In the occult, the phrase “As above, so below” means that large things correspond to small things; the ways of the universe correspond to the ways of the individual, and vice versa. The phrase is symbolized in the tarot card of The Magician; he points above and below, and on his table are the four tools of the tarot (wand, pentacle, cup, sword): These small things are symbols of the four elements that comprise all of reality, and so the table below corresponds to the universe above. (The entire phrase is “As above, so below. As the universe, so the soul.”)
Writers have the trick of the Magician. Or they should. Matt Weiner does. Large events are small events, historical context is only meaningful if seen in the lives of individuals, and individuals are illuminated by historical context.
In other words, the Kennedy assassination is about the Draper marriage, and Pete’s demotion, and Peggy’s affair, and these things are about the assassination. It’s not belittling the event, it’s reflection, juxtaposition, and the work of the Magician.
I don’t know what all of it means. I can’t draw all the lines on the chart. But I do know that “the end of the world” is being played out on the big stage and the small ones, in the public eye and in the bedroom, and we are meant to make this connection. In fact, we don’t even have to understand it; it’s enough, as Ken says when seeing the Rothko, to feel it.
Part of what Brett Johnson and Matt Weiner did so right with The Grownups was to let people be exactly as they are. Have you ever, ever heard people reminisce about back-biting gossip on November 22, 1963? Of course not! And yet, of course, it happened. People are themselves. Life goes on, weddings happen (and funerals and births, as Joan points out), but everything feels different.
Pete is spoiled and gossipy and superior, and Trudy thinks about what’s correct and stands by him. Peggy is smothered by her mother and using work (and a work-infused romance) to escape. Betty is overwrought and can’t cope and ignores her children. Don pours on the denial as fast as he can. Joan copes. Harry plods. Duck is inappropriate. Roger serves as MC. Bert hangs back. Every single person is exactly true to their own character, and their experience of the national tragedy is exactly right. Only Carla slips the mask, and that’s right too.
Pete interests me so much this week. Despite his Secor Laxative prank, I suspect he voted for Kennedy. He wasn’t interested in watching election returns at the office party, he likened Kennedy to Elvis, and his ideas seem increasingly progressive (at least the kind of pseudo-progressive that can read Ebony and hope for change while still being a misogynist willing to extort sex). His experience of both national tragedy and personal defeat is complex; childish yet insightful, pouty yet clear-minded. Trudy listens, strategizes, feels deeply but doesn’t put her feelings first, and takes off her sixties matchy-matchy shoes.
What does Betty experience? Perhaps merely Don’s failure to make everything all right. She kissed him and felt nothing. She thinks that means she doesn’t love him. Don thinks his cheating doesn’t hurt his marriage, and he’s wrong. Betty thinks a kiss should be magical or else her marriage is loveless, and she’s wrong. Dear Gods, these are two people with not a clue about marriage. Several commenters faulted Don for patronizing Betty, but she is still fundamentally the woman, the grown woman, who berated her father for not treating her like his “little girl.”
Ironically, and pointedly, Don was more honest with his children than he was with Betty. “We’ll be sad” he says to his kids. That’s true. Later, he lies to Sally, but by then, he is out of resources.
Roger’s performance at his daughter’s wedding is very similar to his performance at the end of The Color Blue. Roger is at his finest when insincerity is called for. He knows exactly how honest to be in order to make it work every bit as well as a lie. The honesty was kind of stunning, wasn’t it? There’s few guests and no waiters. Mona wants to kill Margaret but she’s awesome, and Jane isn’t. This is a disaster but have a good time anyway. Without that level of honesty, no one could have relaxed, or danced, or had any kind of a good time at all. He saved the day. And make no mistake, the honesty here was as calculated as the dishonest praise of Don at the banquet; Roger just knows how to give the right speech at the right time.
And later, he knows to call the only other person who continues to cope no matter what; who sees things clearly and can be honest but doesn’t have to be (unlike the Drapers, who are never really open, or the Campbells, who can’t restrain the blurting).
As above, so below. As the nation changes and yet does not change, so the individuals change, and yet do not change.
