Friday 7 January 2011

Mad Men: an ode to Joan

I might be three years behind the crowd but i have recently, thanks to my sister and boyfriend, 'found' Mad Men.

What i absolutely love about this show, based in the 1950's and 60's in an advertising agency on Madison Avenue, is how on the surface it may look like it indulges in the sexism of the era. I know people who have turned off by the frustration of seeing how woman are portrayed.

The men are promiscuous, alcoholic, chain smokers, the woman are house wives or gossip gathering secretaries. But dig a little deeper and you will find the strongest female characters ever portrayed on television (and yes i am including Buffy).

Take Joan, for example, wonderful Joan. Tackling the barriers and challenges of the era both in the work place and home life, she manages to stay in control by a) being a complete bitch b) manipulating everyone using her feminine wiles c) still keeping in line with what 'her' society expects of her. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she should be a role model, but she is strong, intelligent and independent - Sex and The City characters should take note.

Plus, this is perhaps the first time that a curvy woman (and by curvy she is probably a size 10) has taken a lead role and is the sexual icon of a show. The Los Angeles Times quoted the actress Christina Hendricks as having "a rump as big as a holiday ham" in the article 'Is Joan Too Plump For Primetime?' which sparked a multitude of outcrys.

It is striking how different our society is from the 60's but if this is the first time a curvy woman has managed to really become a sexual icon in favour of the size 0, maybe we are not as far on as we thought?

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