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.