The Portrayal of Gender and Gender Relations in Mad Men

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

North-American Culture Studies

Bc. Jaromír Soukup

The Portrayal of Gender and Gender Relations in Mad Men

Master’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Ph.D.

2019

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

……………………………………………..

Bc. Jaromír Soukup

Acknowledgment:

I would like to thank my supervisor doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Ph.D. for his kind help

and guidance during the writing process of this thesis.

Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..p. 5

The Analysis of Non-Fiction Literature – Historical Books and Critiques……...... p. 19

A Case Study of the Character Types in The TV Show Mad Men………………….p. 42

1) The Unhappy or Even Desperate Wife – Betty Draper………………...……..…p. 43

2) The Employed Young Woman Interested in Counter-Culture – Peggy Olson.....p. 51

3) The Woman Unsure about The New Ways of Thinking in Society – Joan

Harris…………………………………………………………………………….p. 59

4) The Traditional Man of the 1960s – Don Draper………………………………..p. 63

5) The Young Independent Man, Interested in Counter-culture – Abe Drexler……p. 74

6) The Man between The Old and New Ways of Thinking – Henry Francis…..…..p. 80

Findings and Conclusion……………………………………………………...……..p. 86

List of Works Cited…………………………………………………………...……..p. 96

Summary……………………………………………………………………..……..p. 100

Resumé (Czech)…………………………………………………………...……..…p. 101

Chapter 1 – Introduction

“It wouldn’t be a sin for us to see your legs. If you pull your waist a little bit, you might look like a woman” (Weiner S01E01 17.31-17.42). This strictly offensive citation comes from a scene in AMC’s TV show Mad Men, which is set in the United States of

America in the era of 1960s. It portrays the mistreatment of a female in the company by her male colleague. As such, it raises a question of what gender issues and relations were present and typical for the given era. Yet, as there is not any way how this era could be physically entered and studied, it cannot be simply answered. The only way how to get accustomed to the Sixties is by indirect, mediated sources, e.g. mass culture products – TV shows, movies, novels, etc., or non-fiction literature, e.g. historical books or critical voices of the day. Yet, thanks to their mediated nature, these are only able to provide the audience with the data collected and processed by the authors, which can raise a different question. This question is going to be the core of the analysis for this master’s diploma thesis.

This thesis is going to deal with the question of how the portrayal of gender issues and relations in the first four seasons of the American TV show Mad Men corresponds to the non-fiction sources, discussing the same issues and relations from an informative, detached point of view. The historical perspective of the 1960s in the United States of

America, identified in various sources, will be reflected in the leading characters of the

TV show on which this question will be judged. To be able to perform an analysis, it is, first, necessary to state basic definitions of terms that will be used. The essential term to discuss is gender itself.

According to lexico.com, Oxford’s online dictionary, gender as a term is, contrary to strictly biological sex, defined as, “[e]ither of the two sexes (male and female),

especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. The term is also used more broadly to denote a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female” (“Gender”). Even though evident notions of it were obvious already in the 1920s to 1930s in America (Des

Jardins), gender started to be discussed more openly and with connection to women specifically later in the century, namely in the end of the 1960s and beginning of the

1970s, as it was connected to the rise of the contemporary feminist movement (Dayton

& Levenstein 795). Moreover, historians, who have added more scientific value to the term, have only started to study the term in the 1980s (Des Jardins). This means that the term itself does not represent an old concept. On the other hand, the notions of feminism, to which the concept of gender is connected, is significantly older.

Kristin Kalsem and Verna L. Williams state that the first major feminist movement in the twentieth century took place in the 1920s, although it was preceded by a century of women’s activism in the field of political equality. It was connected to the nineteenth amendment of the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote.

Having achieved the goal, the strive for the Equal Rights Amendment began in the year

1923. Its point was to ensure the equal chances of women and men in general. It must be pointed out that these women were not united in the strategy that was taken since one group fought for equal treatment between the two genders and the other only for the gender-equal workplace because they believed that full equality would lead to the need to fulfill male standards in terms of physical effectivity. This could not be achieved in some professions, such as mining or lumberjacking. Respectively, it could be achieved but, due to the physical construction of women, it would be more-energy-demanding, which would undermine the notion of equality. The fact is that these attempts have been

diminished by the end of WWII, after which the general public opinion stated, that women should be married and have children, as that is their purpose (141-143).

The second wave of feminist movements peaked at the end of the 1960s, together with other social movements (Dayton & Levenstein 795). These women “were active in the civil rights, student, antiwar and feminist movements. … In this highly politicized environment, race and class differences among women were frequently discussed”

(Dayton & Levenstein 795). Obviously, this time, women no longer solved basic political issues of equality. Instead, they discussed the inborn racial or economic differences. For example, African American feminists and Chicana feminists started to take part in the fight for a more liberal society in the years 1968 and 1969 (Kalsem &

Williams 146). The problem was that these differences divided them internally and diverted them from the shared objective. Nonetheless, as the whole society was indeed rebellious against the traditional values of many sorts, including race and origin, class or sexual orientation (Zinn 526), it is only logical that some of these notions influenced the others and certain sub-groups of shared intentions rose.

One of the most significant differences between the first and second wave of feminism is that in the first one, women focused mostly on the political inequality, while in the second, it was the problem of oppression and gender discrimination, connected to the disagreement with the traditional role of a woman in a family. One of the most prominent people in the second wave of the movement was Betty Friedan. She defined these problems in her book Feminine Mystique. By publishing this book, she opened the topic nationwide and enabled women to recognize the problems that they suffered from but not expressed openly before. Consequently, she helped them start taking actions (“Counterculture”).

Having started at the end of the 1960s, the feminist activities as well as activities of women, in general, continued to the 1970s and further. Even today, at the end of the

2010s, the fight is not over, and women still strive to gain equality, nowadays in, for example, the problematic of different salaries. In the year 2017, the median women’s income equaled 80% of men’s income (Vagins). This phenomenon is called a Gender

Pay Gap (Vagins), and it is still, 50 years later, a clear example of persisting problems in the equality, that feminists started to fight against decades ago. Other examples are gender discrimination in terms of sexual harassment in a workplace, and the undignified treatment of the employers towards women-mothers, which, also, still prevail.

Moreover, coming back to the concept of gender, today, it is discussed very strongly in society, thanks to new goals in the field of civil equality. The sources suggest that in the

Sixties, the term gender was merely limited to males and females, while today, there is a whole set of new genders, rising from the liberating ideas that are questioning the traditional values of society. In fact, there are, now, approximately 81 gender combinations, that vary according to one’s physical state – physical appearance in the view of the traditional standard in the culture, personality – one’s behavior with regards to the traditional culture, and preference – emotional or sexual attraction in the view of the cultural norm (“63 Genders…Now 81 Genders”). This number of combinations of self-identification represents exponential growth or potentially even an explosion of newly risen genders striving for recognition. This is in strong opposition to the end of the 1960s and the 1970s, in which only women in general fought for equal rights. It also causes serious questions in the political life of society, dividing it into groups of protagonists of such notions and their opponents. For example, some states in the USA have started to recognize a non-binary – not male nor female – gender, such as

Washington D.C., California or New York, but it is not yet valid federally (Tritt).

Obviously, the concept that originated at the end of the 1960s, with the second wave of the feminist movement, has now grown into a phenomenon of a completely different scale. Nevertheless, as the studied seasons of the TV show Mad Men are set between

1960 and 1964, they merely portray the gender relations and issues that have led to the rise of women's movements rather than the portrayal of movements themselves.

Therefore, this master’s diploma thesis is going to focus on the correspondence of the portrayal of these relations and issues to the historical sources mostly.

The studied era of the 1960s, in which the gender-related issues were discussed, was very significant in America in general. It was an era of widespread unrest. In it, there was, “[a] general revolt against oppressive, artificial, previously unquestioned ways of living. It touched every aspect of personal life: childbirth, childhood, love, sex, marriage, dress, music, art, sports, language, food, housing, religion, literature, death, schools” (Zinn 526). Evidently, gender questions were merely a part of bigger questionings that American society was facing. The people clearly fought for more liberalism across the whole scale of society as it was, for them, tied by the preposterous customs and habits, which were, by the general public, perceived as given and which influenced their whole lives. For their beliefs, such people were called liberals

(Matusow xiv). Generally, the main issues they have identified in society were

“unemployment, racism, and poverty” (Matusow xiv). These are general issues, that people all around the world suffer from, as there are always disadvantaged groups, such as African Americans, Jews or, for example, in the Czech Republic, the Romani population. Since they were able to recognize such issues in American society, they could have proceeded to actions to change the status quo.

Culturally, they formed what is known as a counter-culture. Cambridge dictionary defines counter-culture as, “a way of life and a set of ideas that are completely different

from those accepted by most of society, or the group of people who live this way”

(“Counter-Culture”), and the same site claims that it, indeed, rose in the 1950s and the

1960s (“Counter-Culture”). The dictionary suggests that the counter-culture stands in opposition to the traditional way of life and already mentioned customs and habits.

Joyce Chepkemoi defines the people in the counter-culture as usually youngsters who showed their refusal to the traditional society in the form of non-violent protests. Apart from denoting the already mentioned general issues, they also fought for the freedom of speech and assembly. They had a very specific fashion style, as well as a taste of music.

One of the things they opposed was the consumerist life, supported by advertising, which they considered to be a misleading tool, supposed to distract the public from the real issues. Nonetheless, these cultural attempts to change society lasted only until the middle of the 1970s (Chepkemoi). This means that they have not managed to influence more than just one generation and the consumerist society prevailed, as is visible even today, in the 2010s.

Politically, the liberals formed what is called the New Left. These left-wing political groups in the United States, like the counter-culture, rose from the “student socialist activism. … The main U.S. new left organization, Students for a Democratic

Society (SDS), was founded in 1959” (Davis). Nevertheless, the author informs that these people never took a standard form of political negotiation and, instead, focused on promoting protests and direct action-taking. The New Left political actions reached their peak in the year 1968, in which the activists protested together with the rest of the world where similar tendencies were visible, and they ended in the USA in the 1970s. Yet, some of the people joined the new far-left parties (Davis). For that reason, even though the New Left itself, like the counter-culture, disintegrated, there have remained people who still pursue its core values and their importance in the era is undeniable.

Obviously, the 1960s in the United States of America were a turbulent decade with the overlap beginning in the 1950s – the formation of first thoughts – and into the

1970s – the aftermath – and are culturally very significant. Logically, such a decade is going to be historically important even decades after its active scope of influence and various people are going to return there in their minds and storytelling. This includes television as well. A great many movies and TV shows have been produced that are set in the 1960s, such as A Guide for the Married Man or The Andy Griffith Show. Another example of a TV show set in the 1960s is the analyzed AMC’s Mad Men.

Mad Men represents an example of a genre called television drama. Clearly, it mainly deals with the dramatic stories that are broadcasted directly to the homes of the

American public. Yet, its beginnings were challenging. Its early productions were designed, “to bring Broadway to the screen” (Bigsby 5). It presupposes that television drama originally was a genre in which the theatrical production, typically considered to be of higher standards of performing qualities, was combined with the inborn amenity of TV – its presence in households. This means that the production was more accessible for the ones who owned a screen and it suggests that the artistic portrayal of the various stories was no longer limited only to the theatres and the authors could have influenced more people more easily.

On the other hand, it also created an issue. Since the TV was in homes and the viewers did not have to leave their living rooms to watch a production, they did not have to pay for the performance either. TV companies solved this problem by dedicating a part of the broadcast to advertising, “network television is concerned with maximizing income, doing so by addressing the greatest number and making viewers available to those wishing to buy advertising space” (Bigsby 5) This solution was undoubtedly effective, yet it brought two other issues. The length of the show must have

been shortened in order to fit between the commercials and the production could not have depicted something that would have had the ability to upset the viewers and forced them to change the channel (Bigsby 14). These were limiting factors for the television drama since the producers of it had to bear in mind that their products must plead to both the audience and the paying companies. Yet that was complicated. The companies’ aim is always to get people interested in their products which presupposes that they should be in a good mood. An inadequate TV show might not offer this. On the other hand, the audience surely demands to see a good quality product, containing previously unseen exhilarating content, which brings an added value and makes them continue watching. This for several viewers can mean a depiction of sexual, violent or otherwise generally inappropriate scenes, which, nonetheless, represent a dramatized reality of life.

This conflict was solved by HBO, which introduced a paid programming. This enabled them to, “not only freed writers of restrictions, … it was a system without the commercial breaks” (Bigsby 14). Paid programming, logically, enabled the authors to create deeper stories with the more mentally demanding depictions since the people who wished to consume such productions paid for it by themselves. The others watched the less unsettling TV shows, broadcasted on standard TV channels. This solution helped the TV companies and consequently the television drama itself to develop into, “a medium which they [the screenwriters] had once disdained but in which they believed they could now work” (Bigsby 19). Obviously, once a problematic genre of marginalized importance for the authors is nowadays perceived as prosperous. This brings more channels to the business. AMC, which stands for American Movie Classics, is one of the given current TV channels and Mad Men remains its most successful television drama show (Bigsby 361).

The given TV show, created by Matthew Weiner (“Mad Men”), is set in one of the country’s most prominent advertising agencies, called Sterling and Cooper. Most of the story takes place in the office where the creatives – originally all men – design and realize commercials for corporations, and secretaries – all women – assist them, as visible everywhere in the TV show (Weiner). The setting of the TV show has not been picked randomly. The author has intended Mad Men, “to be set in the most artificial world, that of advertising, in which the real was remade, refashioned to appeal to those who needed stories to justify the gravitational pull of the material” (Bigsby 361).

Obviously, the setting of the TV show is exactly the one, against which the already discussed counter-culture fought. It is a world of tinsel that is supposed to fuel the consumerist society, “a firm’s effort to distinguish products not by price but by small differences, sufficient, however, in connection with advertising to take the product out of direct price competition with otherwise similar competing products” (Riesman 46).

Riesman shows that advertising helps create a feeling that the discussed product is unique and different, even though it is, in fact, very similar to the rest of the competition. If the advertising is successful, the customers are going to buy the product instead of the similar one, because they can more easily relate to the story, that the commercial is creating. By doing so, the costumers succumb to the lure of the company and they start to consume.

Since the story of the TV show revolves around such a controversial place, it is likely that the authors’ intention was to comment on this problematic. They wanted to depict the issues that a corporate-based system has caused in the 1960s and from which the viewer can learn. Nevertheless, this personal depiction is the problem that this master’s diploma thesis studies.

It lies in the given portrayal of the era. Mad Men is a work of fiction and it gives the audience the possibility to understand the Sixties, it can enrich the audience or even teach it. Yet, it can only depict the 1960s in a way that the author and the producers want to, and the historical credibility of the TV show is subject to question. It is not guaranteed that what is depicted on the screen complies with what the era is known for from the historical books and critical sources of the day – the non-fiction literature. The

TV show, on a first glance, seems very realistic, as it depicts real brands, like Lucky

Strike cigarette company (Weiner S01E01) or Pampers company producing diapers,

(Weiner S03E02). It also portrays the most significant incidents that have happened in the era, like the death of Marylin Monroe (Weiner S02E09) or the assassination of

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Weiner S03E12). On the other hand, these are partial happenings, that extend the story based on fictional male and female characters.

The portrayal of their relations and gender issues is the problematic case as it is possible, that the fictionality of the story can lead to a departure from the non-fictional information of the era that America has available today. If the authors, for the sake of the story, need the characters to behave in a certain way, they can disregard the given information and reshape their behavior accordingly.

Such information, regarding the gender relations and issues of people in this era, can be studied in non-fiction sources such as contemporary or more recent history books that, as already stated, describe the Sixties in a more detached and a matter of fact way.

Naturally, all authors perceive the topic individually and the information is always mediated. Yet, as the books are products of non-fiction, the higher level of historical credibility is rightfully anticipated, since they concentrate on studying the facts and physical proofs – archeology, anthropology, etc., rather than on stories that can be misleading. The problem is that outside of the academic world, these non-fiction

sources have a limited scope of effectiveness as a general public, typically, finds them overly complicated or even boring and does not prefer reading them. On the other hand, the product of mass culture – the fictional TV show, is much more easily accessible, which results in a much broader scope of effectiveness but the already mentioned problem of the portrayal persists. To achieve better knowledge of this problem, the study is going to be about the correspondence of the TV show, that is easily accessible, yet may be misleading, to the non-fiction, that is supposed to be more exact in the description of the Sixties, yet it is far less accessible.

This master’s diploma thesis’ claim is that the portrayal of the characters of the first four seasons of the TV show Mad Men corresponds to non-fiction literature – contemporary or recent historical books – as it reflects the gender relations and issues of the 1960s, described in the given historical sources. This claim is going to be proven by the analysis of the sets of general information that are described in the non-fiction literature. For the reasons of clarity, these sets of general information will be called social types. It is assumed that these social types contain attributes or aspects that define them. Therefore, the gender-related social types will be studied by the means of these typical aspects. Followingly, their reflection in the TV show will be examined on the various characters in the story. Instead of talking about characters themselves, they will be studied as character types. This will be done because these characters, in the TV show, supposedly represent a broader range of human nature – character types.

