Aug 152008
I hope y’all don’t mind if we go back a week, I have some dangling thoughts about Flight 1.
Virtually every woman at Paul’s party was protecting her status. Peggy works with the stuffed shirts, not for them. Joan is an office manager, not a head secretary. Sheila has already driven to the supermarket, thankyouverymuch. Trudy feels they have to show up because these people “work for” Pete. (No shit?)
In all our conversations about Paul’s pomposity, this party was all about status and presentation. And for the women, it was a forceful and uphill climb.
14 Responses to “Women defending themselves”
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Good you all are revisiting this episode!
Paul for all his asshattery, threw one helluva party! It looked fun, with great music and an eclectic mix of folks. He may be pompous but he appeared to be a good host! Also, it was good seeing women assert themselves in a variety of ways. It showed that ladies' options (office manager, store manager, homemaker, copywriter) were opening up, slowly but surely.
I think it's interesting that we got to see the women jostling for position but I'm sure the men were doing the same thing. After all a party like that is designed for "see and be seen." After all Ken lets Paul know he recognizes the typewriter and now has something to hold over him.
I think one of the story arcs we're going to see is the emergence of American feminism, probably starting this season (and I suspect from a place we wouldn't expect – think Betty, not Joan).
Michael, that's interesting that you say that, because I see Joan, not Betty, as the unexpected source of feminism.
Kay, I'm with you; it looked like a great party, with a makeout hall and everything. Plus it's ten minutes from my apartment. Grant you, ten minutes and nearly fifty years, but still…
Kay, we'll definitely be revisiting episodes here at the Basket. Every day here is cumulative; season 1 and previous season 2 episodes are up for grabs.
I agree it was a good party, in part because Paul knew how to mix it up. He had co-workers, friends from college, neighbors, and the lady who works at the corner store.
Roberta, there was apparently an article in the NY Times recently about the history of Montclair, and Mad Men got it exactly right, including that a lot of ad execs lived there at that time.
I wonder how that relates to pharma. A lot of pharmaceutical companies are located in NJ, and have been for a long time (my good friend Albert's grandfather moved to NJ because of it). Today, there are pharmaceutical ad agencies out here as well, and Montclair makes for a great commute. Back then, I don't believe there was such a thing as a pharma-specific shop. When Duck Phillips met with everyone last season, he named all the client-types that Sterling Cooper did not have, and pharma was on his list.
Yeah, Johnson & Johnson is in New Brunswick and Bristol-Myers Squibb has a research campus in Lawrenceville. Merck is in Whitehouse Station. Interesting how they all congregated in one place, like the Silicon Valley of pharmaceuticals.
The Parisipanny area is a pharma hub and always has been. LSD was invented at Sandoz (a Swiss company), which used to be in Parsipanny and is now in Princeton.
I think the whole subject of women defending themselves is nothing new really. I mean, its just taken to whole new level is all. Women are constantly in competition with each other, whether its trying to one-up each other by bragging about their husbands, money, children, privledges, etc. Now, its just their jobs. And Pete is no exception. I chuckled, when Trudy said "people that work for YOU". He's such a chump sometimes. And how he quickly corrects her, that "some" of them work for him, incase anyone hears her say that and corrects her themselves. I think only his secretary works for him.
I agree with latenac, these parties are for people to "see and be seen" (and sometimes be obscene).
I thoroughly enjoyed this party moment actually. I'm really intrigued within this second season to see more characters "home lives".
New Jersey is called "America's Medicine Cabinet" because of all the pharma companies HQ'd there … just about all the major ones, except Lilly (Indianapolis) and a few others.
"When Duck Phillips met with everyone last season, he named all the client-types that Sterling Cooper did not have, and pharma was on his list."
Until quite recently, prescription drugs were not allowed to be advertised on television (I think there was a pre-Viagra spot blurb about that last week) – and did very little print advertising. They only advertised to doctors (seems kinda responsible, doesn't it?) Duck's pharma comment was probably referencing over-the-counter products, like Clearasil.
I don't think so. Would you refer to OTC as pharmaceuticals back then? Bayer aspirin? I mean, maybe you would… I have NO idea.
But you're right, and so now I wonder if Duck's line is anachronistic.
But true dat about Clearasil. So color me confounded.
I think it was accurate for the time … wasn't Geritol considered a pharmaceutical?
The general meaning I think has changed over time, where the level of information about medication at the consumer level is much higher now than it was then. I think the term has been around a long time, but the meaning has shifted from OTC to prescription. Good research topic.
I think the only reason we will see the emerging feminism through Betty is because she is the one most stereotypically defining what the feminist resist.
Joan, even though she does use her looks is a working single girl. She does what she likes. Peggy is already breaking ground on her role. They are considered women who have yet to get what "women want" according to that times norms (a husband and children).
Betty supposedly has it all, family, home, looks. She is supposed to be happy. So when she starts to get disillusioned it will get more notice.
Society was used to the working girls and single women complaining about their lives. They were not used to happy Homemakers raising hell.
"Until quite recently, prescription drugs were not allowed to be advertised on television (I think there was a pre-Viagra spot blurb about that last week) – and did very little print advertising. They only advertised to doctors (seems kinda responsible, doesn’t it?) Duck’s pharma comment was probably referencing over-the-counter products, like Clearasil."
Snake oil has always been one of the main revenue streams for advertisers. Aspirin and other pain relievers, vitamins, stuff like Geritol (exactly what did that do? Anyone? Buehler?), gadgets (like the Relaxacizer, I think), and maybe bandages, calamine lotion, arthritis cream, burn ointment, skin whiteners (yes, there used to be a big market for this), and other first aid products, possibly personal products, too like toothpaste, mouthwash, hair products, shaving lotion, etc., may have also been considered "pharmaceutical" products back then. Anything sold in a drug store, right?