I’m probably your a-typical white guy. Late 20’s, college degree, corporate job, big city blah blah blah. If I was born in in a different time I would probably be like one of the MM characters.
I like Mad Men for a lot of reasons, the style, the nostalgia, the writing and so on are all great. That being said there is a bit of a fucked part of me that loves the horrible stuff. Sexual harassment? Sweet. African Americans being submissive? Sign me up. Why? I have NO idea. It’s pretty fucked up but when watching MM I always have that “man I wish I could do that” feeling.
Mad Men represents a time where a white male could do pretty much whatever he wanted. As a white male I think there is a very subversive part of me that believes that is great idea, for me. Watching MM lets me revel in that and indulge in a dark part of being human. It’s pretty fucked up, and never in a million years would I behave like these characters do but it obvious strikes a chord with me and thousands of other people.
Interesting comment beneath this piece I wrote last week. Dude’s avatar is Patrick Bateman.
I’ve read this comment a couple of times. It upsets me. I am both struck by this person’s candor and revolted by him.
I keep thinking about the Stanford Prison Experiment. That we’re monsters when given the chance to be monsters. What must it be like to see yourself—to see some ideal of yourself, however anachronistic—be a monster. Are you horrified? Do you get off on it?
But I guess if we look at ourselves and imagine at the past, we would have to fit in somewhere. I just can’t imagine romanticizing the racist, sexist men in that show. Or the racist, sexist women, for that matter. I’d rather be the elevator operator. The girl in the typing pool. Anyone but the man who thinks he’s better than everyone else.