Nonetheless, Mad Men does not depict the whole spectrum of society and its issues, as, for example, African Americans are only very loosely portrayed and the working-class is omitted almost altogether. Instead, it focuses on middle and upper- middle-class European Americans. Since the TV show is written as such, the analysis of the given correspondence of the depiction of gender issues and relations will be

performed only on this specific group of people and will not comment on the complete set of issues that were common in the Sixties.

The second chapter will provide a preliminary qualitative analysis of the historical books and contemporary social critiques dealing with gender-related issues in the 1960s in the United States of America. The preliminary analysis will be done in order to describe the aspects characteristic of the social types. The sources will be divided into two sections. Firstly, for both genders, an older source, either a historical book or a social critique, will be used to encompass a view of the experts from the given era.

Then, a newer source of facts will be used to supply the perspective of nowadays experts. This will ensure the broad collection of data for the analysis, as the problem will be studied from multiple angles. The preliminary qualitative analysis will be divided into two sections, following the traditional gender division, namely women and men. The cross-genders, fluids and other currently rising genders will be disregarded because these tendencies are not typical for the discussed era and, therefore, they are not a subject of the analysis.

The books, articles and critiques used for the preliminary qualitative analysis of the female gender will be Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, which is a book that was contemporary at the discussed era and it studies and comments on the most important events that took place in the history of the United States of America with using the commentaries of experts for the periods, and more modern Rebecca E.

Klatch’s article “The Formation of Feminist Consciousness among Left- and Right-

Wing Activists of the 1960s” published in the journal Gender and Society, in which the author discusses the differences in the awareness of the gender inequality in both left and right side of the political spectrum. Strictly speaking, Howard Zinn’s book is not completely contemporary at the given time because it has been first published in 1980.

However, since it is it only several years younger than the given epoch, it is considered to be contemporary following and close enough to the Sixties.

The books, articles, and critiques used for the preliminary qualitative analysis of the male gender will be The Organization Man by William H. Whyte, which is a social critique of the man-oriented and the consumerist society of the 1950s and the 1960s in the USA and the TV documentary The Century of the Self, episode 3 called “There is a

Policeman Inside All Our Heads; He Must Be Destroyed,” created by Adam Curtis in the year 2002, which comments and criticizes the same problems from the current perspective. These sources will be supported by various other arguments, data, and information from the secondary sources.

It must be pointed out that not all the aspects of the social types will be discussed because some of them are not unique for the 1960s. Also, studying all the mentioned or, at least, suggested aspects would significantly exceed the scope of this thesis. For that reason, only the most striking aspects of each social type, that can be identified in the non-fiction literature, that are typical for the 1960s and that are studied in a complex way, will be examined. It must also be made clear, that the studied social types represent only selected social groups of people. There are many people in society that share only some aspects of the given social types, and there are people who share some aspects of more social types as they can be traditional, yet they may sympathize with certain liberal notions. In short, society is more complex and varied and this thesis, as well as the non-literature, only focuses on the most significant types of people.

The third chapter will consist of the main analysis. It will be a case study of six main character types in the first four seasons of the TV show Mad Men that comply with the identified social types. The aspects portrayed in the character types will be reflected in the aspects of the social types identified in the non-fiction and the 17

correspondence of the portrayal to the non-fiction books and articles will be studied.

The first four seasons of the TV show have been selected because of two reasons.

Firstly, the amount of space needed for the detailed analysis of the whole TV show would be higher, yet it would not bring much more information as the development of the characters in the first four seasons is already significant. Secondly, “in the context of

Season 4 of Mad Men, Weiner confessed to having used his sources up” (Bigsby 366).

It is obvious that the fourth season is the last one in which Mathew Weiner has had the source of information based on his personal experience, which suggests that a significant level of authenticity should be available. On the other hand, the claim also makes clear, that the seasons five to seven are based rather on the creativity of the screenwriters than on specific memories, which means that they are no longer built on the authenticity of the depiction of the Sixties. As this master’s diploma thesis studies the correspondence of the portrayal in a very detailed and seemingly historically credible TV show to non-fiction literature, that studies the given era, there is no reason to study the seasons that are admittedly less reflective of it.

The fourth chapter will bring findings of the analyses and the conclusion of the thesis will be provided.

Chapter 2 – The Analysis of Non-Fiction Literature – Historical Books and

Critiques

This chapter provides a preliminary qualitative analysis of the historical books and critical voices of the day. The first section of the analysis discusses the female gender and its social types. The first social type is a type of the unhappy or even desperate wife. This lady, living in the traditional 1960s family setting, was regarded by her husband as, “the show window where he exhibits the measure of his achievement.

… The woman who cultivates a circle of worthwhile people, who belongs to clubs, who makes herself interesting and agreeable …[and] is a help to her husband” (Zinn 493).

Obviously, this social type represents a typical housewife of the era. Her values should have lied in taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning the house and be a beautiful lady to accompany her husband. It seems that a desperate wife was meant as a form of decoration that, in addition, talked, but whose main point of existence was to make the household as agreeable as possible. The activity of cultivating a circle of worthwhile people then means that she should have had good friends of a certain level of prominence, likely comprising of the neighboring women who shared the same values and lived in the same suburban town. Moreover, not only was it their husbands who expected these women to comply with these values. It was also the other people living in the streets of the given town. In such streets, everyone knew everyone, and failing to comply with the values that the given neighborhood was based on could have resulted in the shunning of the woman in question and, in the end, her husband. Since that outcome must have been avoided, as the wife was there to show the husband's success, the given woman was forced to subdue to these traditional values and ways as all the women- wives before her.

Consequently, a great number of women-wives, kept in their traditional gender roles, must have felt miserable, “the problem lay buried, unspoken for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century. … As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, …, lay beside her husband at night – she was afraid to ask … ‘Is this all’” (Zinn 495)? Women must have been aware of this unfavorable disposition of gender roles that they were forced to follow. That is what made them desperate. The sensation of pulling the shorter straw in the world and being considered as only a decoration-worthy symbol of a husband’s success certainly affects the mind of any intelligent human being in a negative way, regardless of gender and era. These women, aware of being regarded as inferior beings, must have felt extremely sad, disregarded and mistreated.

What is interesting is that women were forced to subdue to these values for centuries, which raises a question of why it is the middle of the 20th century when women started to think and talk about gender inequality. The answer might lie in the fact that the American 1950s was a time of great prosperity and the given husbands were extremely successful and powerful, while women-housewives, in contrast, enjoyed a significantly smaller share of their success, apart from new household appliances. This imbalance and incoherence between the successful age and what it meant for men and women must have caused women’s doubtful thoughts and following actions – the inequality is much better visible in the times of success than in the times of misfortune.

Consequently, these women, indeed, acted, firstly on an intellectual level,

“perhaps the most profound effect of the women’s movement of the [S]ixties … was called ‘consciousness rising.’… This meant the rethinking of roles, the rejection of inferiority, the confidence in self, a bond of sisterhood” (Zinn 501). Obviously, not only

did many women – desperate wives think about these issues internally but, also, they started to talk about the issues of inequality openly and together. They formed women’s groups or sisterhoods, such as NDWU – National Domestic Workers Union, or NOW –

National Organization for Women (Zinn 499), and in these groups and sisterhoods, the discussion topics were likely much more serious than whose child did what and what was the latest development in the field of washing machines. On the contrary, even the names of the groups suggest that these topics were the problems of womanhood as well as the broader problems of society in general which all independent and intelligent human beings have tendencies to discuss.

In addition, the journey from the intellectual debates to action taking was very short, “women’s magazines and newspapers began appearing, locally and nationally, … certain television commercials, which women felt humiliated them, were eliminated after protest, … after lobbying by women’s groups, President Johnson signed an executive order banning sex discrimination in federally connected employment” (Zinn

499). Clearly, women, aware of being mistreated, took part in the political sphere in the form of public protests. There is a likelihood that these protests were understood as negative aspects of society as all the protests are to a certain level, caused by the naturally uneven opinions among the general public. Nevertheless, these women achieved successes even on a federal level and clearly influenced the direction of the whole country. Also, women started to act on the family level, “they could revolutionize thought and behavior in … that seclusion of family privacy … and together, instead of at odds … they could undertake the changing of society itself” (Zinn 504). These women, who form the social type of a desperate housewife, also, apparently, rethought the stereotypical gender roles of females in the family that their mothers and grandmothers had been tied to for so long. They stopped regarding themselves as only a

decorative part of a family, forever tied to the cooker, and started to regard themselves as independent and intelligent human beings worth having their own opinion. It is quite unlikely that these women would leave the family altogether as they still were mothers and subdued to maternal instincts and needs. Nonetheless, it is their position in the family that was revolutionized. They were no longer just housewives that were expected to assist their husbands, they were women and they could have chosen what was right for them and what was not, which, inevitably, included the husband they were married to.

In brief, the social type called the desperate housewife, as described in non-fiction literature, is characterized by the presence of traditional values in the everyday life of a woman, such as taking care of children, having people of good manners and living standards as acquaintances and being pretty enough to display the husband’s success.

These desperate wives – of course, there were women who liked their position as mothers – were also aware of and doubted these stereotypic gender roles. They formed groups in which they discussed serious problems of society instead of the newest set of kitchenware and took real action to achieve what they fought for. They also doubted their role in the family and their position compared to the husband. Furthermore, if they found themselves in an inferior and underestimated state, they likely no longer overlooked it since they were self-confident, and they acted to improve their living standards. These are the aspects that are going to be analyzed in the TV show Mad Men in order to examine the correspondence of its portrayal with the non-fiction literature.

The second female social type, typical for the 1960s, is characterized as the employed young woman interested in counter-culture. It must be made clear that not all the women were interested in the counter-culture, but the most strictly typical ones supposedly, indeed, were, since counter-culture offered them the values they were,

otherwise, deprived of. These women worked to earn money and have, for decades, been equally mistreated,

The women who worked in the typical “woman’s job – secretary, receptionist,

typist, … – were treated to the full range of humiliations that men in subordinate

positions faced at work, plus another set of humiliations stemming from being a

woman: gibes at their mental processes, sexual jokes, and aggression, invisibility

except as sexual objects (Zinn 496).

Traditionally, women who were not the housewives discussed in the preceding social type, and were, in fact, employed, used to work as secretaries, typists and on other similar positions. Since these positions were regarded as of lesser importance, as they did not earn a lot of money and they did not move the company forward financially, these women suffered from being considered inferior. This basic setting seems to be very similar to that of housewives. Therefore, it is safe to presume that they were regarded rather as symbols of the success of the company and as some sort of decorations that the bosses could have afforded to interest their business partners. In other words, the pattern, described in the desperate housewives’ section is almost completely repeated, only the variable changes from the husband to the company.

The employed young women interested in counter-culture also acted in a similar manner as housewives. They saw that the company was growing in the time of prosperity and that they were not given enough in return, “more people will speak out and demand from their so-called bosses that they be treated the way the bosses themselves would like to be treated” (Zinn 497). Obviously, these women demanded better working conditions, more possibilities in career growth and equal treatment. They became brave enough to confront their bosses – likely men – and fought for the balance in the working space, which they had been deprived of for many decades, “most women 23

who had worked in the mill during the Second World War accepted men’s conceptions of proper gender roles” (Modell & Hinshaw 135). Evidently, women who had been employed during WWII followed the stereotypic gender roles in the working space. It is highly unlikely that this concept would be isolated only to the short era during the war.

The more probable explanation is that these traditional gender roles have been kept up until the 1960s.

Regarding the cause of these activities, it is likely to be only partially found in the success of the companies that troubled women who did not receive a lot in return.

Another reason is their interest in counter-culture. It must not be forgotten that the era of the 1960s in the United States of America was an age of equal rights movement and there were many uprisings in the time, opening the discussion on many more forms of inequality in American society. Neither can it be forgotten that it was also an age of the rise of the given counter-culture whose point was to break all the traditional values and create a new society based on new standards. This means that such females, “in the various movements – civil rights, Students for a Democratic Society, antiwar groups – began meeting as women” (Zinn 497). It makes sense that these, to family and traditional values independent, women accepted counter-culture beliefs and fought for equality like many other mistreated and inferior groups.

What is also important to point out is that these women were quite likely young, probably still students or freshly employed. For example, Rebecca E. Klatch, in her comparative study “The Formation of Feminist Consciousness among Left- and Right-

Wing Activists of the 1960s.” mentions, “activists from Students for a Democratic

Society (SDS), the leading organization of the New Left, and Young Americans for

Freedom (YAF), the most prominent right-wing youth organization” (Klatch 793). The discussed social type describing these women as young and interested in the New Left

and counter-culture is valid. Clearly, the most significant activist groups indeed consisted of young generations as it is natural for a human being to be more open to new ideas during youth while the older generations tend to be more closed and traditional. This phenomenon is connected to the natural development of the human psyche, although exceptions may occur.

In short, the social type of the employed young woman interested in counter- culture, which has been identified in the historical books and critical public comments, is characterized by the following aspects. The woman was typically either a student or a freshly employed which connotes that she is young and open to new ideas. She was likely to suffer from mistreatment from her male colleagues for whom she was either a decoration or a joke. Inevitably, she must have been aware of this situation and willing to actively take part in improving her working conditions with her boss. Lastly, she tended to be, to a certain level, interested in the counter-culture as only that was able to provide her with the full understanding and to offer new ways of thinking. The portrayal of these characteristic features is going to be examined in the TV show Mad Men.

There is one other social type possible to identify in the historical books and dissenting voices of the day. It is a social type of the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society. These women, theoretically, were less open to new ideas and to the counter-culture, as they rather believed in the old system. They had difficulties in remodeling their lifestyle into a new, more liberal and equal manner and tried to behave in the traditional way. Unfortunately, the non-fiction literature is significantly less informative about the traditionally thinking women as they were the norm and there were so many of them. In all the examined sources, these doubtful women are either only mentioned or not listed at all. Yet, this is not surprising, as the history in general

rather focuses on the changes in society and people responsible for these than on the people pursuing the old ways.

Nevertheless, there are some suggestions in the literature confirming the existence of such women which means that the social type of the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society is still valid. For example, “there was some disagreement among women, …, on whether women should battle on specifically women’s issues, or just take part in general movements” (Zinn 497). Evidently, not all women were positive that the question of the relationships between the two genders was indeed serious to a level that the public attention was needed. The quote suggests, that these women were aware of the sociopolitical changes in society. On the other hand, as they were presumably more traditional in their thinking or prioritized the other issues, they did not perceive their living conditions serious enough to become active in the given question. Confirming the preceding paragraph, “there was a difference of opinion among … women regarding whether they encountered gender discrimination” (Klatch

811), followed by, “conservative women acted to protect existing gender arrangements”

(Klatch 812). The existence of the social type is valid.

These women, presumably, although not necessarily, were slightly older than the employed young women interested in counter-culture since the ladies who are less willing to accept the new ways are typically older, but it is not mentioned. Also, the literature does not list these women’s occupation, so it is presumed that they were either housewives or company employees, neither, or both. The only certainty is that they doubted the new movements and strived to keep the traditional customs that they likely were better experienced at.

The historical books and critical sources of the day have confirmed the existence of the third female social type, the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in 26

society. The aspects that are described as characteristic for the given social type are, however, looser. These women might or might not have been employed or might or might not have lived in the household. Technically, they could have been neither employed nor housewives or they could have been both. It is presumed that they were a little older than the young women from the second social type, which is based on the idea that older people hold to more traditional values, even though they do not necessarily have to. The only aspect that is clearly identifiable in the literature is that these more traditionally oriented women doubted the seriousness of the new standards and pursued the old traditions in gender. Nevertheless, as these women are discussed in the literature dealing with society and gender-related issues in the 1960s in America, whatever remotely, they are significant and their portrayal in the TV show Mad Men is going to be examined.

Discussing the male gender, there are also three social types that can be identified in the historical books and contemporary social critical public comments. The first can be called the traditional man of the 1960s. It must not be forgotten that the traditional men from this decade were different from the traditional men from the earlier stages of societal history, “[these men] only work for the Organization. The ones I am talking about belong to it as well. They are the ones of our middle class who have left home, spiritually as well as physically, to take the vows of organization life, and it is they who are the mind and soul of our great self-perpetuating institutions” (Whyte 8). Obviously, these men were no longer interested in accumulating the immense number of wealth and power, like the people in the earlier periods of human history, namely kings, aristocracy or even wealthy townsmen. They formed the middle class, which translates in a way that they had just enough money to live well and not too much to stand out. Also, the most important aspect of their life was their presence at work. The part in which the

author suggests their belonging to the organization must be further highlighted. As their life was so tightly connected to their work, they, expectedly, spent an immense number of hours in their offices every day, including nights and weekends. This fact means, that they were under immense pressure, both physical and mental. It is deductible, that they did not get enough sleep, being it for the mere fact that they had to work late or being it caused by their continuous thinking of the organization and their duties in it. It is very unlikely that these men cleared their minds when they left their offices. On the contrary, they were very likely to intellectually stay at work even when they were at home.

This is a phenomenon that goes with any responsible job for a big company.

These people are very stressed and the fear of missing something important out on the market as well as in the company itself is omnipresent, as stressed by Whyte,

“executives are working as hard as they ever did – possibly even harder … executives are prey to more tension … than ever before” (Whyte 136). The lack of rest can, consequently, lead to chronic tiredness and it can even cause a heart attack or other dangerous and potentially lethal diseases. It can also be expected, that it leads to the creation of addiction to various drugs that are meant as substitutes for the missing rest and as a refreshment for the tired, stressed psyche, such as coffee, alcohol, or cigarettes.

