This season has been hard for me to post about. I have several thoughts and impressions, none of which might justify an entry. I think a lot of my time will be spent Betty Boosting.
One of the things I love about Mad Men is that there are few complete villains, and that — at one time or another — I’ve found myself liking every character. This episode, I really loved Pete, and I’ve really loved him with Trudy this season. I won’t deny that he’s done some icky things, but he’s also the guy who gets a lot of things right. I believe he’s a better guy than he should be based on his upbringing. In the Grown-Ups, he was my surrogate. He seemed to say and feel all the things I could imagine myself saying and feeling. I think I would have wanted to block out the world too and cuddle on the couch with a loved one. This is one of the few people who seemed disgusted by Roger in black face, and his reaction to Kennedy’s death — in light of that moment — seemed particularly consistent.
When Matt Weiner conceived of the show, and in the first season, he would have had no reasonable expectation that if he covered the Kennedy assassination that it might have extra significance to a modern day audience, because the current president would be young, handsome, and dynamic, with a lovely wife, and young children — and not just Kennedy endorsed, but pronounced by the patriarch of the family to be the new torch-bearer. I can’t think I was the only one who related to Pete in good part because of that piece of almost serendipity. I say almost, because, we know that by the time this was written they knew all too well the parallel.
At the end of season 2, Pete talks about Trudy not knowing him, but — as much as I bought into it at the time — is quite possibly romantic claptrap. Either he was wrong or whatever happened after Peggy’s reaction brought the Campbells closer together. At first this season, I thought perhaps he was just trying with Trudy, because he had nowhere else to go, but I think there’s real chemistry there. She makes Pete a better man. Who could have seen that coming in the early episodes? I know I had their marriage pegged (is that considered a pun?) a different way.
Then there’s Don. Many of us were really angry at his treatment of Sal, and I’m still angry at him. We all want to think that he has a core decency, no matter what, and his screwing over someone who is talented and loyal really messed with that belief. My heart is breaking for him though. What a horrible moment. More than anything, Don wants to feel loved, good enough, and there’s no worse feeling than being taken by surprise the way he was when Betty told him she didn’t love him. That moment was what he’d spent his life fearing. The writing and Jon Hamm’s performance helps the viewer forget that a lot of the sympathy is based on how good he was for the span of one episode!
I’m not angry at Betty though, and that’s the wonder of this show. I often feel she gets treated unfairly, as if we have to choose sides in the Draper marriage. I’m a proponent of people taking from a show what they need, but it never ceases to amaze me how little sympathy there is for Betty, and how even her kind moments are looked upon with suspicion. One of the comments about this episode is that Don was better without her and that she’s too high maintenance. Season 1 Betty didn’t even have a real voice and didn’t ask too many questions, and, frankly, she’d have to be a whole lot worse to not be worthy of a serial womanizer and a man who lied to her about everything. Whether Don was selling or not, he was possibly right when he said just about a year ago that he’d be alone forever if she left him.
Betty’s not wanting out because of Henry. I don’t buy it. I have no doubt his admiration gives her confidence, but this was a long time coming. Every single tiny earthquake has led her to where she is now, and the ground has been moving under her feet for a long time now. Season 3 didn’t start with a clean slate and all was forgiven. All the hurt was still inside of her and very little, if any, healing had happened. Betty has had a series of major upheavals. A betrayal, a pregnancy, the death of her remaining parent, and more betrayals, led her to a point where she knows she can’t count on Don Draper. Her recently deceased father, in many ways, was right about her husband; he doesn’t have people, but that’s by choice. When she talked about him not understanding money, it was snobby, but it was also straight from her childhood, straight from the prejudices of her parents. She clearly sees herself as an orphan, which is also someone without people, but not by choice. When you’re married to a guy who is never where he’s supposed to be, and who walked away from his family, and another wife, I’m guessing that could keep you up at night.
