The Progressiveness in Television: Mad Men

Mad Men of AMC has done an excellent job throughout the series of highlighting the ego of men in a corporate setting of Madison Avenue in New York City. The series has consistently shown the glass ceiling for women in the corporate world through the story lines of former secretary Peggy Olson and agency partner Joan Holloway. The majority of shows on network television will give in to society's unfair gender roles assigned to women. Shows will show women to only take part in roles that include motherly duties or jobs that are submissive to men such as secretarial jobs. Mad Men takes a different route in the series by highlighting the unjust standards on women in the corporate world and having women overcome some standards while still struggling to overcome others.

Joan Holloway was the head secretary of Sterling Cooper advertising in Mad Men but eventually emerged as a partner of the company as the series advanced through the storyline. In the beginnings of the show Joan finds herself in the midst of an affair with head of the agency Roger Sterling. Joan then begins to develop into a woman who wants more than to just be a mistress of a wealthy man, she starts to look for a more permanent romantic relationship but becomes let down twice in this effort, once by a man who decides to join the Vietnam war and another who moves to Detroit for a promotion. Yet, in Joan's pursuit of this independence and family life, she finds out she is carrying Roger Sterling's baby and this hinders her efforts to find more meaning in life. In the corporate world Joan also strives to become a partner of Sterling Cooper. At first, the partnership was simply a handout given by the other partners simply because Joan is a near and dear friend of theirs but Joan isn't totally satisfied with this deal and goes out on her own to line up more clients for the agency but even with her partnership status at Sterling Cooper she still finds it difficult for clients to take her seriously without the presence of a man.

Peggy Olson was a former secretary at Sterling Cooper who accidentally was discovered by some of the Ad men of the agency of having a natural talent for coming up with catchy slogans and ads for clients. Early in the series Peggy gets pregnant with Peter Campbell's (an ad man at Sterling Cooper) child but puts it up for adoption in order to pursue a higher level in the company. Peggy faced a very tough decision that many women face in the corporate world. Women that desire families are at a disadvantage to men who desire families due to the fact that women have to physically carry children for nine months and take maternity leave. This causes women to miss out on time that could be used to work on their career and for Peggy, build up the respect of her male peers in the company so that she can eventually move past them.

The Black Male Throughout the History of Television

Throughout this semester our analysis of media has shown that television and media can be both a reflection of society but also contributes to progressive and regressive social change. The representations of races, cultures, and other groups in media not only has an effect on those being represented in the media but also those who are not included in these groups, causing an opinion to be determined by those who may not be familiar with a represented group. The public will begin to treat those that they see on TV based on the depiction of the group that is represented. This can be observed through the portrayal of black men throughout the history of television.

Amos and Andy was a sitcom/comedy that ran from the 1920s to the 50s and was set in Harlem starring two black men named Amos and Andy who would go through typical problems in the time period. The men were depicted essentially as dysfunctional doofuses that dealt with simple issues and turned them into huge issues. The significance of a show like this is that two conclusions can be drawn about society at the time. Obviously, during this time period there was still segregation and racial tensions were very high so if the show is a reflection of what society is, there is the implication that black men are simply not functional enough to even handle the everyday issues that come with being a person, which then causes a stereotype that all black men are like this. Secondly, if the show is proposing that black men are all like this, the stereotype begins to reside in the viewers that maybe are not exposed to diversity in their communities, leading to assumptions made about the race that are simply not true or at the very least representative of the whole culture.

The Cosby Show was an Brooklyn based African American sitcom that lasted from 1984 to 1992 starring comedian Bill Cosby. The shows features a very "well off" family at a time period in the United States where known as the "crack epidemic" which happened to be very ramped in cities like Brooklyn, New York. Bill Cosby (Cliff Huxtable) is shown as a doctor in the show and is accompanied by a lawyer wife (Clair Huxtable). The show is very misleading to it's viewers because of the rarity of the family situation at the time of the show's airing. Even nowadays, for a black family to have a doctor and a lawyer generating income in a household is a very rare occasion. In this situation, if one is to look at the show as a reflection of society, they would flat out be wrong. Anyone who would  classify this show to represent what is common in society at this time would be saying that most blacks are not in the streets either dealing drugs, doing them, or in some form affected by the drug trade. To make this assertion is simply false. If one is to look at this show as a projection of what society should turn into, they would be partially correct except that there is no indication of what a black person has to overcome to reach these levels of success.