It must be pointed out though, that the era of the 1960s is the era of smoking. This means that it was more a habit of society than a significant aspect of the social type.

Nevertheless, these men willingly underwent this pressure, because it was their duty and the custom of the day to work for the company in the first place and they, conceivably, substituted their tiredness with drugs.

The traditional man of the 1960s is also, “a man who left home and, … went from

Midwest to Harvard, and the number of them is … increasing” (Whyte 248). More definite numbers say, “roughly three quarters of all moves are accounted by members of

large organizations” (Whyte 249). This movement of people from the country to the big cities is called urbanization. Although, it is not completely correct as is going to be explained in the next aspect discussion. These men were typically from the Midwest, but they could have also come from the Great Plains, Great Basin or other similar areas.

The place itself is not significant, it is the setting of the local land that plays a major role. The Midwest – as well as the similar places – was, and still is, typical for people who come either from a small town of a few thousand inhabitants and of only local importance or from a remote farm, which is in the middle of the fields. In both cases, there are not many opportunities in career growth and personal development for them.

In the era, the result was that these men left their homes and went to the big cities where there not only are millions of people, but also thousands of jobs and professions, as well as rich cultural life. These cities in America, such as New York City, Los

Angeles, Chicago, and others, serve as social hubs where everything important is happening. Therefore, they are very tempting for many people seeking a bigger prospect than a regional country fair. It is a fact that what this phenomenon of moving brings along is a certain feeling of disconnection from one’s original land. Since the distances

– usually even the physical ones, but always the cultural ones – between the cities and the rural areas are very big, it is very unlikely that these men would come back to visit the old town and people in it more often than once a year at Thanksgiving – if ever.

What it also must bring about is a primordial feeling of being lost. A person, used to seeing a few thousand people and the very same ones every day, must feel very lonely in an anonymous big city. Yet, the original confusion disappears after the acclimatization in the new environment and life in the city becomes easier for the once newcomers. Furthermore, as the discussed companies, that the middle-class men

worked in out of the traditional habit as well, were – and still are – in the cities, it was necessary for them to relocate there.

It has been stated that the term urbanization is not completely correct. This is because these men, in fact, lived in, “the new suburbia, the packaged villages that have become the dormitory … of organization men” (Whyte 14). This means that the most exact term is the suburbanization in which the people do not move to the cities themselves but to the new communities, new houses just behind the city borders. These suburban towns were very popular in the minds of the traditional men of the 1960s because they offered a house with a backyard instead of a city apartment, yet they were close enough to the city center for daily commuting. Although, these towns had many problems. The commuting was – and remains to be to this day – complicated due to the continuously congested traffic, as, in the morning, everyone traveled to the city where all the jobs were, and they all went back home in the evening. Also, not all the houses were built properly. For example, Pete Seeger has written a song, called Little Boxes, that criticizes these dwellings for poor quality, “little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky, … little boxes all the same” (“Little Boxes by Pete Seeger”). The song then develops the idea of “all [being] the same” (“Little Boxes by Pete Seeger”) to the whole American society where everyone goes to college and then works for the company and live in the suburbs (“Little Boxes by Pete Seeger”). Nonetheless, naturally, the well-built suburban houses existed as well. Notwithstanding the quality of the construction, the song suggests that living in the suburbs was a phenomenon of the era and the literature shows that the traditional man of the 1960s lived in one such suburban house.

Another aspect of this social type is the family that they had. Indeed, “executives try to be dutiful husbands and parents” (Whyte 140). These men knew that not only

were they important employees in a company, but they were also married and fathers, which is of at least an equal importance. It was clear to them, but it brought back the problem from the first aspect dedicated to the discussion of this social type. Because they were forced to work for a long time and even on their leisure, they tended to think about it, they did not have much time nor capacity to be the fathers they should have been, “‘I sort of look forward to the day my kids are grown up.’ … ‘Then I won’t have such a guilty conscience about neglecting them’” (Whyte 140). Evidently, these men had the families more as symbols of their wholesome, complete lives than as a true fulfillment of their existence. Otherwise, they would dedicate more time to them.

This phenomenon leads to all sorts of problems. Firstly, since the children obviously had very limited access to the father figure in their developing stages of life, they might have had problems when they themselves became parents. Simultaneously, the scarce presence of the father in the family as an authority also brought problems with the discipline of the children. Furthermore, probably the most problematic part was the emotional disconnection between the father and his children. Since they did not see their fathers often, at a certain point, they got used to their absence and started to put them aside from their lives. Consequently, in their adulthood, their father was merely a person of a blood tie without any real importance than a significant figure in their lives.

The family bond was then clearly dysfunctional.

Moreover, since the men knew that they were not very good fathers, it inevitably created a guilty feeling (Whyte 140) that further undermined the psyche of these men.

Apart from becoming even more addicted to alcohol and other “solutions”, the dysfunctional family could lead to a need for the man to find a new woman in his life,

“there have been affairs here and there” (Whyte 328). The author discusses what probably is not unique for the era, as there have always been people unfaithful to one

another and there always will be. Nevertheless, what is significant is that these people lived in suburban environments and, “there is less philandering in the package suburbs than in more traditional communities” (Whyte 328). Since these people lived so close to one another, it is highly unlikely that an affair at home would remain secret for a long time, which was potentially hazardous. It does not mean that affairs did not happen. It only means that they did not happen at home. There is a great chance that these men if they had an affair, had it in the big and anonymous city where nobody noticed them.

Their excuse might have been their necessary presence in the job. This resulted in further deepening of the father’s disconnection with the rest of the family – the father was even less at home – and the wreckage of the bond was complete.

Contrastingly, the behavioral patterns of the traditional men of the 1960s at the workplace and towards colleagues were different, “the group that he is trying to immerse himself in is not merely the larger one – [t]he organization … but the immediate, physical group as well: the people at the conference table, the workshop, …, the project team. It is not enough now that he belong[s]; he wants to belong together”

(Whyte 48). As these men tended to spend so much time at their workplace, they were interested in having good social relationships with their colleagues. The part of working together is significantly interesting as it suggests, that not only did they want to have good relationships, they also wanted to have relationships of equality and inclusion.

Since they were in it “together” (Whyte 48) they did not intend to behave as either superiors and inferiors, but rather as equally important parts of the bigger entity – the company. Naturally, there were divisions between these colleagues, as there are always superiors and inferiors. Nevertheless, the treatment of the inferiors by the superiors is significant, because the almost different-worlds detachment between the two categories

may have been altered. In fact, it is suggested that the superiors rather treated the inferiors as equally important people with an equally important mindset.

In short, the social type of the traditional man of the 1960s consists of these aspects: these men worked for the company and it is their prime occupation, they were willing to sacrifice their free time and calm mind in order to be a good employee of the company. They were even willing to risk the creation of an addiction that inevitably goes with such stressful and demanding jobs. They were likely to come from small towns or farms in the country located, for example, in the Midwest but they moved to the big city, that offers enough job opportunities. Furthermore, they worked in the city, but they lived in the house of one of the suburban towns near the city rather than in an apartment in it. Since they were so busy, they did not have time nor energy to be good husbands and fathers for the family, that they had merely as a symbol of a complete life than as a truly important unit, and their family tended to suffer from emotional disconnection and disintegration. Moreover, they had tendencies to have affairs. On the other hand, at their workplace, they tended to have the best relationships possible with the colleagues, including the inferiors. This is a very significant social type in the non- fiction literature and, as such, its portrayal in Mad Men is going to be analyzed.

The second male social type in the non-fiction literature is closely tied to the social type of the employed young woman interested in counter-culture because it lies in the same social sphere of interest. It can be called the young independent man interested in counter-culture. His age is based on a similar premise like the employed young woman. Nevertheless, gender disparity brings along some significant differences. It is obvious, that the sons of privileged middle & upper-middle-class would score the highest ranks if they followed in their fathers’ footsteps. However, the relationships between the two male generations in a family were not always positive, “young men

moved to the left end of the spectrum in revolt against their fathers” (Whyte 63). It can be assumed, that these men chose the more liberal wing of the American political spectrum because they wanted to highlight their disconnection and dislike towards their fathers, who had disappointed them to a great extent, and society that deprived them of childhood in a functioning family. Since the consumerist world of the big companies took their fathers away from them, they, naturally, disfavored the direction of the whole society, that not only permitted that but also promoted it, and tried to find new possibilities. Although, unlike young women, whose goal was based on the feeling of unfair inferiority, young men’s reasons for their actions lied rather in negative feelings regarding society and themselves in it.

They were, in fact, regarded as “vulnerable” (Curtis 1.37). These young people were far from being harmless since their childhood had been affected by the complicated growing up in the prosperous post-war era of the American 20th century.

Also, their vulnerability was further deepened by the movements, that they were about to join since these did not have any guaranteed results. Furthermore, it is equally likely that other feelings accompanied their vulnerability. Those were the feelings of loss, caused by the uncertain movement forward of everyone, and despair, caused by the unfairness of the living conditions in society. These were all very negative mental attributes. Therefore, the young and vulnerable men may have had tendencies to be very negative towards society as well as themselves.

There are certain aspects that apply to the then young, radical generation in general, including the young males. A member of the Weatherman Revolutionary

Group defends the values and activities of counter culture, saying that they, “want to live a life that isn’t based on materialistic values, … In order to be human, in order to love each other and be equal with each other … we have to destroy the kind of

government that keeps us from asserting our positive values” (Curtis). This undeniably is a very radical way of thinking about society and the US government, and, as such, it is not very important for this analysis, as this thesis does not study the thinking of the counter culture in general. Nevertheless, regardless of its possibility of putting into existence, it brings an important gender-related message to the then-new generation.

Even though the interviewed person is a female, which could lead to the assumption that this quote is fit for the female social types, it contains a value, that remains gender-less and that unites the whole generation. The given value is equality. The equality is one of the core values of the counter-culture, and as such, it plays a major role not only for the women and other disfavored groups but also for the young men interested in such notions. Since the whole generation was interested in such a value, it would affect the men too and the aspect that it brings to the social type of the young, independent man interested in counter-culture is a notion in which the given male was highly unlikely to treat a woman as inferior. On the contrary, since the common belief of the culture was to be equal, these young men, whose motivation was even strengthened by the treatment of their mothers by their fathers – whom they despised as a rule – were very likely to treat women nicely, in a positive manner.

There are other aspects of the counter-culture in general that apply to both women and men and need to be discussed. The first of them is their tendency to rediscover their selves, “by the late Sixties, the idea of self-exploration was spreading rapidly in

America. Encounter groups became the center of what was a radical alternative culture based on the development of the self, free of a corrupt capitalist culture” (Curtis). The then young people, both women and men, were no longer interested in the capitalistic companies that their fathers worked in nor in the households that their mothers lived in.

Rather, they were interested in themselves. They likely searched their personal limits

and inner horizons and questioned their life goals and beliefs. Their life of today was the key point of their orientation. Also, the encounters are important because it means that these young people often gathered round in bigger groups. It is a fact that the awareness of the socio-political issues and the willingness of being active about it is intensified when there are more participants in one place. It leads to the emergence of the peer- pressure effect and shared conscience. Also, the inner-self orientation gets deepened when there is a discussion, sharing or even comparison of the people’s own goals.

The last significant aspect, visible from the historical books and critical voices of the day is the younger people’s taste, “what was new was the individuality, the idea that this product expresses me, whether it was … particular music, …[or] your clothing”

(Curtis). Obviously, even the younger generation was interested in buying products. It was not realistic or probably even possible for them to disconnect from the business world altogether. The key aspect was the difference in what they demanded. Instead of simply consuming the products of mass culture, they opted for other styles. This fact is connected to their attempt to differ from society and, for the young men, to differentiate from their fathers. They did not want to wear the clothes their fathers had, especially not the ones that would resemble the company clothes, such as suits, as these had stolen their fathers away from them. They did not want to listen to the same singers either. The fact is that probably every generation has their own singers that differ from their parents’. Nevertheless, as these young men were strongly against their fathers and society in general, their need for the differentiation in style was intensified.

In short, the social type of the young, independent man, interested in counter- culture mirrors the social type of the employed young woman interested in counter- culture, as they both share common features. Nevertheless, there are some differences between the two genders, that are caused by the disparities of the living conditions and

expected lifestyles of the representatives of either gender. These young men were in a stage of dislike of the whole society, likely supported by their dislike of their fathers.

They also seemed “vulnerable” (Curtis) and in a negative mood. As they believed in equality, they treated women in a positive way and not as inferior beings. Also, they were interested in their inner-selves and were in looking for their own, private horizons, which they discussed in the group meetings. Lastly, they had completely different taste in music and clothing, which must not have resembled the clothes that they fathers had worn. These are the aspects, on which the analysis of the portrayal in the TV show Mad

Men is going to be based.

The last male social type, that can be identified in the historical books and critiques, is closely tied to the female social type of the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society. It is the man between the old and new ways of thinking. He shares the basic characterization with its female counterpart. Theoretically, he was a man who no longer treated women as housewives and symbols of success, yet he was not a part of the then-new, radical counter-culture and did not necessarily sympathize with their goals. Naturally, the opposite gender causes certain differences, as these men were again, in society, regarded as privileged over women. Unfortunately, what these two social types have also in common is their relative lack of description in the historical books and dissenting voices of the day. The literature again rather focuses on the two poles between which the difference, that the change in the course of history has brought, is the most obvious. The people in between, although their existence is close to a certainty, because it is highly unlikely that there would be only people belonging to the two opposite sides, are merely mentioned or only suggested in the non-fiction literature. For that reason, the discussion of the social type of the man between the old

and new ways of thinking is rather a presumption of himself, based on the scarce information in the books.

The existence of such a social type is, however, suggested here, “[p]eople who are just selfish and wrapped up in themselves have the most trouble. And people who are interested in other people … are the type of person that is not too much concerned with the security” (Whyte 72). Although the claim mainly discusses the problems of the second male social type, it does not disprove the existence of the whole spectrum of people, who were able to think of the others as equals. This is supported by the continuation of the citation used in the preceding social type, discussing the rebellious, left-wing oriented sons, who, “as the years went on, moved slowly to the right” (Whyte

63). Obviously, these men were older than the students of counter-culture and they tended to be more traditional, as their right-wing, conservative political orientation suggests, instead of being interested in radicality. Together, the two quotations confirm the existence of a man, who treated people, likely of both genders, more open-mindedly but who did not necessarily take part in the radical, new thinking of the younger generation.

There is another aspect, that proposes the existence of the third social type. “Civic work? Executives don’t particularly like it. Rightly or wrongly, most of them consider it a diffusion of energy. … Many businessmen plunge into civic work, but these are not the organization men” (Whyte 141). Obviously, the existence is suggested in the negative approach of the men working in the company – the men complying with the first male social type – towards the work for the public. The men who were interested in society and the public sphere were different. Notwithstanding, as they still were businessmen – or employed in many other professions which the excerpt does not list, – they were not likely to be a part of the counter-culture, which despised the consumerist

society, business included. This connotes that the businessmen who were in the public spectrum were likely to be in the middle of the two tendencies. It is not clearly stated on which level of the public work they participated in, which leads to the presumption that they could have been active on either communal, state or even federal level. Yet, they were indeed active on at least one of the given levels. Furthermore, as they were still, for example, businessmen, this fact is very likely to be reflected in their taste. Although it is not discussed anywhere in the literature, it is deducible that, for instance, their style of clothing was presumably very similar to the company men as it was most likely based on suits, which, as the tradition dictated, were regarded as suitable for business.

Their activity in the public spectrum added up to it.

In short, the existence of the third male social type, called the man between the old and new ways of thinking is confirmed, although rather by presumptions and intellectual outcomes from the historical books and critical sources of the day, which mostly focus on either the traditional men of the 1960s or the young independent men interested in counter-culture, than from clear evidence. The characteristic aspects of such social type are that these men had a more open-minded approach towards the others, which, from the mere logic of the claim, included gender-related differences.

They also tended to be older than the young students and politically more conservative- oriented. Furthermore, they tended to be active in public service, without any further specification, that would limit their influence on either local, state or nationwide scope.

Lastly, their taste in fashion was likely to resemble the traditional men, as they still were active in business and have not given up the traditional values completely. Even though the existence of this social type is not as widely described as of the others, and its aspects are very similar to the ones of the traditional man – traditional opinions, traditional fashion choices, etc. – the TV show Mad Men should portray it to at least a

certain level as well to truly encompass the wide range of personalities of the 1960s in the United States of America.

Finally, the preliminary qualitative analysis of the historical books and critical public comments, that describe and study the gender relations and issues in the 1960s era of the United States of America, has been successful in collecting the information.

Six social types have been identified, three female types and three male types. The female social types are the unhappy or even desperate wife, the employed young woman interested in counter-culture and the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society. All three social types have the typical aspects that differentiate them from one another, even though the third is described loosely, and as the literature suggests, they form the typical spectrum of women living in the USA in the discussed era. The three male social types are the traditional man of the 1960s, the young independent man interested in counter-culture, and the man between the old and new ways of thinking.