66 Responses to “As Above, So Below”
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Wow! I totally missed the sleeping pills/suicide motif. We've learned a lot about suicide as an attention-getter (and not an absolute death wish) during the last few decades, which makes me wonder: which MM character needs that much attention right now? I have to agree that Suzanne comes across as a pill-popping/too late phone call/possible accidental overdoser… this could be really interesting.
Thanks for the incredible insight, y'all!
@ 50 not_Bridget- I agree with you 100% about how Beatlemania will be covered. I didn't mean we were going to hear a lot of Beatles songs in the office, but depending on when the next season starts, we may hear about the crowds, and there may be a conversation in the elevator/conference room about Ed Sullivan. I think there's going to be a scene of Peggy, Kurt, and Smitty, being asked to use Beatlemania to sell something. Not that they are going to use the Beatles themselves, but the look/style/type of music.
re: #38- Nip/Tuck did a sensitive suicide/euthanasia story in season 2, I believe. Sean was having an affair with a woman Megan whose breast cancer had returned.
Apparently the documentary The Bridge about people jumping off the Golden Gate bridge examined the lives of a few of the jumpers.
I don't know that you'll get much compassionate examination outside of euthanasia or ritual suicide stories since it otherwise can't really be viewed as a rational decision.
l-o-m- pyle, in full metal jacket would count for me.
#38: A guy killed himself on FlashForward last night, but for a timey-wimey, SF kind of reason.
(Last night was the second episode I'd seen–not sure about the show but it's an interesting cast. Callum Keith Rennie, Jack Davenport, one of the Fiennes boys & a formerly-Lost Hobbit. Plus Jane Siegel-Sterling!)
#50: I'm pretty sure we won't hear any real Beatles music if/when the Mad Men encounter Beatlemania. Too hard to get rights to those tunes. (Blame Yoko.)
I'm kinda surprised everyone thinks MM will have to deal with Beatlemania. I just don't see it impinging on the adult world of MM. Maybe Peggy, Smitty and Kurt will fall under their spell (although even they might be a little bit old) and if my own family experience (me being Sally's age) is any guide, maybe the Drapers will gather in front of the TV to watch them on the Ed Sullivan Show. But otherwise, I don't think Bealtlemania influenced the lives of my parents much at all.
Could be wrong, but I just don't see it being THAT big of a deal for the show.
#56 Jackie, Nip/Tuck kind of wore me out before they got to that story I guess. I'll check it out, thanks.
not_Bridget, " I'm leaving this cruel world to repair a rip in the space/time continuum" sounds almost noble. That cast does sound worth it though.
and Nancy esme Guildenkrantz — you are dark and timely, (if you've seen the news today) that's why I'm following you around so much.
"Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?"
Concerning Beatlemania: Check my post #50.
In which I point out that it will only be dealt with peripherally if at all. As a high schooler in 1964, the Beatles made lots of impact on me & my classmates. But Sally's a bit young & the Mad Men & Women are definitely too old. Kurt & Smitty were hired because somebody had heard about "The Youth Market"–maybe that concept will get a little more attention.
My nomination for Cultural Phenomenon Sterling Cooper Will Unfortunately Miss: Andy Warhol & his Factory. Totally relevant to the world of advertising. Plus sex, drugs & an impending assassination attempt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol#1960s
Might Kurt or Smitty wander to an art happening? What would Don or Roger make of the Factory denizens? Right in the same city–but far away from our Mad Folk.
n-B: well, by "everyone" I meant "some people" of course.
Re #61- That would be a nice way to catch up with Midge. As a graphic designer she might be part of the Warhol scene.
Matt Weiner himself just talked about why he finally did a Kennedy episode to TV Guide, at http://www.tvguide.com/News/MadMen-Weiner-Kennedy…
Off topic question that has been rolling around my mind (and my sister's) this afternoon, ever since reading about Peggy and Pete's baby and hoping that it doesn't get introduced into the show:
Was that Peggy's sister's baby (blond haired little boy) who was sleeping in the crib in S2, the one Peggy had to hold during Mass? Her sister made such a point of making Peggy go say goodbye to the sleeping babe in one episode that we thought, well, maybe the State of New York made the decision to place the baby with family. But did they do that in the 1960's — place unwanted children with family?
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