I have maintained, and I know this is just speculation on my part, that Betty loved Don enough that he could have come clean with her in the beginning and perhaps been okay. At one point, they were both starry-eyed. However, finding out about Dick Whitman after three children, and on top of everything else, is a whole different matter. No matter how pretty a face she put on things for a long time, you give her a little truth serum and she tells you that she never knows where her husband is, and now she can add that she doesn’t know who he is. I’m the first to acknowledge Betty has spent a long time in little girl mode, but she does deserve a feeling of security, and that keeps being taken from her. Love Don or not, he’s a manipulative husband.
I enjoyed Betty telling Sally the fairy tale. I know this was used against her, and I saw comments that if she was a better parent she should have predicted the nightmare, but I thought it was her most loving moment.I will acknowledge she was telling Sally a story that would have enchanted Little Elizabeth instead of one suited to Sally, but the intent was a loving one. Betty doesn’t get to believe in fairy tales, but she wants her daughter’s life to be magical. When she tells Sally about first kisses, she’s talking about herself, but she’s hoping for her daughter too. Betty still gets to dance with someone who looks a whole lot like the handsome prince, but it always feels like it’s just before midnight these days.
It’s a terrible thing to always be waiting for the next disaster, bracing yourself for the next aftershock. Betty would have to be out of her mind to relax or rest easy or trust in a happily ever after.
None of this means she’s without blame, but I think her poor mothering is more her crime than being a bad wife.
Times are definitely a-changing. The show still has all the things we love about it, but the tone has shifted. Anyone watching a scene or two from season 1 and then a sampling from the current season would be able to see that time has passed and relationships have changed. There’s no better proof that the people who say nothing happens are wrong than a comparison of the seasons. Every one of the characters has evolved or devolved while being true to their core qualities. This is another reason why I stand up for Betty — she is the best example of a character who is the same, but different. Too often on shows that run several seasons you go back to the pilot and realize that characters have either stagnated or are unrecognizable other than being played by the same cast. There are moments where you can see slight tweaks in characters, but this are the same folks with a few more years under the belt. Some of them are a little more frayed around the edges, some have went to unforeseen places, but it always makes sense.
83 Responses to “General Thoughts About The Grown-Ups and The Season Up To Now.”
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Gosh, Aran, thanks for the link that proves I must be a wingnut because Betty bores me sick. Yes, she's a victim of the patriarchy. (A word which she encountered in those anthropology classes she forgot in her rush to sit in the 'burbs & fret about "does he love me?" & "do I love him?")
But what about the other women on the show who've faced worse situations than she but continue to struggle? They aren't upper class enough to matter? I'd like to see more about Joan's life & Peggy's; heck, I'd like to see how Anita came to her current equilibrium. A bit more about Carla would help. And what about Sal? Women weren't the only ones with problems back then.
–Raised a Democrat in Texas by a widowed mother & grandmother. Who didn't excel in warm fuzziness–but didn't treat me & my sibs as dreadful burdens. And who managed to build lives for themselves without the problems of rich parents & Bryn Mawr educations.
Maybe they can give Betty some dialog with words longer than one syllable. "I have thoughts." Yeah, right.
whoa its early and I just read this whole thread – so many thoughts and feelings. I like what #49 says – the interesting thing about these characters is that they are like real people – we cannot fit them into nice little compartments. They are not "boring" because we can't figure them out – we don't know what they are going to do – that is good writing, acting and suspense.
I have learned so much about myself from this site – kudos to all of you who share and to Ms Darkley for this particular thread.
Carry on chaps. Good show.
I'm in the process of re-watching the first season, and I am really struck by how much of my reaction to Betty is fueled by how she has evolved — or devolved, I guess — since the show began. I forgot how much she seemed to try in the beginning to be part of Don's life, and how much he shut her out and shut her down, and how her interaction with her kids has deteriorated. She was never the warm earth mother type. but she wasn't nearly as cold and distant with everyone as she is now.
I'm glad I'm re-watching because it's giving me a clearer, and fairer I hope, read on what's going on with her. My sympathy level shot up a lot. It's so easy to react to her based on whatever we've seen most recently form her, and forget all the shit in her marriage that lead up to it.