The first social type includes significant characteristic aspects that differentiate him from the rest and describes a typical male at the given time. The other two are more complicated as they, in fact, originate in the female social types of the employed young woman interested in counter-culture and the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society, and only differ in the means of the gender relation, as the historically favored male gender has a different set of living conditions to deal with that a disfavored one. These differences, lying in these different conditions, lead the discussed social types to certain actions. Nevertheless, when put together, the literature proposes that they also represent typical types of males living in the United States of

America in the 1960s. The analysis is complete. On the other hand, the preceding text represents generalizations as there are gaps in the preliminary analysis formed by the

certain existence of people who do not correspond to any of these social types or share a combination of aspects from more social types.

In the next chapter, there follows the main analysis of this master’s diploma thesis, a case study of the six different character types, three female and three male ones, portrayed in the TV show Mad Men. The information collected in the preliminary analysis will be reflected and conformities will be described on these character types.

This will be done in order to examine the correspondence of the TV show to the historical books and critical voices of the day.

Chapter 3 – A Case Study of the Character Types in The TV Show Mad

Men

The main analysis of this master’s diploma thesis, the analysis of the correspondence of the TV show Mad Men and its character types to the gender-related issues of the 1960s in the USA, described in the non-fiction historical books and social critiques, follows in this chapter. Six characters, that represent broader character types are used as portrayals of gender social types, typical for the given era. The correspondence of the TV show is analyzed on these character types. The chapter is divided into six subchapters, each dealing with one character type. The female characters used as portrayals of character types for the analysis are Betty Draper for the unhappy or even desperate wife, Peggy Olson for the employed young woman interested in counter-culture and Joan Harris for the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society. The male characters used as portrayals of character types for the analysis are Don Draper for the traditional man of the 1960s, Abe Drexler for the young independent man interested in counter-culture and Henry Francis for the man between the old and new ways of thinking. The actions, as well as the appearance of all these character types, are described and compared to the information from the preliminary qualitative analysis of the historical books and contemporary social critiques. Only the first four seasons of the TV show are discussed, as is explained in the Introduction chapter. It must not be forgotten, that the TV show Mad Men is a fictitious story, which means that it is not based completely on true events, but only set in the era of the 1960s in the USA. Some elements in the characters’ behavior and action taking might be subject to the dramatization which may lead the audience into doubts about its historical credibility. Nevertheless, as this master’s diploma thesis studies the correspondence of

this TV show, the level of dramatization is, in fact, an important element in the analysis instead of a misleading factor.

Chapter 3.1 – The Unhappy or Even Desperate Wife – Betty Draper

Betty Draper, acted by January Jones (“Mad Men (2007-2015) – Full Cast and

Crew”), clearly represents a social type of the unhappy or even desperate wife. She is presumably in her thirties and she is a housewife. She is blue-eyed, blond and with a narrow waist and society is, according to its standards, likely to consider her beautiful.

She is the wife of a rich and successful Don Draper and she has two children to take care of, a girl and a boy. She lives with them in the house in the New York City suburbs, which is visible already in the very first episode of the whole TV show in which Don travels home from the city of New York for a certain time before the actual arrival to what evidently is a house of his family (Weiner S01E01 44.45-47.20). She also has friends in the other housewives of likely other rich men, who often pay her a visit, as is visible, for example, in the seventh episode of the first season, in which they gossip about the one of the ladies that is missing (Weiner S01E07 37.25-41.50). The premise that her female friends have rich husbands is based on the fact that they clearly live in the same, likely expensive neighborhood. This means that the character type of

Betty Draper fulfills the first aspect of the social type – she has children and takes care of them, she has friends in the fancy neighborhood, and she is attractive, by all which she serves as a symbol of a success of her husband.

Another aspect of the social type is that the housewives have knowledge regarding the stereotypic gender roles. They also doubt these stereotypes as well as the inequality within the family, especially compared to their husband’s position. Betty Draper fulfills

that too, as is visible, for example, in the ninth episode of the first season, in which

Betty wants to go back to her old job as a model, “Don, I realized something today. I miss modeling” (Weiner S01E09 15.46). She continues with the arguments, “A few days, I mean, is that so bad? I get paid. … I think it would be fun to go and be that girl again. … There will still be ham” (Weiner S01E09 16.09-16.29). It is obvious from the arguments that Betty knows her position in the family is to be a housewife. Even though she wants to go back to the job and be a model, she promises that she will still be present and take care of the family as the food will still be on the table. She does not suggest a full-time occupation either. Obviously, she knows that her main role remains to take care of the children and the household.

Nevertheless, she demands to come back to her job because she knows that the family benefits from her only in terms of a housewife, while financially it is solely dependent on Don. Since she would earn money, she would become less dependent and her position in the family, as well as likely her self-confidence, would rise. She even uses a form of irony in the question, “Is that so bad” (Weiner S01E09 16.10)? By doing so, she highlights her knowledge that her demand is not a standard one from her position. Yet, she still pursues. She wants to be considered and regarded as more self- sustainable and she wants to bring financial value to the family by which she would obtain a higher, less dependent status. At the end of the episode, the viewers learn that her position has only been possible because the modeling agency’s intentions have been to get Don’s services and since he has showed no interest, Betty cannot continue

(Weiner S01E09 35.30-40.05). Nonetheless, it illustrates the aspect, in which the women-housewives are aware of the gender disbalances in their living conditions.

Later in the season, Betty even starts to doubt her position within the whole family. In the thirteenth episode of the first season, she learns that one of her girlfriends

from the neighborhood has been cheated on by her husband, which shocks her, “How could someone do that to the person that they love? That they have children with?

Doesn’t this all mean anything” (Weiner S01E13 16.50-17.00)? As such the quote seems to be only Betty’s expression of shock and disbelief upon the misfortune of her friend, but which is not connected to her life. On the other hand, the continuation of the scene refutes this semblance. What Betty does after posing these questions to her husband is that she stares still at Don (Weiner S01E13 17.01-17.17). This stare lasts 16 seconds and, in one scene, it is very long. It serves as evidence of her doubtful feelings.

It is a stare of distrust, of insecurity towards her husband. She looks at him in a way as if she was x-raying him. Her stone facial expression adds up to it. If she were sure about her husband and herself, there would not be a reason for her to stare so seriously and for so long at Don without saying anything – it must be pointed out that her doubts in Don’s faithfulness to her and the family are, as the subchapter 3.4 shows, justified. – As Betty does so anyway, she obviously lacks the mental security and judges his reactions.

Obviously, she is in doubt. This leads to the conclusion that she does not regard her position in the family as equal to Don’s, who, she thinks, does not cherish the same values of family stability. This claim is reflected in the eleventh episode of the first season as well, in which Betty dreams about having sex with the air conditioning salesman, that visits her that day (Weiner S01E11 37.00-38.42). The possible explanation of her dream is that she does not feel her needs are satisfied by her husband and a young salesman would be an interesting change in her monotonous life of a housewife. It is a different – mental – but equally valid form of her doubts about her role in the marriage, where she just takes care of children and waits if her husband comes home early enough and has enough energy to perform amorous activities before going to sleep, while Don goes to the city full of excitement and temptation. When these

arguments are put together, they confirm the claim, that the social type’s awareness of a position of a female in the family, and the doubts of her role and the role of a husband are reflected in the character type of Betty Draper.

Another aspect that has been identified in the non-fiction literature is the aspect of forming politically active women groups that discuss and act upon the serious problems of society instead of performing simple household talks. Instead of politely sitting home and watching the societal problems taking place, the women themselves participate in the shaping of society and are much more independent of men. Betty Draper fulfills this aspect too. It starts to be visible already in the first episode of the second season of the

TV show, where she joins the equestrian club (Weiner S02E01 1.26 – 1.42). It is not yet a political club that would have a significant impact on communal life, yet, it is the first step in Betty’s gaining a higher degree of intellectual and moral independence. It is apparent that the club does not yet discuss any political development or issues, but it is an activity that she does alone because it clearly – she smiles in the discussed scene – amuses her. She no longer spends her time only shopping in the grocery store, putting the clothes into the washing machine, etc., as she did throughout the first season. On the contrary, she devotes some time to a hobby (that she enjoys). Another important fact is that she meets different people there which helps her broaden her horizons and enables her to gain access to more opinions and beliefs that when she stayed in her secluded life of a housewife. She even meets a new man in the club (Weiner S02E01 4.12-5.08).

Even though he is engaged, as one of Betty’s new friends confirms in the scene, he obviously likes Betty, judging by the smile and lit-up eyes of his face when he greets her for the first time (Weiner S02E01 4.12-5.08). This even goes further in the third episode of the given season, in which the man tries to seduce Betty, “You’re so beautiful. … So different than Tara. … I think about you” (Weiner S02E03 29.28-

29.51). In the following seconds, he tries to kiss Betty, but she refuses, “Don’t do that”

(Weiner S02E03 30.15). Two conclusions can be brought from her stopping him.

Firstly, she is independent and self-confident enough to prevent him from kissing her and creating a form of connection. She does not need it. She has joined the club to free herself and become more independent and self-interested, not to tie herself to another man. Secondly, obviously the family is still very important to her and she does not want to break the tie, which, if she had an affair, would likely eventually happen. The evidence shows that her presence in the club is made from her need for a new herself, not for a new love life.

The third season is the time, in which the activities that Betty performs become political. Instead of an equestrian club, she now participates in the woman movement for the protection of a water source in the community,

The proposed three-million-gallon water tank will not only drain the Pleasantville

Road Reservoir but also blemish the natural and financial health of our

community. … The Junior League needs to take over this effort and explain the

issues. Now, first, conservation? … Second, worthless real estate on both sides of

the river? … We need to go over the Village Board’s head, appeal to the governor

(Weiner S03E07 7.48-8.24).

This passage is an excerpt from a discussion between the two female leaders of a

Junior League, where Betty applies for the post of a secretary (Weiner S03E07 7.46). It is no longer just a group of women from the neighborhood, discussing family issues. It is a proper female political group – there is no evidence that it is a political party – which is obviously active on the community level at least. As they want and need to contact the governor, it means that the goal that they try to achieve is political and important for them. If the goal was insignificant, they would not strive for the political 47

support that tends to be problematic to gain. Nevertheless, since the protection of the local river is an activity that encompasses a lot of people and endangers high investments, the political representative – the governor – is necessary. This means that the group that Betty wants to join is much more significant than just a group of female friends.

Furthermore, even though she applies for the post of a secretary, Betty does not want to remain behind, doing just paperwork. She wants to actively take part in the activities of the club, “I may know someone in the governor’s office. … Henry Francis.

He’s in a paper sometimes” (Weiner S03E07 8.32-8.44). After this claim, one of the leaders reacts with the words, “I think we have a better chance if Betty calls” (Weiner

S03E07 9.13). Obviously, not only has Betty’s application been accepted – otherwise, the leader would not want her to make the call. It also clearly shows, that Betty herself is interested in protecting the water source and willing to participate and help the Junior

League achieve it. If not, she would not mention Henry Francis, or she would not be willing to call him. Yet, she agrees and calls, “Well, we were hoping you could stop the destruction of the Pleasantville Road Reservoir. … I am representing the Junior

League” (Weiner S03E07 12.23-12.31). As such, it confirms her interest in active participation in the Junior League women political group. Therefore, Betty, as a character type, also portrays the aspect of the women forming political groups and fighting for the solving of the political issues of society, which complies with the social type of the desperate housewife.

The last aspect of the social type, that is identifiable in the literature, is the women’s tendency to actively improve their living standard instead of merely overlooking their inferior position. This can be seen in Betty’s behavior in the third season as well. At the end of the season, in episode 11, she finds out that Don has been

lying to her about his past and confronts him, “I respected your privacy for long. Open it. … You know I know what’s in there … Dick? Is that your name” (Weiner S03E11

26.55-27.42)? Obviously, her husband lied even about his name. As Betty finds out that she has been lied to for such a long time, she becomes aware that her position in the family significantly changes. More correctly, she is aware that her true position in the family has been revealed. Her husband has never considered her valuable or trustworthy enough to tell her. He has never appreciated her enough, it seems. That is a strong twist in the relationship and bond between the couple.

Furthermore, in correspondence with the literature, Betty does not overlook it. In fact, she reacts to the revelation of the state of affairs in the next episode by saying to

Don, “I want to scream at you for ruining all of this. But then you try to fix it and there’s no point. … I don’t love you. … I don’t love you anymore. … I kissed you yesterday. I didn’t feel a thing” (Weiner S03E12 41.00-41.55). Evidently, Betty no longer cherishes the state of marriage and the family. As she has found out about the actual nature of their relationship in which she was not valued enough to be treated honestly, she takes real action in re-acclaiming her position. She is honest with Don about her state of feelings and she suggests that it is an end of their relationship, which is very confident and very independent of her. This claim is confirmed in episode thirteen of the third season, in which Betty tells Don, “I made an appointment with a divorce attorney, and I suggest you do the same. … I want to be civilized about this.

Please, don’t act surprised. … I’ve had a tough year. … I didn’t break up this family”

(Weiner S03E13 9.44-10.31). Obviously, Betty really wants to change her living conditions and believes that if she leaves Don, her life is going to improve – otherwise, she would not enforce the divorce.

Also, the way how she informs Don about her decision is significant. It is obvious that she speaks emotionlessly and in just an informative manner. She is not nervous nor emotional, she just informs her husband about the end of their marriage. By doing so she makes clear that there is no space left for any negotiation. She suffers from being mistreated and this is the only solution for her. Moreover, Betty indicates that she blames Don for the marriage breakdown, as he treated her badly the whole year. It is not the point of this thesis to judge whether Betty’s decision is the right one. Nevertheless, it serves as evidence that Betty is determined to step up to her husband’s mistreatment and actively participate in the improvement of her living conditions, thus confirming the last aspect of the social type.

In brief, it has been confirmed, that Betty fulfills all the aspects of the social type of the unhappy or even desperate wife. She, in the beginning, lives a life of a suburban housewife and takes care of the household and the children. She also is aware of the disbalances between her and her husband’s position in the family and she has doubts about the rightfulness of such a setting. Later in the story, she joins a female political group that actively participates in the improvement of the communal life on a political level. Lastly, she manages to fight for the improvement of her life and leaves her husband when she learns the actual state of the affairs in the relationship between her and him. In other words, the social type of the unhappy or even desperate wife is successfully portrayed in the TV show Mad Men and Betty Draper represents a character type that corresponds to the historical books and critical voices of the day.

Chapter 3.2 – The Employed Young Woman Interested in Counter-Culture – Peggy

Olson

Another female social type, identified in the literature, the employed young woman interested in counter-culture, is in the TV show Mad Men portrayed by the character type, represented in Peggy Olson, acted by Elisabeth Moss (“Mad Men (2007-

2015) – Full Cast and Crew”). She is a young female secretary in the company where

Don Draper works, and she later develops into a copywriter with a very successful career. The first aspect that is characteristic for the character type of Peggy is that the woman is either still a student or newly employed as this signifies her youth and intellectual openness in terms of liberal ideas. Peggy confirms that throughout the first season. As noticeable from her looks, she is a young girl, likely a freshly graduated student. She mentions that she is from Miss Deaver’s Secretarial School (Weiner

S01E01 17.26) and she looks like she is approximately in her early twenties. The claim that she is young is also suggested by the fact that she is freshly hired as a secretary, which indicates that she is at the beginning of her career. She is introduced by her colleague and guided what to do (Weiner S01E01 8.16-10.19). It is not clearly suggested at the beginning of the TV show that Peggy openly inclines to the new ideas.

However, the mere fact that she is young connotes that she is more likely to be open to new ways of thinking than older people. So far, it is valid to claim that the character type of Peggy portrays the first aspect of the social type by her being obviously young and on the start of a career.

Another aspect is the one in which she is either a decoration or a joke for her colleagues which connotes a form of undignified mistreatment. This is visible on Peggy

Olson in one of the scenes in the very first episode, exactly the one which has introduced this whole thesis. In it, Pete Campbell, one of the accountants and her new

colleagues, has a very offensive comment on her clothes, “Are you Amish or something? … It wouldn’t be a sin for us to see your legs. If you pull your waist a little bit, you might look like a woman” (Weiner S01E01 17.31-17.42). This claim would be extremely offensive to anyone. The presumption that Peggy is Amish – a group of extremely traditional people living very conservative lives – attacks her conservative fashion choice, that she is equally entitled to have like any other human being. His claim, aimed at Peggy, that only if she fixes her style, she will look like a woman, is an even more inappropriate comment. By saying that, Campbell suggests that Peggy is not feminine enough to be considered a woman. It is extremely offensive to say that to anyone at any given time. That includes a young girl on her first day in a job.

Obviously, for Pete, Peggy is not valuable enough to treat her nicely. He seems to rather despise her.

This is just a first of the whole series of mistreatment by their colleagues that

Peggy is forced to experience. For example, in the second episode in the first season,

Peggy is on lunch with her male colleagues and they have offensive comments too,

“Perhaps I can interest you in a forty-two long? … Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but you are the subject of much debate. Money riding on the outcome. … Paying you”

(Weiner S01E02 12.00-12.18). Clearly, the male colleagues make fun of Peggy and have sexual allusions. The number forty-two that one of the guys is mentioning, when put together with his facial expression, suggests, that he offers her sexual intercourse and that he is above-average-qualified for it. The comment about paying Peggy then means that they consider her to be willing to have paid intercourse. The aspect of fun must be counted in, but, as such, these “jokes” do not seem to be meant for everyone. In fact, they serve only to amuse men and insult women. These men have no real intention to engage in a sexual relationship with Peggy because if they had, they would certainly

treat her differently. On the contrary, their intention is to mistreat Peggy and have fun around it. Also, in the sixth episode of the first season, Peggy has a great idea about a new selling slogan for a product (Weiner S01E06 31.55-32.33) and one of the creative executives later comments it, saying that, “It was like watching a dog play the piano”

(Weiner S01E06 34.15). He absolutely cannot believe that she would be able to think of something of significant value. Peggy has not heard this comment, but it is of significance as well because it supports male’s negative treatment of her and the women in the workplace in general.

