Scene Analysis
Radio/Television/Film 326-0
Mad Men
Out of the Closet and Onto the Screen:
Homosexuality in Mad Men
When Mad Men is analyzed from an academic standpoint, the richness of the show’s content is too often attributed to the program’s cinematography or mise en scéne, thus detracting from the importance of intrapersonal relationships in the plot. In spite of this analytic oversight, the show is often touted for how well it uses the examination of male/female relationships (platonic, romantic, or sexual) to characterize and portray the complex humanity of 1960s America. However, the litany of formal analyses surrounding the show seems to be lacking in the discussion of one of the era’s most relevant sociopolitical issues: homosexuality.
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A particular scene from the second season speaks to the struggle endured by the gay men of America more so than any other I have witnessed to date. The dinner scene at the Romano’s apartment with Salvatore, Kitty, and Ken Cosgrove, starting at the 29:10 mark in “The Gold Violin” (2:20), serves to represent the cultural and political attitudes toward homosexuals in the 1960s. From the décor of the Romano’s apartment to the subtext of the interactions between the three characters on screen, this scene is saturated with representations of the oppressive culture that gay men (and women) experienced in 1960s America. Above all, this scene is a comparison of the prescribed gender roles for men and women of the era in which Mad Men is set. What makes this scene meaningful in an analytic context is the examination of the extent to which Salvatore, Kitty, and Ken comply with or subvert these gender roles …show more content…
Despite my earlier condemnation of the discussion of mise en scéne in analyzing Mad Men, imagery plays a salient role in shaping this particular account of the homosexual experience as told by Matthew Weiner. In this scene, the location is largely responsible for creating an on-screen environment that allows the audience to understand the underlying depiction of the world in which gay men and women lived at the time. In stark contrast to the drab, gray interiors of Sterling Cooper, the Romano’s apartment is a veritable explosion of color. The reds, greens, whites, and golds of the scenery are evocative of Salvatore’s Italian heritage and the passion and sophistication that heritage connotes. The repeated use of floral imagery brings a distinctly feminine atmosphere to the apartment, but whether that femininity belongs to Kitty (who happens to be wearing a white dress patterned with enormous red flowers with green stems) or Salvatore (who does not appear in a frame without some sort of flower in the background or foreground) is ambiguous at best. Given the inclusion of Salvatore’s flamboyant, attention-grabbing red tie, it is quite possible that the program is using this imagery to offer a commentary on its own rendition of gay culture at the time, playing to the stereotype that gay men have an inclination toward design and aesthetics. In addition to the bright colors and
In season three, episode nine, entitled “ Wee Small Hours” Salvatore Romano from the agencies’ art department and a closeted homosexual, is romantically approached by the head of Lucky Strike cigarettes, Sterling Cooper’s largest account. Sal refuses his advances out of fear for his job and, without providing a reason, the Lucky Strike representative calls and requests that Sal be fired. He is dismissed from Sterling Cooper without discussion. This would seem typical of the time period, given that homosexuality was considered a physiological abnormality until 1973, arguably 1986, when the American Psychiatric Association removed it from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. At the end of the episode, Sal is shown at what appears to be a cruising spot for gay men, reflective of a time when many, if not most, gay men kept their sexuality a secret out of fear of rejection and the potential for violence against them. In another episode of season three, this time episode thirteen, entitled “Shut the Door, Have a Seat” Betty Draper, wife of the principal character Don Draper, while trying to navigate a successful divorce from Don she is told that it will be difficult for her to obtain a divorce in New York, saying “That's why people go to Reno.” Though divorce may seem like a non-issue today, in 1963 it was much more
Sex and Gender was the subject of the two movies Dreamworlds 3 and Further Off The Straight & Narrow. In Dreamworlds 3 Sex is portrayed as a status of life and happiness in the media. This media displays people as objects that can be manipulated for sexual pleasure. As the media is populated with sex it tiptoes around gender, specifically that of gays or lesbians. The film Further Off The Straight & Narrow emphasized the movement through media gay and lesbian topics. This text analyzes iconic television programs and how they reflect the societal stance during that time. As a member of a generation that has had the topic of these issues prominent I believe they are important but are banal. In this reflection I will be responding to two questions, what would woman driven Dreamworlds look like? And Do you agree with the statement that if you are not on television you don’t exist?
