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Day Fifteen: Female Character Meme
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc:
Even before I started doing this meme, this was one of the few questions where the answer was simple and indisputable to me. Peggy's growth over the series is nothing short of amazing, but at the same time executed in the subtle and understated way everything happens in this show.
More importantly, as much character growth as she undergoes over the course of the series, her core personality remains unchanged. She might grow in assertiveness and somewhat temper her social awkwardness, but at heart she'll always remain an odd duck, and continue to speak volumes with her silences.
A lot of discussion about Mad Men is about the sexism of the era, but I find Peggy's journey to be one of the most feminist stories I've ever seen on TV. It's not that she moves from the secretarial pool to essentially being Don's lieutenant in creative-it's how she does it. She's a chameleon, trying on continuously evolving roles until she finds one that fits, and even her attempts at following the sexist rules of the time feel ephemeral and original rather than depressing, because it's just a temporary disguise. Unlike Joan, Peggy doesn't try to win at an inherently rigged sexist game-she's rewriting the rules.
Her personnal evolution is just as compelling as her professional one. The major stuff (Pete, the baby, her family) is riveting too, but I'm personally in love with the little moments. She goes on a date with a gay guy and gets a makeover, she beats the pervy colleague at his own sexual harassment game, she's Peggy Olson, and she wants to smoke marijuana. And my absolutely favourite relationship on the show, no contest, is Peggy and Don. While I can't help myself in slightly shipping them, their dynamic is not about that. She's both his reflection in some ways while absolutely surpassing him in others, and in the end, they know each other in a deeper way than any two people on the show.
Day One: Favorite lead female character
Day Two: Favorite supporting female character
Day Three: A female character you hated but grew to love
Day Four: A female character you relate to
Day Five: Favorite female character on a male-driven show
Day Six: Favorite female-driven show
Day Seven: A female character that needs more screen time
Day Eight: Favorite female character in a comedy show
Day Nine: Favorite female character in a drama show
Day Ten: Favorite female character in a scifi/supernatural show
Day Eleven: Favorite female character in a children’s show
Day Twelve: Favorite female character in a movie
Day Thirteen: Favorite female character in a book
Day Fourteen: Favorite older female character
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc
Day Sixteen: Favorite mother character
Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Thre: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you'd like!
Even before I started doing this meme, this was one of the few questions where the answer was simple and indisputable to me. Peggy's growth over the series is nothing short of amazing, but at the same time executed in the subtle and understated way everything happens in this show.
More importantly, as much character growth as she undergoes over the course of the series, her core personality remains unchanged. She might grow in assertiveness and somewhat temper her social awkwardness, but at heart she'll always remain an odd duck, and continue to speak volumes with her silences.
A lot of discussion about Mad Men is about the sexism of the era, but I find Peggy's journey to be one of the most feminist stories I've ever seen on TV. It's not that she moves from the secretarial pool to essentially being Don's lieutenant in creative-it's how she does it. She's a chameleon, trying on continuously evolving roles until she finds one that fits, and even her attempts at following the sexist rules of the time feel ephemeral and original rather than depressing, because it's just a temporary disguise. Unlike Joan, Peggy doesn't try to win at an inherently rigged sexist game-she's rewriting the rules.
Her personnal evolution is just as compelling as her professional one. The major stuff (Pete, the baby, her family) is riveting too, but I'm personally in love with the little moments. She goes on a date with a gay guy and gets a makeover, she beats the pervy colleague at his own sexual harassment game, she's Peggy Olson, and she wants to smoke marijuana. And my absolutely favourite relationship on the show, no contest, is Peggy and Don. While I can't help myself in slightly shipping them, their dynamic is not about that. She's both his reflection in some ways while absolutely surpassing him in others, and in the end, they know each other in a deeper way than any two people on the show.
Day One: Favorite lead female character
Day Two: Favorite supporting female character
Day Three: A female character you hated but grew to love
Day Four: A female character you relate to
Day Five: Favorite female character on a male-driven show
Day Six: Favorite female-driven show
Day Seven: A female character that needs more screen time
Day Eight: Favorite female character in a comedy show
Day Nine: Favorite female character in a drama show
Day Ten: Favorite female character in a scifi/supernatural show
Day Eleven: Favorite female character in a children’s show
Day Twelve: Favorite female character in a movie
Day Thirteen: Favorite female character in a book
Day Fourteen: Favorite older female character
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc
Day Sixteen: Favorite mother character
Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Thre: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you'd like!
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It's amazing seeing such a grown up woman on TV who's still young and fun.
That's a good point. Peggy may be seriously driven and give the appearance of uptightness, but some of the funnest moments in the show is her dipping the pool into new ways of subverting society's expectations of women. Plus, she provides a window into the era's youth culture.
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no subject
I can't say how Don will affect your enjoyment though. I've always loved Don, even though he is a *terrible* person, though that's kind of the point.