Masculinity of Spies in Pop Culture

Hollywood/Pop Culture has created an image of what the life of an international spy is like through the ideals that a show or movie will present about masculinity. Many of the spies in these media outlets are men, usually found to be attractive by women, these men often engage in sexual activity with women who are associated with the antagonist of the story that they are a part of. Also, a stereotype of the international spy is that they are very savvy in the way they speak and the way they accomplish missions, they are very flashy and often take the dramatic route when accomplishing missions.

Arguably the most famous international spy is James Bond (portrayed here by Sean Connery) and Bond is widely known for his speak, cunning, and clever persona that allows him to finesse his way through conversation in order to gain an advantage and to also attract women and ultimately have sex with them. There have been multiple actors that have played the role of Bond in these movies and they all share the same characteristics of being attractive, British, and exceptional tacticians in action scenes.

Although James Bond is perceived as a realistic presentation of what a spy does, there are shows and other movies that take these stereotypes associated with spies and parody them. For example, the FX show Archer features super spy Sterling Archer that is a former college lacrosse player who is very smooth when it comes to dealing with women and also very good at being a spy while also consuming immense amounts of alcohol on and off the job. Archer appears to be very masculine because of his athletic background, top notch spy work, and his attractiveness perceived by women. The catch of the show is that Archer is the best spy in the world, at the most dysfunctional agency in the world that happens to be ran by his alcoholic mother. Archer is arrogant and knows that he is the best so he does not feel that he requires the work ethic other spies possess. This combination of arrogance and relaxed temperament leaves Archer in situations where he has to perform elaborate actions in order to bail him and other spies out of sticky situations. There are an infinite amount of instances where Archer puts his need to consume alcohol or have sex ahead of completing a mission and almost always results in his demise. Here is a trailer of Archer that accurately depicts who Sterling Archer is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnxP6NKavtg

As a result of spies being depicted as men who are outrageously promiscuous and unbelievably comfortable at being in high pressure situations these shows send a couple elements of masculinity. Men could watch these shows and get the impression that in order to get the best looking women you have to have some sort of occupation where there is an element of mystery and your life has to be put at risk. Also, it sets a standard of women that is almost unattainable for women to reach. Spies end up having sex with women who are seen to be exotic and foreign but also incredibly beautiful, sometimes even royalty. Overall, masculinity is fed with the ideas that one may have to live a very risky life, be good looking, and even play sports in order to achieve success or have sex with the most beautiful women in the world, setting unreasonable standards for the average man and woman alike.

Analysis of Women in Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is a medical drama set in Seattle, Washington that in my opinion is very progressive in it's selection of doctor's in at the fictional hospital known as Seattle Grace. In the show, there is a wide selection of female surgeons and even a good number of minority surgeons. In a show like this where there is a wide range of people, this allows for a good representation for the viewers of the show which makes them feel comfortable about possibly seeing or becoming an individual in the medical field. In the show there are a few characters who represent a group of people that would mostly benefit from the representation in the show.

Dr. Bailey is an African American women in the show who is very important because of her strength that she exemplifies throughout the series. Bailey is looked up to by interns and even known around the hospital as the "heartbeat" and eventually made a partner of the hospital. Bailey begins the show married and the primary source of income in her family, but because of a heavy workload is forced to divorce her husband and become a single mother but doesn't miss a step when it comes to being a great surgeon. The effect that a character such as Dr. Bailey has on the viewer, especially young black women, is that it could possibly send the messages that women do not necessarily have to take the backseat when it comes to bringing in money for your family, women can be successful as single mothers if they show hard work and dedication, and also for young black women, it could infuse confidence into the demographic because of their representation in this show.

Dr. Christina Yang is vital to Grey's Anatomy because of her excellence in the medical field and her dedication to create new standards as a cardiologist at Seattle Grace. Yang is Asian American which alone is very important due to the lack of Asian Americans on TV in the first place. Yang is involved in a couple relationships with men throughout the show but never shows dependence on either of them when it comes to finances and being an excellent cardiologist. Like Bailey, Yang sends the message to young women that if you are dedicated to being great and really desire something in life it can be achieved through hard work, even in the medical field as a surgeon and not a nurse.