On that note, I sure hope that whole point of this show isn't to show the complete despair of some people's lives. If that's all there is to it, I don't know how much I can watch.
Do you think we will be left with ANY sense of hope and optimism in the season finale?
On another note, a random prediction for next week: There will be a flashback to Dick's youth involving a death which will explain why he has such an aversion to children going to funerals and graveyards. Just a WAG on my part, and I'm not even sure why I think it might happen.
Don has a heart attack!!
Another prediction: If we're keeping with the "whole world is falling apart" theme for the season, Connie will pull the Hilton account, leaving Don with total rejection both professionally and emotionally. There's a happy thought for a Friday, eh?
@51 — I'm pretty sure Peggy and Joan matter to a lot of folks, myself included.
All the characters struggle, and deal with their struggles in ways unique to who they are. If Peggy or Joan had Betty's exact situation, they wouldn't be Peggy or Joan. Worse situations? Well, that's all sorts of relative.
People like Joan and Peggy, because they're feisty in ways modern people can understand easily. The only time people have on any large level been confused by Joan was her marrying the guy who raped her — that doesn't gel with what people in the aughts think a woman should do — but people are more dismayed than angry at her. However, both women are in bad relationships, and have opted to be in those relationships. They both have reasons for their choices.
Is physical abuse worse than emotional abuse? I'm not sure how to weigh that.
I'm pretty sure there aren't too many viewers giving Betty a pass for being of a more prosperous upbringing or in a wealthier class — if anything it makes people less tolerant, even though it can be argued that she's until recently been more "stuck" than the other women.
I worry about Sal. I want to know Sal is okay. I have to think we'll find out something next week, right? Something…good?!?!
I love this Season so far overall – very complex and multi-dimensional in many aspects – as has been described here and in other post topics. MAD MEN may well be deservedly heading for a "three-fer" at the EMMY's next year – amazing.
My only significant problem with this Season through EP 12 is the dropping of Salvatore Romano/Bryan Batt.
ALL great TV series are great for many reasons – not the least of which is a strong supporting series-regular cast. MAD MEN is uniquely blessed in this regard. Removing the Salvatore character, and its interesting, moving, and relevant contributions to this particular drama is beyond my ability to comprehend. And not utilizing the tremendous artisitic and performing talents of Bryan Batt, multiplies the mystery of the Producers dropping him even further.
I know this is what they "get paid the big bucks for" – but as a devoted fan of this wonderful show, I am very concerned about this decision…
Peter G: I'm hoping they will find a way to bring Sal back. They need an art director. ("They" being SC. Or what SC becomes. Or an agency yet to be named.)
But we need to see more of Sal (& Kitty).
"People like Joan and Peggy, because they’re feisty in ways modern people can understand easily. The only time people have on any large level been confused by Joan was her marrying the guy who raped her — that doesn’t gel with what people in the aughts think a woman should do — but people are more dismayed than angry at her. However, both women are in bad relationships, and have opted to be in those relationships. They both have reasons for their choices. "
I understand why Joan had married Greg. I just don't agree with why she had done it. As for Peggy, what bad relationship is she in? There was her affair with Pete in S1, but other than that . . .
I was willing early on to give Betty something of a pass as a mother because of the times, and the fact that many women were in her position: trained for nothing in particular beyond being a wife and mother, looking good, being the corporate spouse, maintaining order at home. Okay, I get that. And her emotional (Nordic) background didn't help, that she was groomed, so to speak, to be a housecat and admired and taken care of.
But – she lost me way back (season 1 maybe or early season 2) when she complains to Don that she's outnumbered by her kids – and they had only two then. How in the world does a grown woman feel outnumbered by two kids? And she has help in the ever-present Carla? By Betty's age my mother had 5 going on 9 kids, worked part-time outside the home, and had no housekeeper/cleaner/helper of any sort. If my mother felt "outnumbered" we sure never knew it, though she surely must have been. Had Betty been faced with fixing breakfast lunch and dinner for eleven people day in and day out (not to mention laundry) I might have some sympathy.