It must be pointed out that Peggy is not the only woman suffering from the male mistreatment in the company. For example, in the twelfth episode of the first season, on a business party, one of the male colleagues is chasing one of the female colleagues and the others are guessing the color of her panties. The scene ends with him catching her, tumbling her on the floor and rolling up her skirt to show everybody on the floor that they are blue (Weiner S01E12 8.29-9.01). All men are laughing. Such activity is extremely undignified towards the lady on the floor. Furthermore, for the given men, it is just a funny spectacle. This scene is one of the most prominent in terms of the mistreatment of women by men in the whole show. All the aspects are present, the woman is chased like prey and the man, a solid beast, gets what he wants, with the other males – the other beasts – celebrating him for it. The lady – prey – is laying, laughing, and waiting what will happen next. The laughter may lead to the conclusion that she has enjoyed the whole act. On the other hand, there is a strong likelihood that her laughing is more a polite mask than a symbol of enjoyment, as it is hard to imagine that anyone would like the whole floor to see their underwear. The reason is that she cannot seem boring, as that could lead to difficulties in her position among the staff and it could, eventually, even deepen the mistreatment. On the contrary, she must pretend that she is

enjoying the fact that everyone sees her panties. Furthermore, only Peggy seems to dislike the act openly in the given scene, the other women laugh as well. Although, there is a high probability that these women, like the woman on the floor, are laughing more out of necessity as it is highly unlikely that they would like the other to see what sort of underwear they wear. It means that guys mistreat women in general in the company and Peggy is only one of them. Nevertheless, as she is, indeed, mistreated, she fulfills this aspect of the social type as well.

Another aspect identified in the non-fiction literature is that these young independent women know that they are mistreated, and they perform actions, such as talking to their boss, to improve their working conditions. Peggy Olson complies with it as well. She is aware of the mistreatment already in the first season, second episode, in which she says to Joan, one of her female colleagues, “Honestly, why is it that every time a man takes you out to lunch around here, you’re, you’re the dessert? … It’s constant from every corner. … Why can’t they just leave it alone” (Weiner S01E02

37.50-38.05)? Evidently, Peggy suffers from being regarded only as a piece of meat, as a sexual symbol of high demand. Nobody takes her seriously, all men, she has been talking too, are trying to seduce her. She also realizes that such behavior is very inappropriate, judging by the urgent tone she is using when discussing the problem with

Joan. It is clearly pressing her. It is no surprise though, considering that Peggy has studied and has a steady job, which, itself, should ensure some level of respect that she is entitled to demand. Instead, all men treat her either like a joke – Pete – or try to openly seduce her – Paul from the second episode, who tries to kiss her (Weiner

S01E02 36.21). This bothers her. Nevertheless, as she is an intelligent woman with self- respect, she never lets such behavior be. She has refused the kiss from Paul in the second episode and while Pete, indeed manages to seduce her at the end of the first

episode (Weiner S01E01), it is only for once and they never fall into a proper relationship. Peggy remains independent and she has a certain level of self-respect.

Her self-confidence and respect are apparent in her behavior towards Don, her boss as well. It is not yet visible in the first season, in which she is a secretary, yet it is more striking in the second, where she is promoted to the creative department. As her status is higher, she starts to be demanding respect by the others as well. An example is to be seen in the fifth episode of the second season when Don is in jail for causing an accident under the influence of alcohol and accompanied by a lady friend. He calls

Peggy to help get him out of it and not tell anyone in the office. Peggy does not just agree, she says, “You’ll have to believe me that I’ll forget this. I don’t want you treating me badly because I remind you of it” (Weiner S02E05 17.54-18.02). So far, Peggy is polite and does not ask for any working conditions improvement. Nonetheless, it is a first sign in which she demands some sort of respect. She does not just promise him that she will never tell, she suggests that it is up to her. She must make that decision and he must subdue. She wants to show Don, that she is a self-confident woman that deserves respect. This develops later in the very same episode, in which Peggy starts to call his boss by his given name (Weiner S02E05 44.48). He is visibly surprised because he has never told her to do so. Yet, she has done it. This is clear evidence that Peggy wants to be treated better and regarded as equal. To use one’s given name as a form of addressing is always a show of either a good friendship – that is unlikely, given the circumstances – or an equal – or even a superior, but that is not this case – position. By using his name Peggy highlights that she is an independent and respectable woman and she expects Don to regard her as such.

The first time in which Peggy starts to demand a working-conditions- improvement is found in the twelfth episode of the second season, in which she talks to

Mr. Sterling, one of the owners of the company. She cannot speak to Don, because he is on a vacation. Nevertheless, she does not hesitate to discuss her problem with even

Don’s superior, “I brought in the Popsicle account. … I need my own office. It’s hard to do business and be credible when I’m sharing with a xerox machine. Freddie Rumson’s office has been vacant for some time. I think I should have it” (Weiner S02E12 29.19-

29.38). Obviously, Peggy believes in her position and wants to improve her working conditions. This is a clear show of her willingness to demand a more convenient place where she can work. She knows that she brings value to the company as she can provide it with new clients. She also knows that she is talented, and she is worth the office. She is confident in herself and is aware that she has arguments on her disposal, which gives her the strength to, in fact, be active in the manner. Moreover, her activity in improving her work does not end here, as is visible in the first episode of the third season, in which

Peggy has received a further convenience, “Enough, Lola. … I need Howard Sullivan at

Lever Brothers” (Weiner S03E01 6.59-7.10). Visibly, Peggy has been entitled to receive the service of a secretary. It is not clearly stated, that she has asked for her, nevertheless, it is very likely that she has done so because to have a secretary undoubtedly is a convenient and respectable amenity and it is not mentioned that Peggy has obtained such amenity as a gesture of goodwill. If this was the case, it would be mentioned, because it would mean, that the executives have started to take Peggy as equal, – only executives in the TV show have secretaries – which would be a significant shift in the whole TV show. It is not very probable that such a shift would be left unnoticed by the screenwriters. If the case was based on her demand, which is more likely due to the circumstances, it would mean that she regards herself respectable enough to obtain a secretary like the executives. Being in the former or the latter, it is still a fact, that

Peggy’s working conditions have again been improved.

It must be pointed out, that it is hypocritic to a certain level from Peggy that she has a secretary, a position that she herself started on and fought hard to get promoted from. It means that she now approves the concept that she has wanted to leave desperately and has been successful to do so in the second season. Naturally, as she is a heterosexual woman – to be discussed later in the subchapter – there is not any likelihood that she would harass her secretary. However, she still has become a part of the system in which women work as assistants and, from the scene, it does not seem that she cares. Nevertheless, as she has demanded the office and she has been accompanied by a secretary, her working conditions, thanks to her negotiating with the bosses, have improved and it means that this aspect of the social type is portrayed.

The last characteristic aspect of the social type is that these women have tendencies to interest themselves in the counter-culture. This fact is depicted in the character type of Peggy Olson as well, mostly in the fourth season, as she has, presumably, moved even more to the democratic wing of political opinion. In the fourth episode of the season, Peggy meets Joyce Ramsay, who works in Life magazine in the same building as the company where Peggy is employed (Weiner S04E04 6.29-7.27). It is not yet visible, but Joyce takes part in the counter-culture movement. The hint for it is the fact, that she wanted the magazine to publish nude pictures – which has been rejected (Weiner S04E04 6.29-7.27). As the counter-culture is interested in liberalism, it is presumable, that someone who offers nude pictures in a magazine, has liberal tendencies. The beauty of a naked body and its portrayal is highly liberal, as it brakes all the traditional boundaries that people have been used to.

Joyce obviously likes Peggy, as she invites her to a party, “Listen, my friend the photographer, Mister Reject, he’s having, I don’t even what to call it, downtown. … Are you afraid of the subway? … It starts at nine, I’ll be there at ten” (Weiner S04E04

29.55-30.23). At first, it might seem like an invitation to a normal party. Yet it is not, because Joyce does not use the term. On the contrary, she hesitates in calling it a party and goes for not saying what it is. That is a clear message that this happening is of a different sort than a standard company party. When putting it together with the nudes from the above-mentioned scene, it clearly is an invitation to the counter-culture party.

Yet, Peggy, for whom the sort of party, due to the circumstances and her intelligence, must have also been clear, happily agrees (Weiner S04E04 29.55-30.23). It suggests, that the new, liberal ideas are not completely strange to her.

Even if she did not understand the concept of the party from the invitation, her interest is confirmed, when she appears on the given happening. She arrives in what clearly is an alternative session where people openly kiss each other and drink together.

What is also important is that there are people of all races together (Weiner S04E04

33.20-33.45). It is without question that it is a liberal party. If Peggy was not interested in such ideas, she would turn back and leave. Yet, she does not leave. Instead, she continues to dwell into the crowd and looks for Joyce (Weiner S04E04 33.20-33.45).

The fact is that her actions could be explained by her interest in Joyce instead of the culture. This is not likely though, as the following scene explains. Joyce gives Peggy a marihuana joint, Peggy accepts. Joyce then kisses her, which means, that she obviously is a lesbian or bisexual and interested in her. Peggy neglects (Weiner S04E04 34.25-

34.55). This serves as confirmation that Joyce is not what she is interested in. If she was, she would accept, as the party obviously is open-minded, and it is not likely that there is someone who would know her and gossip about her later. Also, her claim, “I have a boyfriend” (Weiner S04E04 34.54), suggests that she is not interested in homosexual experience with Joyce – as well as she is not likely to harass her secretary from the preceding aspect’s discussion. Rather, she is interested in the culture itself, that

likely comply with her view of the world where women can have careers and are treated equally as men. The last aspect is also portrayed.

In short, the social type of the employed young woman interested in counter- culture is portrayed in the TV show Mad Men. Peggy Olson is a young, freshly- graduated girl who has started her career in the company. She also suffers from either mistreatment or even harassment from her male colleagues, to which she is aware of and disagrees with. Equally, she asserts the improvement of her working conditions with her bosses and later in the TV show she also shows her interest in the counter- culture. Her depiction of the given social type corresponds to the non-fiction literature.

Chapter 3.3 – The Woman Unsure about The New Ways of Thinking in Society – Joan

Harris

The last female social type, the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society, is portrayed in the TV show by a character type of Joan Harris, acted by

Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men (2007-2015) – Full Cast and Crew”). Even though this social type is defined loosely in the historical books and critical sources of the day, there are certain aspects visible in the given non-fiction literature as well as in the TV show.

The first and very loose aspect of the social type is that such women can be employed and married, employed or married, or not any of the two options. Joan represents this throughout the whole show. Already in the first episode of the first season, she is employed in Sterling Cooper, which is visible in one of the first scenes, as Joan, in fact, is the lady who introduces Peggy Olson – the then-new girl – to her duties (Weiner

S01E01 8.16-10.19). Obviously from the scene, she knows the ways around the company, which indicates that she has been employed there for a longer period. It also

indicates that she is a professional. She remains employed in the company for the whole four seasons, respectively for Sterling Cooper, she has worked for three seasons, with a small break in the third, (Weiner S03E01 31.27-31.28), and then she joins a new company Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (Weiner S03E13 42.05-42.29). It is evident that she has already fulfilled the first aspect.

Nevertheless, as she also has a husband, she fulfills the aspect in both ways.

Getting married probably in the break between the second and third season – the wedding is not depicted – Joan Harris manages to be a housewife as well as an employee with a successful career. For example, she prepares a dinner table for her husband and his guests. Doing so, she deals with the traditional problems of a housewife, “I won’t have their wives think you have a wife who doesn’t know how to set a table. … A buffet would be slightly more casual, and people could sit where they will” (Weiner S03E03 9.50-10.08). Unmistakably, she wants to be regarded as a good wife by the wives of her husband’s colleagues. The sitting arrangement is likely an important aspect of a good knowledge of a wife and Joan is aware of it and accepts it. If the marriage was not important for her, she would likely not bother. Yet, as it is important for her, she wants to be considered a well-skilled housewife, eligible for a satisfied husband. Therefore, she, obviously, fulfills the second part of the first aspect as well.

The second aspect in the analyzed portrayal of the character type of Joan Harris is that when compared to the second social type, these women are typically slightly older.

Although it is not listed specifically in the TV show, Joan is, which is based on two presumptions. Firstly, she is likely older than Peggy Olson – the representation of the second social type – as she introduces her to the job in the very first episode (Weiner

S01E01 8.16-10.19). As she shows her around the building, which suggests that she is

employed longer, it leads to a presumption that she is older than Peggy, who is at the start of her career. Secondly, it is based on the actress that plays Joan, who visibly is in her late twenties to early thirties, as opposed to the actress playing Peggy, who is perceptibly depicted as a young girl. Clearly, the casting always chooses the actresses and actors, who reflect the attributes of the characters in the best way. As Christina

Hendricks (“Mad Men (2007-2015) – Full Cast and Crew”), who has been born in the year 1975 (“Christina Hendricks”) and has been 32 years old at the beginning of the TV show, has been selected to portray Joan, it is obvious, that Joan is intended as a slightly older woman than Peggy. This is confirmed by the fact, that Elisabeth Moss, who plays

Peggy (“Mad Men (2007-2015) – Full Cast and Crew”), was born in the year 1982

(“Elisabeth Moss”). Conclusively, the second aspect of the social type is depicted in the character type of Joan Harris as well.

The last aspect to depict is defined as follows. These women, instead of being open to new notions, rather remain occupied by the old traditions in gender relations.

The character type of Joan complies with this on multiple occasions. Firstly, it is visible already in the very first episode of the first season, in the already mentioned scene where Joan introduces Peggy to her duties. One part of Peggy’s duties is to control a typewriter. Joan, when informing Peggy about it, comments the machine, “Now, try not to be overwhelmed by all this technology. It looks complicated but the men who designed it made it simple enough for a woman to use” (Weiner S01E01 9.41-9.45).

Clearly, Joan points out that women need a simplified method of use. It is based on a presumption that ladies are not as intelligent as men to control high-tech machinery and need to operate with only basic technology. Heavily unequal and offensive, it nevertheless is a standard theory of the traditional early 1960s societal thinking. In it, all the important jobs have been held by men and women only worked as secretaries or in

other less significant professions – that is, indeed, visible even in the first season of Mad

Men in general (Weiner). Since Joan, obviously, openly follows the given pattern, she subdues to the traditional division of gender roles where males are there to work and females to assist.

Secondly, since she believes in the traditional gender roles, she follows the pattern even when deciding whether she is going to pursue her career or becomes a housewife,

“Yes. … He’s 34” (Weiner S02E05 30.42-30.50). This is a scene in which Joan informs her boss Mr. Sterling about her wedding. She obviously chooses a man of her age, likely with already a career, who she should have a reputable relationship with. The fact is that in the same scene, she promises, “I’m not going anywhere” (Weiner S02E05 31.49).

Her goal for that time is to remain employed and be a wife. She wants to have her successful career and a happy marriage in a balance, which does not seem to fit in the premise that this social type follows the traditional gender roles. However, in the first episode of the third season, it is changed, “Oh God, I’m so glad I’m gonna be out of here soon” (Weiner S03E01 31.27-31.28). In this scene, Joan talks to Peggy in front of the elevator to the office and clearly states that she is leaving her job. Obviously, she preferences her marriage over her career. She wants more to be a happy housewife of a successful husband than an independent woman with her own career. This connotes that she wants to pursue the traditional gender role of a female, which suggests that she believes in such division.

Lastly, as she wants to be a good wife, she supports her husband heartedly, “I know you’re drunk. Come sit next to me. So, what happened? … You’ll get it next year.

You knew it was possible. … Honey. Listen. You are still a doctor. I married you for your heart, not your hands” (Weiner S03E06 12.19-15.29). This citation comes from a scene in which Joan’s husband has been denied a post of a surgeon. He is very

emotional and depressed by it and he has obviously been drinking. Also, he comes home late. Still, Joan is not angry. Instead, she sits and sympathetically listens to her husband’s problems and soothes him. She is very understanding. It is caused partly by her love for her husband, of course, but it is also caused by her knowledge of the good manners of a good wife. Love does not mean that the couple cannot have an argument.

Especially, when one of the two comes late and drunk. These are enough reasons to fight about alone. Yet, the couple does not fight. On the contrary, Joan is very patient and calm. She obviously knows and follows the pattern in which a wife is there to comfort her husband, to make his life more bearable. This leads to a conclusion, that her way of thinking is traditional, and she subdues to the older, stereotypic gender roles. As such it means that Joan also depicts the last aspect of the social type.

In brief, the character type of Joan Harris depicts all the aspects of the third female social type, identified in the non-fiction literature. She is both employed and has a husband. She is older than Peggy Olson, the representative of the second social type, and she chooses rather traditional ways of behavior and follows the old gender division pattern. The social type of the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society is portrayed in the TV show Mad Men in a manner corresponding to the literature.