Subliminal Messages of Professional Wrestling

Professional wrestling has been popular in mainstream media for decades now and is mostly popular to young boys all the way up to middle aged men. The sport has become much more than just two or more men fighting it out in a ring with a referee and eventually one becoming a champion, but now has become filled with story lines, protagonists to go along with these story lines, and women have been assimilated into a submissive role in the sport. 

The events that take place in the show are viewed mostly by growing men and can create a lasting affect on their morals and their attitudes towards masculinity and how they will go on to treat their girlfriends and eventual spouses. Modern wrestling, from the 90s until now, has incorporated women into the sports as wrestlers, managers of wrestlers, and even some have unique roles such as Stephanie McMahon, who is the daughter of the WWE owner Vince McMahon and becomes someone that is above other women in the sport and even other male wrestlers. Women in this sport are often objectified just as women are in various other forms of media in society. They are often if not always shown as blondes with incredibly athletic bodies with fake breasts and in skimpy clothing, then on top of the exploitation of these women just from their appearance, they are sometimes required to fight other women in mud or some other liquid or they have to engage in an event where the loser is the first to have all of her clothes stripped off. The effect that this representation of women has on the viewers is that men may start to see women as objects and this also creates a false image of how most women look and act in society. 

Another effect that this sport has on the male viewers is that they may begin to think that domestic violence is not a serious issue and take this out on their partners. There have been an incredible amount of fights between men and women on the show where men do not like the way a women is carrying herself and he simply takes out his frustration on her by performing a "finishing move" to exert his dominance over her, likely instilling the belief in some men that in real life if they think that a women is acting in a way that he may not like he can simply use violence to put her in her place. My opinion is that this concept has more influence on middle school and high school age males because they are in a stage where they are on the brink of getting in serious relationships with women and if they see these actions they may believe that this is just the normal way to behave. Here is a video of finishing moves against women in the sport https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WflOXduWMyM.

The culture that the sport has brought upon society also may be affecting the wrestlers themselves. Long time wrestler Triple H was involved in a domestic violence case with his girlfriend who happened to be Stephanie McMahon, the conclusion can be made that the culture is even having an effect on grown men and can curve their beliefs about how to properly be a man and treat a women. Tragically, another case with one of my favorite wrestlers Chris Benoit, ended in the death of his family, where Benoit ended up murdering his wife and smothering his children. The argument can be made that Benoit was a unique case and he was mentally ill but it is entirely possible that he was another victim of the culture that WWE promotes amongst its fans and participants.

Chris Benoit

Homosexuality in Mad Men

Like my last post, I will be doing a close reading on the AMC original series Mad Men but I will be examining the show's feelings towards homosexuality in the workplace. In the show there is a male employee named Sal Romano for the agency Sterling Cooper who conforms to the culture of the agency's ways when it comes to actions in and out of the agency. From smoking Lucky Strike cigarettes to flirting with women at local bars after work.

Sal is married to a woman named Kitty Romano who like him, is from Baltimore, Maryland but even his own wife has no idea of his true sexuality. Romano makes a great effort to conceal this side of him but slips up along the way and this eventually costs him his job at Sterling Cooper. Romano eventually would take interests in other men in the show and some even in the workplace. In between seasons one and two the conclusion is drawn that Romano has a crush on a coworker named Ken Cosgrove. 

Later on in the show Romano is caught by Don Draper on a business trip with a hotel bellhop on the cusp of a sexual encounter. Draper and Romano agree to keep this incident between them but Draper does not hesitate to use this event as inspiration for and advertisement for the cigarette company Lucky Strike. Lastly, Romano involves himself with Lucky Strike's representatives and this causes him to lose his job because he does not partake in sexual activity with the man, angering him and causing him to take his business elsewhere. Draper goes on to fire Romano. 

Romano's situation is very interesting and plays a big role in understanding what the show Mad Men is trying to highlight about the era in which the show takes place. It shows that in this particular society there are certain characteristics that are allowed in this "fraternity-like" setting of Madison Avenue. It's as if homosexuality is breaking a code within the group provoking one's discipline. Romano likely feels that he must conceal his true self in order to stay within the group and so that he can stay employed. Romano even goes as far as having a wife to show his peers that he is just as they are and fits in without a doubt. The conflict for Romano in this show is likely parallel to some "closeted" gay men in today's society. They likely feel that they cannot move up or even stay afloat in the corporate world they must conform to the non verbal code that comes along with being a man in our current american society. 