She has no drive, shows no initiative, has no clue about what she does want, just that she hates her (newly redecorated) home, neighbors, life. That's okay when you're 20 like Jane but in your 30s? Other than the rare Francine visit we haven't seen her interacting with neighbors, volunteering for anything before this season, taking the kids to the movies for fun etc. Her whole life seems like one big chore.
Now my dad was almost as busy as Don and worked many nights, so much so his colleagues at one point called him Captain Midnight. He was a police officer; my mother never knew when he left for work if she'd ever see him again. She hated when the phone rang after 10 at night because it was never good news. Years after he had to, he'd still leave at 4 a.m. for a drug bust. But, like Sally and Bobby we knew dad provided well, and he cared. He didn't play catch much with my brothers but because they were so rare the time he spent with us was wonderful – rides into the country, fireworks on July 4th, trips to the state fair (where he worked on his "vacation" to earn extra money for school clothes.)
As awful as Don's childhood was and given the demands of his work, he does try with the kids, especially for the times. We have to remember we're looking back in time through our own individual lenses – and that this IS fiction.
Now to worry about that finale…
But – she lost me way back (season 1 maybe or early season 2) when she complains to Don that she’s outnumbered by her kids – and they had only two then. How in the world does a grown woman feel outnumbered by two kids? And she has help in the ever-present Carla?
I'm not a mother, but speaking as a person who has done her share of babysitting, I can see where Betty is coming from. Children do . . . at least to me . . . make one feel outnumbered. Perhaps that is why I have never bothered to have kids. I found it interesting that Jon Hamm, who used to be a teacher of some kind, has made it clear in recent years that he doesn't want any kids. Maybe he had felt outnumbered during those years as a teacher.
The two latest episodes made me smile.
Roger the Mensch, King of Sardonia, inspires a haiku.
Smooth lyin’ scion
Roger tries the sole? yet still
Love lasts. Mona knows.
2>1
After reading #61-Floretta- thought I'd chime in.
I gave up my career as a doctor and now have 8 kids, and my husband works long hours outside of the house- and I LOVE Betty. I can totally relate to her being upset with Don in the episode you mentioned. I think she wanted a partner, some connectedness. She's so lonely and raising any number of kids (even 1!) tries the soul. She wanted affirmation that what she thought was a problem in their son- lying- was noticed and thought to be important by Don. She flipped out because his ignoring of Bobby's lying fit the larger pattern of his not treating her like an equal partner.
Betty hits a nerve in me A LOT I think because of the vulnerability women feel when they give up their careers and hitch their wagons to their husbands'. I picked my husband well and am valued and appreciated, and still every pregnancy brings about a feeling of complete vulnerability.
I love how Mad Men portrays the plight of women so achingly real through the female leads- and I think these issues will never go away- no matter what generation faces them. I actually read Betty's book- The Group- about the Vassar class of '33- and the same issues were there as well.
#63 LOM, you never cease to make me laugh. outloud. BTW, I think you meant "soul," didn't you? However, Roger has spent a lot of sole leather over the years in his quest to die in the arms of a 20 year old, so maybe that spelling fits, too.
It's interesting, given how this was supposed to be a post about "The Grownups" in particular and Season 3 in general, that all roads seem to keep leading to Don and Betty, especially Betty. Obviously, the disintegration of their marriage was the overarching theme of this season, possibly to the detriment of many other loose ends. In the past three years, I've learned I just have to trust MW, even if at times he's master of the red herring or otherwise seems to meander, when I want to see more and different. I admire how willing he is to pace things out at a rate that often seems hellaciously slow–as it seems he especially did this season–but I also love it, too. Nobody else on tv seems willing to devote the amount of time to fully devloping character or plot the way Matt does. In real life, things take their time to unfold and develop–they don't happen whiz-bang and get neatly tied up in a bow in 30 minutes. And in real life, people usually end up taking 3 steps back for every two steps forward; as Paul Simon said in "The Boxer," "after changes we are more or less the same." The older I get, the more truth I see in that and to me, Matt's genius is that he imitates the pace and feel of "real life" as closely as it's possible to in the space of 50 minutes.