Chapter 3.4 – The Traditional Man of the 1960s – Don Draper

The social type of the traditional man of the 1960s is one of the most important in this analysis. It contains the highest number of aspects to study. It also is a social type, compelling to most male characters in the TV show, as it is set in the advertising agency

Sterling Cooper and most of the men portrayed fit into this social type. Nevertheless, to keep unity with the other subchapters of the analysis, only one character has been

chosen as a portrayal of the analyzed character type. His name is Don Draper. He has been chosen because he is a leading character and he is most often on the screen. Also, the character sophistication of Don Draper is the most significant. Therefore, he is the best material for the analysis of the aspects of the given social type. He is played by Jon

Hamm (“Mad Men (2007-2015) – Full Cast and Crew”).

The first aspect that is a typical feature of the social type is that these men are dedicated to their job to the fullest. They exchange their free time and a calm mind for their work in the company. Also, to balance their demanding and stressful jobs, they even risk the development of an addiction to alcohol or other drugs. Don Draper follows this pattern completely. All throughout the TV show, he is mostly at work in his office

(Weiner). Having to deal with multiple clients, that have multiple demands, Don Draper spends days and nights in the company. For example, at the end of the first episode of the first season, he comes home at night from his business meeting, misses his children’s bedtime and only gives them goodnight kiss when they are already asleep

(Weiner S01E01 44.45-47.40). Another time, when Don preferences job before his family is at the end of the first season. In episode thirteen, he comes home late again only to find an empty house, as his family has left for the thanksgiving party elsewhere, even though he has dreamed of coming on time (Weiner S01E13 48.35-51.00). Don’s actions in these two scenes suggest that he, in fact, knows that what he is doing is not right. Both fondling his kids and the dream of catching them before they leave is evidence that he would rather spend the time with them. He obviously knows he is missing all the important parts of his free time as well as life in the family. Otherwise, he would not behave in such a guilty way and with such a guilty expression on his face.

On the other hand, as he is a dedicated employee, he, regretfully but willingly, sacrifices that for the long but successful career life.

Also, even when he is at home, he often takes the job home with him. The best example in which it can be seen is in the ninth episode of the third season, in which Don is appointed to a new client, who is the owner of the Hilton Enterprise and a workaholic as is visible in the opening scene of the episode. Even though it is obviously a deep night, he calls Don on a phone, wakes up the whole family and does not even say sorry

(Weiner S03E09 1.00-1.17). He obviously expects Don to discuss an advertising strategy and Don, whose job it is, agrees (Weiner S03E09 1.17-3.09). He is evidently not in his best shape, but he dwells into the discussion anyway. It can be assumed, that such activity has been done on more occasions as Don says, “Hilton only calls every four [hours]” (Weiner S03E09 3.28). It is an example in which the whole family, which has been awoken, suffers from Don’s taking his job home. Since he disregards the office hours, they are forced to adjust to his career again. It is obvious that he cannot reject the phone call of such an important client, yet, the mere fact that Hilton has his home phone number means that Don is, again, for the sake of the company, willing to prefer the job over to the family. This certainly intensifies the tension in the family and can lead to bigger problems than just a shortened sleep. Nevertheless, Don risks it anyway.

Consequently, as the job is obviously demanding, and the family obviously dissatisfied, Don needs to ventilate the pressure, and for that, he chooses the alcohol. At the beginning of season two, Don is being examined by a doctor, who asks, “How many drinks do you have a day” (Weiner S02E01 2.55)? After some hesitation, Don confirms,

“Five” (Weiner S02E01 3.11). That is a high number of drinks a day, especially considering that Don Draper, throughout the show, drinks what looks like a distinguished sort of whiskey of likely a high percentage of alcohol content (Weiner).

Also, he does not drink it for celebration and despair only. It is noticeable, that he is alcohol-addicted. To drink five glasses of hard liquor a day cannot be explained

differently than by an addiction. If Don drank only for celebratory reasons, it would not connote addiction, as almost all the people do it. Yet, it is not likely that every day in

Don Draper’s life brings happy news. The same goes for desperate times. There are certainly days in his life that do not bring anything significant. Yet, he still admits drinking five glasses a day. The only explanation of his actions is an addiction. When putting all the arguments together, the analysis of Don Draper’s actions shows that he is a valid representation of the first aspect of the social type.

Another aspect that is described in the non-fiction literature is the one in which the traditional men of the 1960s now live in big cities, but their origin lies in small towns or farms, usually located in the Midwest. The character type of Don Draper is an exact example of such a man. It can be seen in the eighth episode of the first season, in which Don remembers his childhood. In the discussed scene, it is obvious that Don comes from a small farm in the middle of the woods. It is not clearly stated that the farm is in the Midwest but judging by the trees around the house – pine trees – it can be deduced that the farm is in more northern areas of the United States. It also looks detached from a city (Weiner S01E08 25.06-25.17), as the farms in the USA tend to be.

This presumption is based on the development of the scene. It is a scene in which a hobo comes to ask for food. He promises that he would work to gain the food. Even though Don’s father disagrees, his mother is willing to feed him (Weiner S01E08 25.18-

26.45). During the dinner, the hobo mentions, that he is from, “Just east. About New

York, originally” (Weiner S01E08 26.46-26.50), on which Don’s father reacts with ironic, “Ah, New York. That’s how you took to being on the bum so easy” (Weiner

S01E08 26.51-26.56). It is highly unlikely that the father would react to the origins of the newcomer so negatively if the city would be around the corner. Usually, it is the people living very far from these centers of society that have ironic comments about

them. They are either people who have never been interested in the life in a city and find it repellent or the people who have tried to live there and failed, which resulted in their abandonment and following dislike of the given city. The former or the latter, it confirms the hypothesis that Don’s origins lay in an isolated farm. Moreover, as the main part of Don’s current life takes place either in or around New York City, as visible everywhere in the show (Weiner), it is obvious that he has moved there in the past.

Clearly, the second aspect of the social type is portrayed in the character type of Don

Draper as well.

The aspect in which these men, instead of living in an apartment in the city, live in the suburban houses just outside the given city is also portrayed in Don Draper. It is visible from the ending of the first episode in which Don travels on the train from the city back home. The scene of him leaving the train and going on the platform shows that

Don disembarks in the town called Ossining (Weiner S01E01 45.02). Ossining is a small municipality on the eastern shore of the Hudson River, on the southern part of the continental New York state. Being it approximately 25 miles from the New York City borders, and 35,5 miles from the Midtown, which is the New York City’s center, it today takes approximately one hour and a half for a train to get from one place to another (“Ossining”). His house is obviously not very far from his office, that is located in one of the skyscrapers in the city center, as the first episode of the first season confirms – in it, his colleagues board the elevator in the building where the agency is located and when asked about the floor, they say, “23” (Weiner S01E01 6.44). This serves as proof that Don Draper lives in the suburban town, which is close to the center of a big, cosmopolitan city, but itself a small local municipality. It must be pointed out that in the fourth season, after the divorce, he moves to an apartment in the city, which is a diversion from the literature (Weiner S04E01). Still, as he is a divorced man, he no

longer lives the life of a father and a husband. He is a bachelor which explains why he, for the fourth season, stops being a complete representation of the social type.

Nevertheless, up until the end of the third season, he clearly reflects the third aspect.

The tendency of the traditional men of the 1960s to live in the emotionally disconnected and disintegrated families, due to their lack of time and energy for being good husbands and fathers is another aspect to study. Having already proven his lack of time spent in the family, disintegration is the core part. The relationship between Don and his daughter Sally is, to a certain level, functioning. For example, in the first episode of the third season, Sally intentionally breaks Don’s traveling suitcase. When

Don discovers that it has been her who has done it, Sally explains her actions, “I just thought, I just didn’t want you to go” (Weiner S03E01 44.28-44.30). Don reacts by saying, “I will always come home, you’ll always be my girl” (Weiner S03E01 44.40-

44.44). This suggests, that Sally, in fact, is emotionally closely dependent on and tied to her father. This is probably caused by the fact, that she does not see him very often, which makes Don very rare for her. Children strive to be with the ones who are rare to them, because in their minds, what is rare is special. Subsequently, when the special person finally appears, it brings feelings of satisfaction and happiness for the children.

The problem is that if one parent is rare and special, the other, who is present, is not rare nor special and the emotional setting between this parent and the child is potentially very different. That fact is visible between Sally and her mother Betty. In the third episode of the third season, Betty treats Sally in a very unlovingly way. Even though

Sally says, “You look pretty” (Wiener S03E03 8.17), Betty does not thank her and says instead, “I look like an open umbrella” (Weiner S03E03 8.20). Directly afterward, when

Sally wants to speak about her grandfather, Betty answers, “Don’t bother him” (Weiner

S03E03 8.21-8.25). She is evidently annoyed only to talk to her daughter. She does not

treat her as a loving mother. Instead, she deals with her as if Sally was her employee rather than a daughter. It is clear evidence of emotional disconnection. Since Betty perceives that Sally, in fact, likes her father, who Betty has continuous conflicts with, and she cannot influence it, she is going to transfer those conflicts to her relationship with Sally. This fact further damages the already weak bond the mother and the daughter have between each other. It is a vicious circle in which the cold approach of the mother cools down the approach of the daughter which then further cools down the approach of the mother etc. The only way how to escape from such a circle is by a co- operation and kind approach of both towards one another, as well as willingness to make compromises – they both have a goal to achieve – and mutual support in building up a stronger connection.

Clearly, this is not Sally and Betty’s case, as is visible in the fourth season in which Betty and Don have divorced (Weiner) and the family is disconnected and disintegrated completely. In the ninth episode in the fourth season, Sally runs away from her mother to visit Don, who does not expect it. Having spent some time in his office he now tells her that she must come back. She reacts, “I wanna stay. … No! No!

No! I’m not going anywhere! Stop it! … I’m not going! I’m not leaving! I hate it there”

(Weiner S04E09 38.35-38.58)! On the prospect of having to come back to her mother, she starts screaming and refuses to go. She is very aggressive, and she reveals her feelings about the place where her mother lives. It is clear evidence of the total breakage of the bond between her and Betty. Exactly as described in the vicious circle, the relationship between the daughter and the mother is cold to a level in which the daughter rather spends her time with her father, who is too busy to take care of her than with a mother who is there all the time. She blames her mother for the breakdown of the family which results in her seeing her father even less. Consequently, the prospect of

forced come back causes her tantrum. When putting all together, it clearly shows the disintegration and emotional disconnection of the Draper’s family, caused by Don’s demanding job. Since he is at work all the time, he is not much at home. This results in him being rare and special for Sally. Betty, on the other hand, who is always there to take care of Sally is not special at all. As she also suffers from Don’s mistreatment and sees Sally treating him more positively – which is unfair, given the fact that she takes care of her, and not Don, who is at work – she brings these feelings to her relationship with her daughter. It then results in the already described vicious circle and leads to a total hatred of Sally towards her mother. The family is disintegrated and Don Draper, together with his relatives, fulfills the fourth aspect of the discussed social type.

Another aspect of the social type says that these men have various love affairs.

The character type of Don Draper is a perfect example since he has an affair in every season of the TV show (Weiner). Moreover, in each season, it is with a different girl and not one of these affairs takes place in Don’s home, which corresponds to the non- fiction literature. In the first season, he cheats on Betty with a young artist named

Midge, as visible in the first episode of the first season, in which Don discusses his business issues with Midge and then they have intercourse (Weiner S01E01 3.10-6.25).

In the second season, Don has an affair with the manager of one of his advertisement actors, named Bobbie. In the third episode, they first discuss the problems that the actor is causing and then they end up copulating in Don’s car (Weiner S02E03 18.22-22.11).

In the third season, he spends time with a young teacher Miss Farrell. In the tenth episode, he leaves the family dinner and goes over to her house to dwell on amorous activities after which they discuss philosophical questions about the perception of colors

(Weiner S03E10 1.02-5.18). In the fourth season, he sleeps with the company’s external worker Fae. In the ninth episode, they have passionate intercourse and then they discuss

their jobs (Weiner S04E09 0.52-3.08). Although, it must be pointed out that Fae should not be counted, because at that time Don is already divorced which means that the time that he spends with her is no longer an affair.

The interesting point is that up until the divorce with Betty, who is a blonde, all

Don’s lovers are completely different from her. They are all brunettes. This fact has two explanations. Either he already does not like Betty and wants to have an affair with ladies who do not remind him of her, or he does not want to be reminded because he knows that he is doing what he should not be and what he only cannot prevent himself from doing. This pattern is changed in the fourth season, in which he, in fact, has a relationship with a blonde lady, who is very similar to Betty (Weiner S04E09 0.52-

3.08). This fact could mean that the second explanation of his affair is, in fact, correct, because now he misses the family, that he no longer has, which he reflects on his choice of a new partner. On the other hand, this is not explicitly said in the TV show, which means that it is only a speculation, and the selection of Don’s lovers can be just a casting game for the viewers. Nevertheless, the fifth aspect is successfully portrayed in the character type of Don Draper.

The last aspect that it is possible to see in the TV show is the one in which the traditional men of the 1960s pursue the best possible relationships with their colleagues, including the inferiors. This aspect is portrayed in the character type represented by Don

Draper as well. Firstly, it is natural that Don keeps a good relationship with his superiors, as visible, for example, in the seventh episode of the second season, in which

Don discusses the possible amenities of having a new car with his superior, Mr.

Sterling. They both drink and chat in a friendly manner. Mr. Sterling even says, “Wait till she finds out about your Cadillac. She’ll be waiting naked right in front of this window” (Weiner S02E07 4.52-4.55). Don answers with a smile of a successful man

(Weiner S02E07 4.55). The way in which the two are talking to one another is very openminded and boastful. They seem like important businessmen with a high level of self-confidence. It is not a surprise though that Don talks to Mr. Sterling in a good manner. It is always advisable to have a good relationship with the superiors, as the opposite could lead to the end of the employment contract. Furthermore, it is not an element that would be typical only for the decade. Good relationships with the superiors have been in the companies forever.

It is more significant for the social type to also have good relationships with the inferiors. The most remarkable scene in which Don tries to make sure that the relationship between him and inferior colleagues remains positive is in the third season, in episode five. In it, Don discusses the profitability of the creative department with the company’s manager and says, “Part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are” (Weiner S03E05 7.52-7.54). Even though he does not talk to his inferiors directly, he explains the fact that they cannot be active for the whole time they spend in the office. By saying that he suggests that if his inferiors were forced to work harder and pushed out of their comfort zone, their productivity, as well as the willingness to work, would drop instead of rising. To keep them busy for the whole time would, therefore, result in the smaller profit of the company as well as the worsening of the mood in the workplace. Don knows that both would be a severe problem and persuades the manager to not authorizing it. By doing that he helps keep the general morale good and productive and he ensures the relationships between the superiors – that would be the hypothetical authors of the increased working productivity measures – and the inferiors remain positive.

The example of Don’s more direct way of keeping good relationships with his colleagues is visible in the preceding episode of the same season. In one of the scenes,

Don, accompanied by colleagues from the creative department – the inferiors – tries new, exotic game equipment. He suddenly makes a wrong move and breaks what looks like an expensive decoration. The whole team laughs. Don reacts to this laughter with a smile (Weiner S03E04 31.15-31.31). As a superior, he could react very negatively to the inferiors who, in fact, openly and deliberately laugh at his clumsiness. He could even punish them for the improper behavior toward a superior. Instead, he laughs as well and lets himself seem clumsy for the rest of the people present. He does that because he wants to be regarded as a part of the team instead of a person above them. He knows that to laugh together is better for keeping good relationships with the others, even if he is the one laughed at. It creates memories, generally good mood and, inevitably, a stronger bond, which is the goal of the traditional men of the 1960s.

Naturally, there are cases in which Don is not satisfied with the behavior of his inferiors. Anyhow, even when he must criticize his inferiors, he does it with polite manners. For example, in the first episode of the first season, in the already discussed scene in which Pete, one of the accountants, laughs at Peggy’s clothes, Don shows his disapproval, “Sorry about Mr. Campbell here. He left his manners back at the fraternity house” (Weiner S01E01 17.54-17.59). In this sentence, Don admonishes Pete for the improper behavior towards his then secretary. Nonetheless, he does not say directly that what Pete has done was wrong. Instead, he covers up the admonition into a polite excuse targeted at Peggy. By doing that, he shows his dislike towards Pete’s comment, but without directly confronting and embarrassing him in front of the new employee.

Don uses a very polite way of showing his neglect which signifies that he cares about his relationship with his inferior. Throughout the TV show, it is obvious that the character type of Don Draper fulfills the last aspect of the social type too.

In short, the analysis has proven that the social type of the traditional man of the

1960s is successfully portrayed in the TV show Mad Men, namely in the character type represented by Don Draper. He is dedicated to his work for a company to a level in which he overlooks his family in favor of a career. He comes from a small farm in the middle of the woods. He has moved to New York City’s suburban town of Ossining.

His family suffers from emotional disconnection and disintegration, caused by his lacking presence in the family which results in him being treated favorably by his daughter Sally. That, consequently, causes discrepancies in her relationship with her mother. He, also, has multiple affairs and he considers having the good relationships between him and his colleagues important. The portrayal of the social type of the traditional man of the 1960s in the TV show Mad Men corresponds to the non-fiction literature.