Society has grown to accept and be more opened to a variety of new or previously shunned cultural repulsions. Lesbians, transgenders, and gays for example were recognized as shameful mistakes in society. In the story Giovanni 's Room, the author James Baldwin explores the hardships of gays in the 1960. The book provides reasons why it is difficult for men to identify themselves as homosexuals. This is shown through the internalized voice of authority, the lack of assigned roles for homosexuals in society and the consequences entailed for the opposite gender.
The film presents the stereotypical behavior of gay men that is evident in our society. Many of the costumes are designed to highlight the characters and the way they live. For example, Bernadette wears long flowing clothes usually white or an off cream. ‘She’ is an older ‘women’ and dresses to look like one with flowing skirts and tops with her hair done up simply.
We are all different. We are all at least biased on one topic. Some people just look at the surface, while others dig deeper into the facts that were given. Reginald Rose demonstrated these points beautifully in 12 Angry Men. All of the Jurors bring a special part of their personality to the jury room, which is the beauty of having a jury. All of the jurors are different in their own unique way,
Over the years America’s ability to address taboo issues by channeling them through popular culture has become increasingly popular (Pruitt, 2007). Among the many taboo issues as evidenced by the number of mainstream films which minimally address the matter, is the issue of men living on the down low (Hamilton, 2009). An example of such is the 2011 film “For Colored Girls.” The film like many bring up the issue of men being on the down low, but they have neglected to go in-depth as to why men chose this lifestyle – rather than the age old notion that they fear social rejection (Pruitt, 2007). As it relates to the drama “Angels in America,” written by Tony Kushner, the work does a great job highlighting men who have secret lifestyles and two of the characters within the drama that exemplify characteristics of living on the down low – Joe Pitt and Ray Cohn (Kushner, 1993)
Warner, M. The trouble with normal, sex, politics, and the ethics of queer life. Harvard
Created by Matthew Weiner in 2007, the television Drama series, Mad Men, from the television network AMC, is set in New York during the late 1950s and early 1960s. According to the networks official website, the series "follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising, an ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell"(AMC.com). The show is largely based on Don Draper’s relationships inside and out of work, as the creative director at Sterling Cooper. According to AMC’s website, the premise describes how Don Draper “struggles to stay a step ahead of the rapidly changing times and the young executives nipping at his heels. The series also depicts authentically the roles of men and women in this era while exploring the true human nature beneath the guise of 1960s traditional family values”. Since I am an avid fan of the show, I have seen every episode to-date. Therefore, I have seen Don Draper’s struggle with his personal identity. As a result, I will attempt to examine it with Kenneth Burke’s Identification reading (1950). Throughout the episodes from the first three seasons, we see how Don Draper unveils part of his past identity fraud, which culminates his first marriage. His daily struggle with who he is, is a major theme to these series.
Gays and Lesbians also went through a contentious time during the 1960s. This began with a routine police raid at the Stonewall, a bar that gays frequented. During this raid, they men refused to be arrested and sent to prison, and they began a riot in the streets. This riot became a three day rebellion that had gay men flaunting their homosexuality in Sheridan Square for all to behold. This “coming out” helped the Gay Rights movement because it “initiated self-defense and political activity”, bringing more attention to the matter. Organizations like the Gay Liberation Front attempted to connect the s...
Through David and his perception of the many metaphors contained within Giovanni’s room, James Baldwin is showing a negative interpretation of homosexuality as identified in society. The metaphors within Giovanni’s room are Giovanni’s prison, symbolic of Giovanni’s life, holding the relationship between Giovanni and David, being a metaphor of homosexuality for David and being a tomb underwater. These metaphors are negative and exist to demonstrate to the reader that homosexuality is restricting, punishing, dirty and suffocating. These negative connotations of homosexuality are brought from society and internalized by the characters and builds into self hate.