That said, Season 3 more than Season 2 or especially Season 1, really demanded more of my patience and trust in where MM is going. Perhaps it was the newness of it, but I felt that each episode in Season 1 was like a complete little feature movie in and of itself. Each episode that followed was more icing on the cake, but if I had only to see one or two episodes, they could have just stood on their own. Season 2 definitely showed, subtly but surely how things were changing. Many of those episodes could stand on their own, too, but by the time "Meditations in An Emergency" aired, I could see how it was a logical progession in the whole arc of that year, and how "For Those Who Think Young" had laid the foundation.
Season 3 is continuing that trend. This in no way to denigrate the individual quality of each episode, but now each one seems less of a complete stand-alone than part of the whole. Perhaps that's inevitable now that the series is in its third year, perhaps not. But my impression this year more than the other two was that Matt really, really had specific themes on tap for 1963 (which essentially boil down to "the end of the world") and that the pathway to portraying that was largely through Don and Betty. That was a big risk to take because it put so many characters and stories on the periphery and at times came very close to veering on soap opera.
By now we have much more information about everybody, and there really and truly has been change from 1960 to 1963. A lot of it. And from my past experience of the last two years, I know the season finale is going to be a terrific summation that will have been worthy of my hanging in there and will also start to lay the groundwork for Season 4. Now that he knows for sure that he's got another Season (and probably another after that) I'm confident Matt is going to give us at least a clue about what will be ahead next year and let more characters strut the stage in Season 4.
I don't know if the theme of this season was so much "the end of the world," SFCaramia. I would describe it more as a transformative earthquake – the characters survive the series, but the landscape has completely changed.
I think most of the posts on this are about Don and Betty because they have been such a focus of the season, and I am fine with that. I think back in the discussions about S1 I "outed" myself as a huge Betty fan – and even more a fan of January Jones' portrayal. I said then that MM was amazing because they had taken the most thankless character stereotype – the bored 50s housewife – and had created a complete, compelling and wholely understandable human being. From the moment she picked up the BB gun in Shoot I knew there was a depth to Betty that we have yet to see.
@ 47 – Aran, thanks for that link – I agree with the writer whole-heartedly. Betty proves that many women were completely and utterly lost even while they were living the alleged American Dream (at least for them). As for Betty being "outnumbered," I remember my own mother talking about her brief stint at home taking care of us (about 3 years in duration before she went back to full-time teaching). She memorably told the story of pulling out the vacuum cleaner one day and literally falling apart crying over the damn machine. She simply could not work up the energy to clean the floors again. She felt entirely unfulfilled as a full-time housewife, but could not understand why (this was right about 1965). Her mother thought the best thing that ever happened to her was when my grandfather got a job during the Depression and she could finally quit her job as a seamstress at a silk mill. Like Betty, my mother simply was not wired to like that kind of life.
Thinking about the season as a whole, though, we have seen how so many characters will never be what they were in S1 – Peggy will never live at home in Brooklyn again; Roger knows now that marrying the hot young thing was a huge mistake; Pete and Trudy are firmly set on their lives together; Joan isn't getting the brass ring she thought she would, but will make whatever mess Greg creates work for her; Sal recognizes the lie of his life, even if he can't make a total break with Kitty; and of course Don and Betty have come to a huge crossroads after the revelation of his lie. Even the Brits are affected – I really wonder if Layne will return to England, and of course there's at least one Brit dealing with a life-changing event (oddly Lois is still the same).
The boys – Ken, Paul and Harry – don't seem to be evolving much, but perhaps they are part of the generation who are about to get very lost.
I am so excited about the finale, even if it means no MM for months.