Chapter 3.5 – The Young Independent Man, Interested in Counter-culture – Abe

Drexler

So far, the depiction of the social types in the character types of the first four seasons of the TV show Mad Men has been very successful. The social type of the young independent man interested in counter-culture is an exception. As the story follows the male employees in the advertising agency Sterling Cooper, not any leading character depicts this social type throughout the first four seasons of the TV show.

There are some characters that might suggest the existence of it, like for example in the first season, when Don visits his then-lover Midge, who holds a counter-culture party.

There is one male character that might correspond with the social type (Weiner S01E08

41.58-42.19). Notwithstanding, as this character appears only in one episode and the viewers do not learn anything about him, he is of a negligible significance and the social 74

type is not depicted thoroughly in him. Nevertheless, there is one character, that reflects the aspects of the social type sufficiently. The problem is, that he is also only a minor character, appearing in a few episodes of the fourth season. On the other hand, as the viewers learn more about him, he can be used as a reflection of a character type. It is a character named Abe Drexler, a young journalist who has met Peggy in the fourth episode of the fourth season (Weiner S04E04 37.55-38.05). The correspondence of the aspects of the social type will be analyzed on this character.

The first noticeable aspect in the character type represented by Abe Drexler is that he dislikes his father which supports his dislike towards society in general. This is not yet visible in the fourth episode of the season, but it is visible in the ninth, in which Abe tells Peggy on their date, “We are a hair away from everything falling apart in every society. … All these corporations just throw their money at everyone to keep the status quo intact, because the people outnumber them. … It’s an illusion that America is so organized, and it could never happen over here” (Weiner S04E09 8.38-8.56). This quote represents a strong anti-societal opinion. Abe evidently does not believe in the stability of society he lives in and blames corporations for shaping people’s behavior by keeping the consumerist life attractive in terms of buying their products and thus leading society.

It is a strong example of the neglect of traditional consumerist life. He clearly believes that it is based on false premises that need to be overturned by the people who have their potential in numbers. If the opposite was the case, he would be very doubtful, and he would likely portray the corporations as the safe zone, thanks to which society can still be stable. Since he says the exact opposite, and since he is visibly convinced about his words, he seems sure that the people will rise and the corporations, as well as the consumerist life of society, will soon fall. By claiming so, he fulfills the first aspect of the social type. Nevertheless, as it is not mentioned any time that this dislike and

prospect of the change is based on his hatred towards his constantly working father, he does not fulfill the aspect completely.

The second aspect, discussing the vulnerability and continuous negative mood of these men, can, in the analysis, be based on the same scene as the preceding aspect.

Since he has such negative views towards the consumerist society, he, naturally, is generally in a negative and unsatisfied mood. Even Peggy notices and tries to change the subject of their discussion, asking about Brooklyn, where they both come from. Yet, this attempt is very unsuccessful because Abe soon comes back to corporations (Weiner

S04E09 8.56-9.15). He is so deeply immersed in the problems of the consumerist world that he is unable to perceive the fact that Peggy wishes to discuss a topic generally advisable and comfortable for a date.

His negativity even causes the abrupt end of the date, because Abe, so much interested in the problems of society, accidentally touches upon what troubles Peggy and downplays it, “I’m just saying they’re not shooting women to keep them from voting” (Weiner S04E09 11.11-11.12). Not only does he touch upon a very negative aspect, claiming that the African Americans – visible from the context in the scene – are getting killed to prevent them from showing their political opinion, but he also causes a negative feeling in Peggy, questioning her problems of inequality as a woman. This double negativity causes the end of the date (Weiner S04E09 11.12-11.20), which has certainly not been Abe’s intention. His negative mood and negative feelings of society also cause his vulnerability because the problem he has with Peggy can be repeated anytime with anyone Abe is talking to. Since he undeniably wants to discuss the complex problems of people, which is the need that not everyone is sharing, he disregards the attempts of the other discussing person to change the subject. As he is even able to offend his partner, he becomes very vulnerable in terms of the attachment.

It is not very likely that people would like to spend time with a person of this sort if they were not interested in the exact same values. Abe, thanks to his negativity, can lose a lot of opportunities for a relationship, be it intimate or just on a friendly level. As his negativity is confirmed by the loss of the date with Peggy, the second aspect is portrayed.

The third aspect, discussing these men’s tendency to not treat women as inferiors but rather to regard them as equal, is portrayed in Abe to a certain level as well. A few scenes after the abrupt end of the date, Abe writes an article about Peggy, in which he speaks in a completely different, positive manner. The fact is that the article is still heavily political, and Peggy hates it, being afraid that she might lose a job which is a danger she cannot risk (Weiner S04E09 18.11-18.45). Still, Abe stands by it, claiming that, “But I was defending you. … You’re political whether you like it or not. You’re not supposed to be insulted. You’re supposed to be flattered” (Weiner S04E09 18.45-

18.49). It is not obvious what has been written in the text to be exact, but, judging by the end of their last encounter, it is deducible that Abe has written a political text, targeted against one of the big corporations, in which he defends Peggy and her position as a woman. He wants to fix his previous mistake and he combines it with his negative mood and anti-societal thinking. That very likely results in a text in which he has defined her as a talented yet suffering girl waiting to be acknowledged. It suggests, that

Abe is aware of the inequality of genders, or that he has realized it during the discussion with Peggy. It also suggests, that he can formulate such problems and that he, as a journalist is willing to open the problematic. It means that Abe can perceive women as equally important and significant as men.

It may also seem that he has written it as an apology to Peggy who he transparently is interested in. However, if that solely was the case, he would not write a

political text. He would more likely write for example a sorry-letter – since he writes, or he would buy Peggy flowers or ask her out for another date. Doing what he has done, he rather perceives the problem of gender inequality on a general level and worth working on, considering Peggy’s happiness more a bonus than the main point, even though that does not happen. This means that the third aspect, in the character type of Abe Drexler, is to a certain level, portrayed too. Although, as it is not clearly said and only suggested in the context, the portrayal of the aspect is only loose, because it leaves a space for the speculation about the full content of the text as well as its main purpose, which could reshape this part of the analysis.

The analyzing process of the character type with regards to the fourth aspect – the presence in the group meetings where they discuss their inner-selves and their own, private horizons – is also very complicated, because it is never stated in the TV show that Abe Drexler would be interested in himself and in seeking his own, inner horizons.

Instead, in both episodes four and nine of the fourth season where he plays a significant role, it seems that he is interested in the problems of society rather than in his inner self

(Weiner). Contrastingly, his activity in the field of the group meeting is clear, because,

Peggy and Abe meet on a counter-culture party (Weiner S04E04 36.30-36.55). As parties in general undoubtedly are a form of a group meeting, it is likely that the discussed one can be perceived in the same way and it is equally likely that some chatter about the inner problems and inner achievements is, in fact, happening.

For example, one of the side characters present at the party, the director of the played underground movies, says, “Art in advertising? Why would anyone do that after

Warhol” (Weiner S04E04 37.23-37.27)? Clearly, the author of the movie is not interested in working for the advertising company, which would bring him money and stability. Instead, he sees himself fit in the group of independent artists who paint, like

Warhol. He makes clear that living a life employed in a company is not his goal. On the contrary, his achievement lays in his own, personal success in the field of real art, that, for him, the artists in the advertising business do not work with. Visibly, it is safe to assume that the party itself is a counter-culture group meeting where the inner problems and individual horizons are discussed. Since Abe is also present, it is equally safe to assume that he joins such meetings. Therefore, the character type of Abe Drexler portrays the second part of the fourth aspect, discussing the presence of the group meetings. Still, the evidence of his interest in his own horizons and problems has not been found and this part of the aspect remains not portrayed.

The last aspect is the only one in which Abe Drexler serves as a solid representation of the social type. It is the aspect of the different tastes of the young independent man. It is not visible in the taste of music because Abe is never portrayed to listen to a song. He only listens to the music on the party from the fourth episode, yet he is not likely to be the one who has selected the playlist since he is not the host, as mentioned by Joyce during the invitation of Peggy (Weiner S04E04 29.57). Where it is clearly visible is his taste in clothes and hairstyles. Compared to the other men in the

TV show, most being Peggy’s colleagues, who always wear a classy suit and a tie or at least a likely fancy jacket and have their hair brushed, Abe is completely different. His hair is never brushed. Instead, he keeps it the way it grows. Also, in both episodes four and nine, he wears a turtleneck sweater, a dark blue one in episode four (Weiner

S04E04 37.10) and a yellow one in episode nine (Weiner S04E09 8.45). The only time in which he wears a tie is when he visits Peggy to show her his political text (Weiner

S04E09 18.45). There, it is either a symbol of his knowledge that it might be the last chance for him to attract her or he wears it as a form of satire since he is forced to enter what evidently is a corporate’s office. Nonetheless, even at that time of the ninth

episode, as in all the other times of episode four and nine, he wears the same old worn- out leather jacket (Weiner S04E04/09). By doing so, he obviously disregards the traditional clothes that all the other men are wearing and opts for his personal, different style. He portrays the fifth aspect of the social type fully.

In short, the representation of the social type of the young independent man interested in counter-culture is very loose in the first four seasons of the TV show Mad

Men. There is not any main character that would depict the aspects throughout the analyzed part of the TV show. There only is an occasionally appearing character of Abe

Drexler who personifies some of the aspects. He dislikes the society’s direction, he has a negative approach and his opinions form a negative mood. He understands the concept of the inequalities between men and women, goes to the counter-culture meetings and has a unique taste in fashion. On the other hand, it is not suggested anywhere that his dislike of society would be in any way connected to the dislike of his father, his intentions with the political gender-inequality text may be altered by his interest in

Peggy and he is never pictured as immersed in his inner self nor his private achievements. This means that he does not represent all the aspects of the social type.

He only is the character, forming a character type that represents a significant number of them. It is concluded that the portrayal of the social type of the young independent man interested in counter-culture does not reflect the literature as much as the portrayal of the other social types.

Chapter 3.6 – The Man between The Old and New Ways of Thinking – Henry Francis

The last social type to portray is the one called the man between the old and new ways of thinking. In the TV show Mad Men, it is depicted in the character type

represented by Henry Francis, the local politician who first appears as Betty Draper’s friend in the third season and then becomes her spouse in the fourth one. The aspects identified in the non-fiction literature will be reflected in this important character type.

The first aspect to study is the one in which these men are more open-minded towards the others, which includes another gender. Henry Francis is an example of such behavior, which is visible in his treatment of the legal issues as well as of Betty. For example, in the eighth episode of the third season, he is the one who helps the Junior

League block the construction of the new houses on the river shore (Weiner S03E08

9.20-11.26). After the positive verdict of the court, Henry walks Betty to the car and when saying goodbye, he tells her that, “I think you’ll find that I put my heart into things when something’s important to me. Or someone” (Weiner S03E08 13.08-13.18).

Combining this claim with his willingness to stop a probably lucrative housing project, it is obvious that Henry has an open mind. Not only does he see the profit of the investors, which, if he supported the construction, could bring him the possible voters, he can also consider the other side of the coin because the new houses would take up the green space of the local community. Moreover, his open-mindedness is even clearer, considering that the side against the construction is represented by the women's political group. If he was not open-minded, he would probably not be interested in what a group of female activists has to say as it must not be forgotten that in the era, women are still often regarded as housewives – the social type of the traditional men of the 1960s. Since he is open-minded, he willingly helps them achieve their goals. On the other hand, there is a likelihood that his actions are influenced by his growing interest in Betty. Since he suggests that he fancies her, “Or someone” (Weiner S03E08 13.16-13.18), he might be willing to act more precisely and urgently than if the group consisted of only anonymous women. Nevertheless, his eagerness to help a group of females stop a

clearly big project, being accelerated by Betty or not, shows his open-minded nature, including gender question. Henry Francis fulfills the first aspect of the social type.

The second aspect defines these men as being more conservative in terms of political opinions as well as older than young students. This is visible on the mere appearance of Henry Francis. He is older than Abe Drexler, who serves as the portrayal of the second social type. He already has some wrinkles in his face and his hair is rather grayish. All these suggest that he is of rather advanced age, even though it is not guaranteed, as there are young people with white hair, for example, due to some disease or artificial hair color. Nonetheless, casting is of help again. Henry Francis is acted by

Christopher Stanley (“Mad Men (2007-2015) – Full Cast and Crew”). Unfortunately,

Stanley’s date of birth is not published on IMDb, yet his first TV appearance dates to the year 1986, in which Christopher played an ambulance attendant in the TV show

Murphy’s Law (“Christopher Stanley”). Since an ambulance attendant must be at least approximately twenty years old to be intelligent, matured and responsible enough to work in this field, it is safe to expect that Christopher Stanley has, during his first TV appearance, been of the same age. Compared to that, Charlie Hofheimer, who plays Abe

Drexler (“Mad Men (2007-2015) – Full Cast and Crew”) was born in the year 1981

(“Charlie Hofheimer”), which means that during the first TV appearance of Christopher

Stanley, he was only 5 years old. As these two actors have been chosen to play the characters of Henry Francis and Abe Drexler, it is evident that Henry is meant to be older than Abe. This means that the first part of the second aspect, the one discussing the more advanced age of Henry Francis, is confirmed. The part discussing the political conservativism will be discussed together with the third aspect, analyzing the political activity of the character type, as they are closely tied.

The third aspect that is visible in the character type of Henry Francis is the one in which these men have tendencies to actively take part in public service. The third season shows, that Henry depicts this aspect as well. To confirm this claim, it is necessary to focus on episode seven of the third season, the scene in which Betty applies for the post of a secretary at the Junior League. When she mentions that she is acquainted with Henry, one of the ladies knows him and says that he, “Used to be the

Republican Party chair for Westchester County” (Weiner S03E07 9.03-9.08). Prior to that, Betty informs that he is still, “In the governor’s office” (Weiner S03E07 8.30-

8.32). Undeniably, Henry has been politically active on at least a local level. Also, as he has been a chair, it connotes that he has been able to politically alter public life strongly.

Clearly, he is no longer the chair of the party. Yet, as he continues to work for the governor, he might still have an influence on public life and, moreover, even on the state level now. Of course, it is the governor who leads the administration, but since he is listed as an “advisor” (Weiner S03E07 8.58), Henry has the chance to persuade the governor in his favor. The fact is that the change of governor’s opinion is not guaranteed. Still, even Henry’s mere access to him means that he can, theoretically, change the direction of the whole state. As he is active in the public service, originally as the leader on the local level, then as a consultant at the state level, it is obvious that the third aspect is also portrayed in Henry Francis.

Also, as he has been the representative of the Republican Party, the second part of the second aspect, discussing the more traditional political orientation of the given social type, is also confirmed. Republican Party is “during the 20th and 21st century, … associated with … conservative social policies” (“Republican Party”). Since Henry has indeed represented the conservative party, it is safe to assume that he has conservative opinions regarding society. It is highly unlikely that he would be enrolled in the party

but would not share their values. Also, if this, in fact, was the case, which for the bigger dramatization of the TV show can happen, it would be suggested in the storyline. Henry would be depicted as some sort of a traitor of the Republican Party, the inside person of the Democratic one. As there is not any such depiction, it is safe to assume, that his opinions are traditional, thus confirming the second part of the second aspect.

The last aspect to portray is the aspect of the taste of these men in fashion, which is very similar to the traditional men. That is visible on the character type of Henry

Francis as well, since he usually wears very nice-looking suits and his hair is always brushed (Weiner). The last aspect is confirmed. His fashion choice represents a strong contrast to the young man, and it is not much different from the style of the traditional man, portrayed by Don Draper. This claim is very important because the TV show demonstrates that the social type of the traditional man of the 1960s and the social type of the man between the old and new ways of thinking are, in fact, very similar. They share many features, like the taste in fashion or general opinions. The differences that are visible, lay mostly in the more open-minded approach towards women.

For example, unlike Henry, Don treats Betty still more like a housewife and when she disagrees with him, he is even willing to use a physical force on her to put her back into her position, as visible at the end of the fourth episode of the second season

(Weiner S02E04 42.40-42.43). This Don’s act shows his conviction of superiority towards his wife. He is the head of the family and if Betty does not follow, he is willing to physically act. Similar usage of a manual force has only happened once more, during the argument in the thirteenth episode of the third season (Weiner S03E13 29.55-31.50), which indicates that this is not a rule in the family, yet it shows that he still considers

Betty inferior. Henry, on the other hand, helps her with Junior League’s activity, which shows his greater respect towards women. Also, it is suggested in the literature that men

between the new and old ways of thinking are more active in politics or business, while the traditional men are employed in a company, which is also depicted. Other aspects are relatively shared.

In brief, the portrayal of the last male social type in the TV show Mad Men is confirmed in the character type of Henry Francis. He is more open-minded than the traditional man, he is older than the young independent one and has more traditional values, he is active in politics and his fashion taste is like Don’s. The depiction of this social type in the TV show is in correspondence with the historical books and critiques.

Finally, the case analysis of the correspondence of the first four seasons of the TV show Mad Men to the non-fiction historical books and critical public comments has been successful. Six characters, that reflect six character types, have been used as representations of the typical social types and the analysis has found that all of them portray these social types in the TV show correspondingly, except for the young independent man, interested in counter-culture whose portrayal is very limited and only a few aspects are depicted fully. In the next chapter, the summary and the findings of the two analyses will be provided in more detail and this master’s diploma thesis will be concluded.