Peggy Olson's role in AMC TV Series "Mad Men"

The AMC Mad Men series is set in the 1960s and focuses on an Advertising agency called "Sterling Cooper" on Madison Avenue of New York. The show is very popular winning and being nominated for many awards for its historical authenticity, directing, and acting. The characters depicted in this show are mostly wealthy and high class and the show is driven by the actions of the men in the show. The women in the show are often shown as weaker or simple minded and only thought to be able to perform simple tasks such as being a housewife or a secretary at the agency. These women are taken advantage of sexually and are almost always bowing down or complying with the actions that the men take upon them. This is the trailer of for season one of Mad Men and even in this short clip it can be seen how women are objectified and men are abusive of the power entitled to them by their job https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7NChV93LBw.

Peggy Olson is a women in the show that starts out in the agency as a young secretary that is still finding out the way things are done in this workplace. Originally she is the secretary of the agency's best creative mind Donald Draper and almost immediately feels that it is a part of her job to become somewhat a sexual object at Draper's command, this can be seen briefly in the trailer where she caresses his hand on his desk while giving a sort of hesitant look on her face. She is shot down by Draper in this attempt and is told to keep it professional between them two likely because Draper doesn't find her appealing. I personally believe Mad Men isn't promoting that women should be willing to put themselves in a position to be used by men of power for sex but instead challenging the idea and highlighting the wrongness of the concept. Later in the show the agency realizes Peggy provides a useful perspective from advertising because she is a smart girl and contributes largely to the agency's success in landing big companies that produce women's products. Yet still after her role in the agency is increased, she is still put in her place because she is a woman and consistently being pursed by coworker Peter Campbell, who at one point in the show gets Peggy pregnant. Interestingly Peggy hides this pregnancy from everyone likely to keep her status at the agency and possibly to seem more like a man by not letting a child get in the way of her moving up in her career, just as a man would not have to deal with a child possibly hindering their career progression. Olson is a good representation of the challenges women face in the corporate world because there are a lot of barriers that she must avoid in order to try to keep up with men that she is just as, if not smarter than, in the agency.

Another interesting situation in the show is the main character Donald Draper and how he has taken the identity of a fallen officer in the Korean war he took part in so that he would not be seen as a coward for running away from the dangers of the war. He takes the dog tags of the real Donald Draper and cuts off his relationships with his poor family so that he can effectively live as another man and absorb the power that comes along with it. Unintentionally his brother recognizes him one day and Draper pays off his brother to never attempt to come in contact with him again to preserve his image. Draper is married with two kids but like all the other men in the agency he goes out to have affairs with multiple other women possibly challenging the other idea that men have to be sexually dominant in order to fulfill their role as men in society. His wife becomes suspicious of his actions and eventually divorces Draper wrecking their family household. In my opinion Mad Men does an excellent job in showing that being this type of person isn't what it is all set out to be and every action has a consequence. This shows that keeping up an image just because you feel like it is your job is not worth losing a lifetime's worth of memories and relationships that will never be able to be recreated and this internal conflict takes a toll on Draper's conscious, changing him as the series unfolds.

Stereotypes of a Black Male

Throughout American history, black males have been attached with stereotypes that they must fight through in order to be successful. Some of these stereotypes include laziness, criminal nature, and uneducated. Although these stereotypes do not apply to everyone, they do apply to some but it is not by nature. it is caused by the rough environment they were born into. Usually these environments are surround by drugs, violence, and poor schooling, making it very difficult for a black man to make it out of a current living situation and be successful.

Rappers J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar are very good at identifying these stereotypes and providing perspectives from which these stereotypes can be observed in their albums Good Kid M.A.A.D City, Born Sinner, and 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

2014 Forest Hills Drive

Good Kid M.A.A.D City

Born Sinner

These three albums contain songs that accurately describe heavy influence's on a black man's character and shape him to become a person that may fit into a stereotype. In 2014 Forest Hills Drive it is "Tale of 2 Cities", in Good Kid M.A.A.D City it is "The Art of Peer Pressure", and in Born Sinner it is "Mo Money Interlude".