@60 — Peggy got lumped in, because she was mentioned in post I was addressing. The question was: ** But what about the other women on the show who’ve faced worse situations than she but continue to struggle? They aren’t upper class enough to matter? ’d like to see more about Joan’s life & Peggy’s; heck, I’d like to see how Anita came to her current equilibrium. A bit more about Carla would help. And what about Sal? Women weren’t the only ones with problems back then.**
My point was that both are popular characters and that no one is saying they don't matter. They aren't supposed to all act the same, and all the characters seem to go through a lot of — stuff. Then, I talked specifically about Joan.
A criticism MM gets is that not every character or storyline gets screen time every week — but this is a large cast. People are always going to want their favorites, but it can't be done. Daytime TV does it all the time — takes a day off from even their hottest couple. Anyhow, I get being annoyed when you want Sal and get Sally. (Who hasn't lost a grandfather? Suck it up, princess.
)
CPT_D — Harry is 'evolving' into a Goldwater Republican. I've met those kind of men later in life, and always kind of wondered what they were like when they were young, or even IF they were ever young. Now I know. Sad to say, I started out liking Harry and Jennifer in a "who wouldn't love these two dorks" kind of way, but I'm liking them less every time I see them now.
Can I also suggest that Betty is suffering from a form of depression? I think her lack of involvement with her children, her complete dissatisfaction with her life, her running to other men at times of crisis, all could be the signs of someone who has a low-level depression (sometimes referred to as dysthymia).
I'm coming late to this thread, but want to second everything Ms. Darkly says in #12. My mother (who died in 2003) was Betty in 1963. I was Sally. The show is true to the times (generally) of who women were then (and Betty is Betty, was spoiled and is spoiled, but is growing up along with her children and the sixties).
I rebelled like crazy in the late sixties/early seventies, but I also loved my mother, who actually did change with the times, who grew, as did I, and we came to an accommodation with one another as time went on. We couldn't have been more different, but we were good for one another as well.
In my youth, I blamed my mother for so much that wasn't her "fault." My dad was responsible for plenty that I didn't realize as a kid or young adult. Once, my mother said to me, "You are always seeking your father's approval, never mine…" and she was right. I was mostly angry with my mother.
It reminds me of Sally with Don. Sally sees a side of Don that others don't. She doesn't see the real Don. It will take her growing up to see Don for who he is, to put her parents in context, and to see how her father's behaviors affected so much of her mother's.
I love Betty.
The Last Psychiatrist has a good twist on the Don/Betty relationship.
http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2009/10/you_want_t…
I think his opening picture and tagline say it all.
The Last Psychiatrist has a good view of the Don/Betty relationship.
http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2009/10/you_want_t…
I think his opening picture and tagline say it all.
Catching up:
@19 Aran — thanks for your thoughts about choosing to be a home-mom for now, and how those who choose otherwise have their second thoughts as well. So well said.
I was on both sides of that fence through the seventies and eighties, and it's interesting (and not surprising) to see that the struggle continues. This is one reason I'm fascinated with the Don/Betty storyline, and don't mind spending time here, at the expense of the office storylines, although I do love them as well.
@34 and @51 not_Bridget — hahaha! So succinct, and spot-on. And also very poignant. Thanks.
@36 falafel: So well said! —
"I think you are reading the story backwards. Pete’s despicable actions were a story device to bring Pete and Trudy closer together. Firstly to give Pete a moment of shame and confession, then for Pete to ask Trudy to be closer to him, to be his moral compass. Pete’s bad behaviour resulted in Pete wanting Trudy to make him good."
And #70 CPT_Doom — I'd agree. Betty is likely suffering from some pretty hefty depression.
whew.
One thing about Pete that I really liked, from early in Season Three, is how he wanted to gear some of Admiral TV's advertising to Black consumers.
In Season Four, I think it would be great if the show focused on that some more, what with the show probably jumping to '65 or '66 next, which is when some efforts along those lines were beginning to happen.
I'd also like to see a plot line that has the elevator operator, Hollis, going to night school or college, to learn about the ad biz. The mid-60s were also a period when some companies were introducing "affirmative action" programs in hiring and I think Hollis would make a good candidate for that kind of entry level "Ad Man Trainee" slot.
