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Day Fifteen: Female Character Meme
Mar. 21st, 2011 11:18 pmDay 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.
( Days 1-30 )
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.
( Days 1-30 )