Even in today’s society, sexism is still prevalent and inhibits the people who are affected by it. For the purpose of this essay, sexism will be defined as any action that consciously contributes to a gender stereotyping society. In her essay, Marilyn Frye notes this definition of sexism stating that “making decisions on the basis of sex reinforces the patterns that make it relevant” (846). Therefore, any decision that contributes to the gender binary and its framework is considered sexist. The musical Gypsy has instances in which the main character, Rose, can be considered both going against and contributing to the “patterns that make sex relevant.” In one scene, Rose can be seen subjecting her children to gender roles which feeds in to sexism,
Some of the social problems shown in Mad Men still play a key role in the problems we define as social problems today. A big one being gender inequality. One of the cultural beliefs of the 1960’s was that women belonged at home taking care of the kids and keeping the house tidy. Neil Postman’s concludes in “The Age of Show Business” that our society is becoming more aware about itself through the primary method of television. How TV presents a nation, turns into the standard for how a nation orchestrates itself- and this is the crucial point (279). Mad Men portrays the idea of traditional gender inequality. Shows like this give off the idea that women should act like this, which disgusts modern day viewers, specifically women. However, women in the 1960’s were taking a stand entering the business world, hoping to create a better future for the next generation, leading up to the election of 2008 when the first women ran for president. Mad Men contributes to patriarchy in American society by perpetuating gender inequality and traditional gender roles, which can lead to sexism.
The film follows the complicated character of Marcello, a homosexual man with a traumatic homosexual experience in his childhood, which results in him becoming ashamed of his sexuality and begins to fear being shunned by society for it. Marcello deals with this shame by shutting down any homosexual desire he may have and becomes his idealized figure of normal; which at this time was a loyal and disciplined Fascist. Marcello learns how to conform perfectly by becoming a Fascist spy, but two significant people in Marcello’s life disrupt his path to becoming
The family unit has always been a treasured and revered dynamic on television and in movies. Dating all the way back to I Love Lucy, storylines focused on the relationship between man and woman. Ozzie and Harriet introduced us to the quintessential American family—father in a suit, mother in pearls, and two exceptional children. It wasn’t until the 1970s that gay characters and lifestyles began to emerge. In 1973, An American Family, a PBS series featured one of the family’s sons revealing his homosexuality. In 1977, the television show Soap costarred Billy Crystal as an openly gay man. In the 1980s, it became trendy to feature gay and lesbian characters in ensemble casts. If you watch reruns, you can always find the token gay, that is, the really flaming homo or the butch lesbian gym teacher. The motion picture Mannequin, starring Andrew McCarthy and Kim Catrall, featured Meshach Taylor as Hollywood, an eccentric, finger-snapping homosexual. Many stereotypes such as these continued until the early nineties.
In viewing 12 Angry Men, we see face to face exactly what man really is capable of being. We see different views, different opinions of men such as altruism, egoism, good and evil. It is no doubt that human beings possess either one or any of these characteristics, which make them unique. It is safe to say that our actions, beliefs, and choices separate us from animals and non-livings. The 20th century English philosopher, Martin Hollis, once said, “Free will – the ability to make decisions about how to act – is what distinguishes people from non-human animals and machines 1”. He went to describe human beings as “self conscious, rational, creative. We can fall in love, write sonnets or plan for tomorrow. We are capable of faith, hope and charity, and for that matter, of envy, hated and malice. We know truth from error, right from wrong 2.” Human nature by definition is “Characteristics or qualities that make human beings different from anything else”. With this said, the topic of human nature has been around for a very long time, it is a complex subject with no right or wrong answer. An American rabbi, Samuel Umen, gave examples of contradictions of human nature in his book, Images of Man. “He is compassionate, generous, loving and forgiving, but also cruel, vengeful, selfish and vindictive 3”. Existentialism by definition is, “The belief that existence comes before essence, that is, that who you are is only determined by you yourself, and not merely an accident of birth”. A French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, is the most famous and influential 20th - century existentialist. He summed up human nature as “existence precedes essence”. In his book, Existentialism and Human Emotions, he explained what he meant by this. “It means that, first of all, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself. If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will be something, and he himself will have made what he will be 4”. After watching 12 Angry Men, the prominent view on human nature that is best portrayed in the movie is that people are free to be whatever they want because as Sartre said, “people create themselves every moment of everyday according to the choices they make 5”.