of archetypal characters, to illustrate where each piece and person fits in the universe.  

Joseph Campbell also said that every myth that has ever been written is true... for a certain context.  "If we give truth a contemporary medium, we too can have myth."  

Writers of myth speak in a vocabulary of acts and adventures.  Mad Men is one compilation of acts and adventures that illustrates a dynamic cast of characters in a fascinating time period.  The wisdom that is delicately sown into the script can help illustrate a plethora of humanity's truths, while keeping us on the edge of our seat with passionate dialogue.  My hope is this blog will help share ideas and create discussion about the deep layers within AMC's Mad Men.