In "Tale of 2 Cities", Cole contrasting the perspectives of someone who has only lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina (or better known as Fayettenam) and another who has gone to New York city and has seen the bigger picture. Growing up in such a small town where there are limited options, someone may partake in criminal activity just to get by because they have no other option as Cole explains when he says. "They robbin' niggas on the daily, Can you blame a nigga that ain't never had things?".

In "The Art of Peer Pressure", Kendrick Lamar describes a day with his friends in Compton, California and how they are riding around acting recklessly and luckily escape the cops after a home invasion. Kendrick is not inherently a violent or reckless person but the influence of his friends is too strong to fight off and he gives into the temptation, conveyed in the lines "I never was a gangbanger, I mean I was never stranger to the folk neitherI really doubt it Rush a nigga quick and then we laugh about it That’s ironic ‘cause I’ve never been violent, until I’m with the homies".

In the "Mo Money Interlude", J. Cole is describing all kinds of money, not currencies but "party money" and "dope money". Here Cole is addressing the things that blacks tend to blow their money on. In this money interlude Cole addresses how blacks don't know how to act when they receive large sums of money and they end up blowing it, he says "Blacks always broke cause we don't know money Spend it 'fore we get it and could never hold money,". Then feeds the systematic oppression theory when he says "money control niggas white man control money laughin like 'yea yea my nigga get yo money'".

Double Standards

It is no secret, that in our society there is a double standard between men and women. It can be seen in multiple aspects in our society; an example being, a man in a position of authority in a company and exerting himself by being assertive, is seen by most as a man just doing his job. But if a woman were in the exact same position and carrying herself in the exact same fashion, she would be seen as a "bitch" or overusing her power. Double standards also exist in instances where a group of people are fighting/lobbying for equal rights in some cases. If men are fighting for equal rights for a group of people they are usually seen to be activists, leaders, etc. But if women are fighting for the rights of other women, they are sometimes mistakingly called "feminists" and are told to know their role and not be encouraged to stand up for what they believe in. These are just a few examples of how double standards play a role in our society but the double standard I will analyze in this post is the double standard of men and women when it comes to sexual encounters.

Why is it that when a male is known to have a number of sexual encounters, he is "the man" and receives praise from his peers but when a woman has the same amount of more sexual encounters she is seen as a "slut" or a plethora of other negative slurs? If man or a woman have the same number of sexual partners at any given time, they both have an equal chance at infection or disease assuming that it is unprotected. Also, they are risking unintentional pregnancies with unprotected sex, anything that can go wrong for a women as a result from sex can just as well happen to a man, yet there is still this disparity when it comes to having multiple partners.

There is a multitude of sex-related concepts that used to be supported by most of society but are now seen to be outdated, but it is possible this particular double standard concept still lingers because of the images media promotes of men with multiple sex partners, and women with multiple sex partners. For example, Los Angeles rapper ScHoolboy Q has a radio single called "Man of The Year", where a good part of the lyrics are references to how women can't control themselves around ScHoolboy Q, contributing to the idea that he is the "Man of the Year". The complete annotated lyrics can be found here. You may also view the "Man of the Year" music video here. A lot of the hip hop radio stations prefer to play songs that carry these messages because they usually are ear candy to listeners but it is possible that subconsciously these messages are extending the life of this double standard.

Ab-Soul, a rapper originally from Carson, California, details a story of a double standard from the perspective of a young male possibly in his late teens and another perspective from a woman of the same age in his song "Double Standards" from his album "Control System". Ab-Soul highlights the irony in this double standard from a neutral point of view. The first verse details the point of view of the young man and how his friend group is taunting him and pressuring him into cheating on his long time girlfriend because going on dates makes him a "queer" and otherwise "soft". This is found in the lyric "His fellas in his ear, You acting like a queer, you going on dates we tryna get this cake!", meaning that while he is spending time with his girlfriend he instead should be out trying to find ways to make money with his friend. He goes on to the next verse and describes the same event from the perspective from the girl. In verse three, Ab-Soul goes on to the third verse to summarize society's view of sexually active girls by saying "See the moral of the story is, she a ho he a pimp. Old girl'll forgive her man but her girlfriend's cut off like Edward's hands", meaning that guys get the benefit of the doubt but girls are shunned and seen to be tainted from situations in the story Ab-Soul tells about. To see all the lyrics to "Double Standards" you can look here.

To conclude, it is entirely possible that media is having a huge effect on how society views sexually active females because media, music in this case, has a history of glorifying men and diminishing women.