Chapter 4 – Findings and Conclusion

This chapter provides the findings of the analyses of the historical books and dissenting voices of the day and the character types of the first four seasons of the TV show Mad Men. These analyses have been performed to examine the correspondence of the depiction of gender issues and relations of the TV show to the given historical books and critical voices of the day, that discuss the 1960s era in the United States of America.

Since only the traditional female and male genders have been studied, the whole text is divided into two sections, corresponding to the given genders. For the preliminary analysis of the historical books and critical sources of the day, which serves as a source of the data that are reflected in the TV show, both current articles or TV documentary – to gain a nowadays perspective of the discussed era – and social critiques or non-fiction books contemporary at that time – to gain a view of the people who have lived in the given era – have been used. Contemporary A People’s History of the United States by

Howard Zinn, a study of the history of the USA, published in 1980, and a modern article “The Formation of Feminist Consciousness among Left- and Right-Wing

Activists of the 1960s” by Rebecca E. Klatch, published in 2001 in a journal Gender &

Society, have been used for the female section of the preliminary analysis.

Contemporary The Organization Man by William H. Whyte, a social critique of the consumerist society and the men working for the corporations, published in 1969, and modern “There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads; He Must Be Destroyed” in The

Century of the Self, a TV documentary by Adam Curtis, broadcasted in 2002 on BBC, studying the rise of the counter-culture and new ways of thinking in the American society, have been used for the male section of the analysis. These have been supported by various other data from secondary sources. Three female and three male social types of people living in the era have been identified in the literature, each containing a set of

typical behavioral or preferential aspects that have served as key elements for the main analysis of this thesis, the case study of the TV show Mad Men. In it, these social types have been reflected in the six characters of the TV show forming the six different character types, three females and three males, with regards to the portrayal of the given aspects. By analyzing the reflection of the aspects in the characters of the TV show, the correspondence of the first four seasons of Mad Men has been studied. It must not be forgotten that the analysis, as well as the historical books and critical public comments, focuses only on selected social groups and types of people and society is much more complex and varied. There are people in the Sixties who share some aspects of more types or only fulfill a few aspects of the one type. Also, since Mad Men focuses almost uniquely on middle class or upper-middle-class European Americans and does not offer any significant portrayal of other racial or social groups, the studied correspondence to the gender issues and relations must have been limited only to this small stratum of society.

The first female social type, that has been identified, is called the unhappy or even desperate wife and the aspects define these women as women who live the traditional life of a housewife, they take care of children and household and they have appropriate friends, likely from the neighborhood. Also, in the family, they serve more as symbols of the success of the males than as equally important parts like their husbands.

Subsequently, they are aware of their inferior position within the family. As a reaction, these women form clubs in which they discuss significant issues of society that they also try to influence. In the family life, they are in doubt about her and her husband’s position and if they find it uncomfortable, they, newly for the decade, act to improve their living standard instead of overlooking it.

This social type has been reflected in the character type represented by Betty

Draper, one of the leading female characters in all four examined seasons and the portrayal of the aspects of the social type has been studied on her. Betty Draper is, in the first three seasons, a wife of Don Draper and, indeed, lives a life of a housewife. She takes care of her children and the house and she has a group of friends living in the same street. As she is blond, blue-eyed and skinny, she is likely to be generally considered attractive which connotes that she serves as a symbol of the successful life of her husband. She is aware of the inequality in their marriage in terms of her financial dependency on Don that she wants to solve by going to a job, yet by promising to remain a housewife, thus acknowledging her position in the family. She also joins the

Junior League, a female political activist group in which she participates in the protection of the shore of the Hudson River against the housing development project.

She doubts her position in the Draper family as she suspects her husband of infidelity and dishonesty about his past which puts her in a position where she is not worthy enough to be treated openly. Also, as she confronts Don about his wrongdoing and later divorces him because of his treatment, she fulfills the aspect of improving the standard of her life, thus portraying all the aspects of the social type, identified in the literature.

Therefore, Betty Draper has been found a representation of the social type of the unhappy or even desperate wife that corresponds to the non-fiction literature.

The second social type identified in the literature is called the employed young woman interested in counter-culture. The aspects that describe this social type are those in which women are either students or employed in their first jobs, which means that they are young and at the beginning of their careers and they are likely to be more open towards new ideas and opinions. They also suffer from mistreatment by their male colleagues who either try to seduce them or ridicule them. Moreover, as they are

younger and open to new, more equal ways of thinking, they fight against the mistreatment and want to uplift their working conditions. Furthermore, they tend to be interested in the counter-culture to at least a moderate level, since this culture is open to new, equal ideas as well.

This social type is in the TV show portrayed in one of the leading characters named Peggy Olson, originally a young secretary of Don Draper and then one of the important employees in the creative department of the advertising agency Sterling

Cooper, who forms the studied character type. The analysis has proven that she is young and at the beginning of the career because in the first season she starts working for the company and it is clearly said that she is a fresh graduate of Miss Deaver’s Secretarial

School. She almost directly starts to perceive the mistreatment of her colleagues, because one of them, Pete Campbell jokes about her clothes and a few others have sexually-oriented proposals or comments. Furthermore, she manages to uphold the improvement of her working conditions, not only thanks to her talent but also thanks to the persuasion of her bosses. Her working conditions are, after the initial promotion, gradually improved as she receives her own office as well as her own secretary. Lastly, she shows interest in the counter-culture as well, which is confirmed by her befriending an obviously counter-oriented female Joyce and joining her on a clearly counter-cultural party. The claim is based on a fact that if Peggy was not interested, she would either reject the invitation to the party or she would leave when she found out that it is a party of such sort. The likelihood of her being interested in Joyce instead of the culture has been eliminated, as it has been proven that Peggy is heterosexually oriented. Since

Peggy Olson fulfills all the aspects of the employed young woman interested in counter- culture, the portrayal of the social type in the first four seasons of the TV show has been found corresponding to the history books and contemporary social critiques.

The last studied female social type is called the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society. The isolation of this social type has been different in a way that since the literature focuses mainly on women who are either traditional housewives or the young counter-culture ladies, the existence of the third social type is not clearly described. However, as it is suggested in the texts, usually via claiming that some of the women were not interested in the new ways of thinking, this social type is a part of the analysis as well. The identified aspects, that mostly ensue from the texts are those in which such women are either employed or at home or even both. They are also older than women from the second social type, which connotes their more traditional approach. Furthermore, the aspect that is not only suggested but clearly stated in the literature is the one in which these women are not interested in the new ideas and prefer the traditional division of gender roles.

This social type is in the TV show portrayed in the character type of Joan Harris.

She is employed in the same agency as Peggy Olson and Don Draper and she works as the manager of the secretaries. She also, between the third and fourth season, gets married and is equally occupied as a housewife. She is older than Peggy Olson, which is based on two claims. Firstly, as she is the one guiding Peggy into her duties, it is expected that she has been employed in the agency for a longer time which presupposes that she has started her career sooner and is, presumably, older. Furthermore, the age of the actresses playing the two characters has been studied, based on the claim that casting of the TV show has chosen the women that fulfill most of the attributes of the characters. It has been confirmed that Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan, is, indeed, older than Elisabeth Moss, playing Peggy. This means that Joan is also meant as older than Peggy. Lastly, she also prefers the traditional gender roles, as is confirmed by her decision-making process when she chooses between her career and a life in the

household. Since she has chosen to be the housewife, she, evidently, prefers the tradition over to liberalism. This claim is also based on her commentary towards the typewriter that she calls not complicated too much for a female, which suggests that she believes that women are less intelligent than men. Since Joan Harris also portrays all the aspects from the literature, the portrayal of this social type in Mad Men has been found corresponding as well.

The first male social type to portray is the social type of the traditional man of the

1960s. The characteristic aspects that have been identified in the literature are as follows. These men tend to work for big companies in the city and they tend to prefer their career life before their family life. They likely come from small towns or farms far from the city. Moreover, they tend to have their homes in the suburbs. Also, their family is dysfunctional in terms of emotional stability and integrity. This leads to the traditional men of the 1960s’ tendency to having love affairs. Furthermore, as their career life is important, they tend to strive for positive relationships with their colleagues.

Such a social type is in the TV show portrayed in more characters, yet for the analysis of the character type, the one that is the most often present on the screen has been chosen. It is the leading character called Don Draper. He works for the advertising agency Sterling Cooper in New York City and he spends an excessive amount of time in the office or in the business meetings, which results in his common late arrivals home.

He comes from a detached farm located in the middle of the woods, seemingly very far from the city. He lives with his family in New York City’s suburban town of Ossining.

As he is very often at work, he becomes rare and very special for his children, which is apparent in his adoration by his daughter Sally. This causes conflicts with her mother

Betty, who is not special to Sally and vice versa at all. As these two do not have a

loving relationship, which is even intensified after the breakdown of the marriage, the family is disintegrated. Don Draper also has an immense number of lovers. He has a different one in every season, which in the studied interval means four ladies, Midge,

Bobbie, a teacher Miss Farrell and Faye. Finally, he treats his colleagues positively. It is not only his bosses, which is expected, but also his subordinates, whom he lets working without the highest effectivity and has fun with, even though he is the one laughed at.

Consequently, as he represents all the aspects identified in the literature, his portrayal of the social type has equally been found in correspondence with the historical books and critical voices of the day.

The second male social type is the young independent man, interested in counter- culture. The aspects identified in the non-fiction describe him as being very similar to the second female social type, but with some differences caused by the historically favored sex. These aspects are their tendency to dislike the whole society in general, which is likely accelerated by their dislike of their continually working fathers. They tend to be very negative and vulnerable in their thinking. They treat women more equally than the other men, which complies with their liberal opinions. They need to accomplish their own, inner goals and broaden their own horizons which they discuss with the others in group meetings. They also tend to have a significantly different style of fashion than traditional men.

Unfortunately, it has been found, that the portrayal of this social type is not equal to the portrayals of the other social types in terms of correspondence. In the first four seasons, that the analysis has studied, there is not any leading character that would portray this social type. Nonetheless, in several episodes of the fourth season, one character that fulfills certain aspects of the social type, has been located and used as a representation of a character type. It is a character of Abe Drexler, one of Peggy’s

friends. He obviously dislikes society, judging by his comments on the social and political instability of it, which, according to him, is covered up by consumerism supported by big corporations. He discusses the societal problems in a very negative manner, which makes Peggy very uncomfortable, as is visible in her unsuccessful attempts to change the subject, followed by an abrupt end of the meeting. Peggy’s disappearance from the meeting has clearly not been his goal. On the contrary, it has been to start dating her. Since he has not been successful due to his rhetoric, which supposedly also happens with other girls he wants to get to know, he is vulnerable.

Moreover, he can treat women equally, or, at least, he is aware of their mistreatment.

This is visible in his defending article, which, from the context – the content is not revealed for the viewers – defines Peggy as a suffering, disadvantaged girl, forced to work in a subordinate position in a corporate. Likely meant as an apology, this article is very political, which means that Abe can perceive the gender inequality problem globally, instead of being oriented towards Peggy herself. This confirms his knowledge of the existence of the problem and willingness to start solving it. He also visits the group meetings and parties of counter-culture, since he has met Peggy on one of them.

Lastly, he has a completely different fashion style than Don or other traditional men depicted, as he wears turtleneck sweaters and a worn-out leather jacket, which is in strong contrast to the suits of the other men. He also keeps his hair growing freely, which, again, differs from Don’s always brushed hairstyle. On the other hand, neither his dislike towards his father nor his effort to achieve inner goals and broaden horizons is mentioned in the TV show. When combining this information to the fact that he only is active in a small number of episodes in the fourth season, which disables him from being a leading, significant character, it means that he does not reflect the character type completely. This implies that the depiction of the social type is not, in the first four

seasons of Mad Men, in correspondence with the historical books and critical sources of the day to the full extent. To achieve this status, there would have to be a significant character that takes more space in the story and depicts the social type more thoroughly.

The last male social type has been called the man between the old and new ways of thinking. The defining aspects have, similarly to the last female social type, not been collected directly from the non-fiction as it focuses mainly on the two extremes than the sphere in the middle. However, as the existence is suggested in the literature, using few examples when discussing the two other male social types, it has been decided that the third social type is also valid and important, and its portrayal in the TV show has been examined. The given aspects suggested in the historical books and critiques are their open-mindedness towards the others, including the opposing gender, more advanced age and more traditional political opinions than the second male social type, their presence in politics rather than in companies and their conservative fashion choices.

The depiction of a character type that visibly attains the aspects of this social type lies in a leading character in the third and fourth season named Henry Francis, Betty’s friend and later spouse. His open-mindedness is proven by his support of the political group Junior League instead of a rich developer in the case of the construction of the new houses on the shore of the Hudson River. He can see the women’s point of view, naming the natural dangers of the project, instead of seeing just the short-term financial advantages of the construction. Since Junior League is a female group, he evidently can accept the fact that women are entitled to have their say in political problems, which proves him to be open-minded. His more advanced age is proven by the comparison of ages of the actors playing the characters, based on the same premise as in the discussion of the female actresses. As Christopher Stanley is older than Charlie Hofheimer, it is believed than Henry Francis is older than Abe Drexler. His presence in politics is

proved by his activities in the Republican Party where he used to be a local chair and is still listed as governor’s advisor. Since he takes part in the Republican Party, which is conservative, his traditional values are confirmed as well. Lastly, as he has very similar clothes and a hairstyle as Don Draper and very different than Abe Drexler, his conservative fashion style is also confirmed. Therefore, as he depicts all the aspects identified in the non-fiction literature, his portrayal of the social type has been found corresponding too.

In conclusion, since the portrayal of all the aspects of all the social types described in the historical books and dissenting voices, with the exception of the social type of the young independent man interested in counter-culture, has been found corresponding to the non-fiction literature, the depiction of the gender relations and issues in the first four seasons of the TV show Mad Men has been found corresponding as well. The claim of this master’s diploma thesis has been proven.

List of Works Cited

Primary Sources

Curtis, Adam, creator. “There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads; He Must Be

Destroyed.” The Century of the Self. BBC, 2002. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub2LB2MaGoM.

Klatch, Rebecca E. “The Formation of Feminist Consciousness among Left- and Right-

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Summary

This master’s diploma thesis studies the portrayal of the gender relations and issues in the TV show Mad Men and its correspondence to the non-fiction literature. It consists of two analyses. The preliminary qualitative analysis collects data from the non-fiction literature, namely historical books and contemporary social critiques that deal with the

1960s era in the United States of America. It defines six social types, three female and three male ones. These six social types are the unhappy or even desperate wife, the employed young woman interested in counter-culture, the woman unsure about the new ways of thinking in society, the traditional man of the 1960s, the young independent man, interested in counter-culture and the man between the old and new ways of thinking. It identifies these social types according to their characteristic behavioral aspects that reflect a significant scope of identities and public opinions common in the

Sixties. The main analysis of this master’s diploma thesis is a case study of the reflection of these aspects in the six character types in the TV show Mad Men that is set in the USA in the 1960s as well. Six characters have been selected to represent the character types: Betty Draper, Peggy Olson, Joan Harris, Don Draper, Abe Drexler, and

Henry Francis. This detailed analysis studies the correspondence of the given character types in the TV show to the non-fiction literature to examine the level of historical credibility that the portrayal of the era in Mad Men offers to the general public. The general public in this thesis stands for people who are, theoretically, not willing to read the given historical books and critical voices of the day, since they are not entertaining enough when compared to a mass culture product – a TV show. The thesis is concluded with a section, describing the findings of the two analyses to a detail.

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Resumé (Czech)

Tato magisterská diplomová práce studuje soulad zobrazení genderových vztahů a problémů v televizním seriálu Mad Men – Šílenci z Manhattanu s literaturou faktu.

Skládá se ze dvou analýz. Předběžná kvalitativní analýza sbírá data z literatury faktu, jmenovitě z historických knih a dobových sociálních kritik, které se zaobírají érou

šedesátých let v USA. Definuje šest sociálních typů, tři ženské a tři mužské. Tyto typy jsou nazvány: nešťastná až zoufalá manželka, zaměstnaná mladá žena se zaujetím v kontrakultuře, žena, která si není jistá novými způsoby myšlení, tradiční muž

šedesátých let, mladý nezávislý muž se zaujetím v kontrakultuře a muž uprostřed nových a starých způsobů myšlení. Práce identifikuje tyto sociální typy na základě jejich charakteristických behaviorálních aspektů, které reflektují značný rozsah identit a obecných názorů běžných v šedesátých letech. Hlavní analýza této diplomové práce je příkladová studie reflexe těchto aspektů v šesti postavových typech ze seriálu Mad Men

– Šílenci z Manhattanu, který je také zasazen do amerických šedesátých let. Šest postav bylo vybráno pro reprezentaci těchto postavových typů: Betty Draper, Peggy Olson,

Joan Harris, Don Draper, Abe Drexler a Henry Francis. Tato detailní analýza studuje soulad daných postavových typů v televizním seriálu s literaturou faktu, aby zjistila

úroveň historické důvěryhodnosti, jakou Mad Men – Šílenci z Manhattanu nabízí běžnému publiku. Běžné publikum v kontextu této práce odpovídá lidem, kteří, teoreticky, nejsou ochotni číst dané historické knihy a kritické hlasy doby, jelikož pro ně nejsou dostatečně zajímavé v porovnání s produktem masové kultury – s televizním seriálem. Práce je ukončena částí, ve které jsou do detailu popsané závěry těchto dvou analýz.

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