MAD MEN
Jeff rented the first DVD the other day, even though we hadn't really discussed it (I say that, because when Jeff chooses a DVD without me, bad things happen. See: Cape Fear, 27 Dresses and Running with Scissors). I had tuned in for about 15 minutes of this show sometime last year, and it didn't interest me much, but I thought I'd give it another go.
Fifteen minutes in, my skin was crawling and I was asking my friend Steve online "Why shouldn't I break this DVD in half?" while Jeff was insisting "It's a period piece!"
Look, I know how it was for women in the 1960s, but that doesn't mean I enjoy thinking how awful it was back then. I remember my mom telling me growing up that she had three options for work: 1. Teacher. 2. Secretary and 3. Nurse. Now, clearly nothing wrong with those professions, what's wrong here is the lack of choice.
Sure, they give some women on here a brain, but to what extent?
Joan -- Hot red headed secretary who I'm pretty sure has Jeff drooling every time she's on screen (he has a thing for redheads that he better KEEP TO HIMSELF). She's quick witted, but her ahead-of-the-times behavior only seems to extend to her social/sexual life. Oh, and she sleeps a married man, who is also her boss. Can't say I look up to that.
Peggy -- Cute (?) new secretary. She seems like she has her wits about her, but it takes her a whole day before she makes a move on her boss and sleeps with her soon-to-be-married coworker. In the last episode I watched, she said some bright things that might lead to a short copywriting position, which her bosses said "was like watching a dog playing the piano." Grrr.
Betty -- Don Draper (main guy's) wife. I actually like her the best, despite the fact that she plays into most of the stereotypes. She at least reads as a real person to me, not a cartoon character.
The off-the-cuff comments extend past sexism to racism as well, and Steve playfully pointed out to me that I watch plenty of violence and don't get up in arms, but I guess this just rubs me the wrong way.
That being said ....
I do like the show and am into it. The acting is good, the chemistry between characters is good, I like the subject matter of working in an ad agency. I love the clothes and costumes on both the men and women. It's a good show, no doubt, and it's not the show's fault that "that's how things were." I'm sure it's an accurate, if not generous, description of the times.
But that doesn't mean I should brush it all aside and ignore and say, "ah well... it's just TV." We still have a long way to go.
::Steps off soap box::
THE HILLS
How do you like THAT transition? OK, confession time.
I watch the Hills. I WATCH the Hills. I watch the HILLS. My name is Emily and I WATCH THE HILLS.
I feel better.
Look, I know it's a stupid show. It's beyond stupid. It's absolutely vapid. There is no merit, boring repeated storylines, terrible dialogue and dead-behind the eyes (thank you Joel McHale) characters. (Side note: Is Stephanie the least interesting reality show character of all time or is it just me?)
So why do I watch it? I don't KNOW! I mean, I don't tune in when it's on, because Jeff wouldn't stand for it. I usually catch it the next day or a few days later. Maybe it's my addiction to gossip sites (no better) that fuels a mild interest.
Maybe I secretly enjoy the clothes and atmosphere of LA. It can't be because I like any of the people, because I don't. Maybe I watch it just to hate on them, which makes me feel even worse about it.
I don't know. I'm sure the show will be over in the next two years, and then the main players in the tabloids for a few more, then everyone, including me, will lose interest.
Until then.
HG TV
I have been watching an inordinate amount of HG TV lately. Jeff had been watching it for a while, usually Saturday and Sunday morning before I woke up. Eventually, I caught on.
Our favorites are House Hunters, My First Home, Property Virgins (don't know the difference really between the last two), My House is Worth What?, My Big Fat Renovation, Designed to Sell, Buy this House, and Hidden Potential.
Yeah, it's quite the slate.
So when and why did this happen? I can't help but feel like it's a side-effect of getting old (did we start around my 25th birthday Jeff?) I mean, with wedding comes house hopefully. We both hate renting, but we sure as heck aren't designers or renovators. We're more likely to end up on Clean House then My Big Fat Renovation.
I'm not creative with design or handy. I am at least two years from purchasing a home. So I don't know. I'm not saying only old people watch these shows, I just would love to identify WHY I enjoy them so much, and so many!
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So what TV do you watch that you can't understand exactly WHY you like them? I can't be the only one who is ashamed/astonished by what they watch. Spill the beans! Come out of the woodwork! Tell me I'm not alone!
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3 comments:
i watch 90210. and ugly betty. so what?
You'll never be able to prove I watched The O.C. Never. And there's no truth to the rumor I watch the train wreck that is Prison Break.
Hello fellow TV Addict! I watch SO MUCH CRAP. But the good stuff, too.
Oh and you just had to bring up Mad Men. I think the interesting thing about Mad Men is that the show really seems to be about the women - and how they're supposed to fit into a mold, but they're human. They make mistakes, they think they know what they want, and they want to not feel like the objects society and the men around them have made them out to be. The great thing about Joan is that she knows all the rules, but does what she wants within them. But for all her brazenness, she's still confined and wishes she weren't - this develops a lot more in the second season. Peggy is the newbie who makes all the wrong mistakes (have you seen the season 1 ender yet? Because I'll just stop here until you have...). And Betty, to me, is the most like a caricature - she's a baby. She was never allowed to grow up. In nearly every episode of the first season she's infantilized in some way; she gets along more with her kids and the neighbor's kid than she does her husband or his colleagues and their wives.
Beyond that, I think the show serves as a peep into the past with some of the most well-developed characters I've ever witnessed on television. Sometimes just a look from one to another on that show speaks volumes as to what has just happened. The directing and storytelling is beyond amazing; and Don Draper is somehow likable through all his faults. There is no clear cut "good guys" or "bad guys" on the show, and I think it adds to the show's goal of being a realistic portrait of the 1960s. And with that portrait comes everything that was wrong (and still is). Watching Don and his family go on a picnic and leave all the trash there as if that's what you do - it was so strange to watch and see how we've changed. The racism present speaks to the conformity and opinions of the age; they touch on it a lot in the second season. Honestly, it was interesting seeing the juxtaposition of racial sentiments of the time and the presidential election in one episode. I think the show stands firmly in the past - but transcends in our mentalities as something we can connect to, it makes us think. I enjoy watching something that isn't mind-numbing; that makes me wonder about the past, present, and future. Which is another theme in the show, but OMG I HAVE TO STOP NOW, RIGHT?
I got way too carried away, Emily, MY BAD. ;)
Those are my thoughts.
And, yes, I WATCH THE HILLS. I AM JESSICA AND I WATCH THE HILLS. :)
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