And while they're at it, let's get Paul Kinsey and Sheila back together!
#66 SFCaramia-
Oh, goody, goody Clarice. You fell into a little literal trap I set. Homonym Ha-ha's. You know, the filet of sole was on the wedding menu.
I wanted the sweetbreads with fava beans and nice chianti personally but . . .
Thanks for laughing. I keep 45 chimps with Notebooks locked in a warehouse. They tap away the whole day and occasionally earn their bananas. Turned the double play, those cheeky monkeys did.
I'm getting all misty; this is all coming to an end. The days will be emptier. (sniff, sniffle.)
LOM–Yes, I did seem to remember filet of sole was on the menu at the time I was typing my resonse, but I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to look like a fool, so I stuck with the homonyms. And yes, Mona, you can call it a sweetbread, but people know, people know.
SFC — hee,hee. Nicely played. You speak, how would Sally say it?, the Twooth.
For I think Juliet was channelling the eternal Mona when she said,
"O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a sweetbread
By any other name would smell as sweet,"
(Or sumpin' like that.)
@ 75 SmilerG- Affirimative action was the late 1960s, but I do like the idea of a black creative or secretary at Sterling Cooper.
Didn't Don and Roger speak of one of the other agencies having hired a Black guy, in a previous episode?
What I was thinking about is that Season Four would pick up in '65 or '66. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were enacted in in '64 and '65, so I figured by '65 or '66, Sterling Cooper would have jumped on the bandwagon.
While formal Affirmative action programs did come a little later, a few big companies were at the forefront of that trend. I remember reading about was Harvey C. Russell, a Black salesman for Pepsi Cola, who was named a vice-president of the company in 1962.
Several years ago, a book was published called "The Real Pepsi Challenge".
It chronicles the pioneering efforts of Pepsi to market the beverage to Black consumers and retail outlets. Keep in mind, this was in seven years before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947.
The book tells the story of a group of African-American businessmen was hired by Pepsi-Cola Co. in Queens, New York becoming among the first African-Americans to work in professional jobs in corporate America. As I posted before, Harvey C. Russell was one of those salesmen, who later became a Pepsi executive, in 1962.
C-Span's Book TV, ran a segment about the book that features the author of the book and one of these pioneering salesmen.
This segment will be particularly interesting to Basketcases. Part of the discussion is about the print advertisements for Pepsi, in the late 40s/early 50s, that featured prominent Black figures and that showed Blacks in middle-class settings.
This was in an era when, if you saw Black faces at all in ads, they were stereotypical images. (think: Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, and Rastus on the Cream of Wheat box).
One of the "models" in a store display ad, was a youngster named Ron Brown, who went on to be President Clinton's Commerce Secretary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pepsi_targeted_…
The folks at Admiral TV, could've learned a lot from Pepsi!
Here's the link to watch this fascinating Book TV segment … http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/197656-1
Here's another Mad Men connection …
Edward Boyd, who headed the Black Pepsi sales team, had a sister, Helen Boyd Howard.
She was married to Dr. T.R.M. Howard, a surgeon, entepreneur, and civil rights leader in Mississippi who was a mentor to Medgar Evers, who figured in the Season Three Mad Men episode, "The Arrangements".
I'm so sad season 3 is nearing its end.
I've really enjoyed the past couplea episodes….and wonder about the "Sugar Plum Fairy" muzak running throughout "The Grown Ups". It added a surreal (childlike?) touch. I was touched that Sally comforted her mom more than once. Grown ups, indeed!
I can relate to Pete, feeling petulant about work/co-workers. Who hasn't personalized stuff that happens at work, or been disgruntled or just pissed off?
I completely comprehend Betty's detachment from Don and their marriage. She's reached her limit. It seems all the chaos going on has somehow allowed Betty to give herself permission to finally just say, "Screw it! I'm gonna make myself happy and do what I need to do…" The guv has given her some options she'd never entertained. It will be interesting to see what she finally chooses, for herself and her family.