He Man

America : tight ship, brylcreamed within an inch of its total conformist life. One Nation - now under God! - Indivisible. Selling to the masses was easy - easy peasy - the masses were as one. Y'all do realize that season one of Mad Men started in the Eisenhower administration , right ? As perfect as tv life in America ever got - until you flipped that log over.

In scatter shot post post everything 2007 this world seemed like a tonic to all our ills. No cell phones, no middle east, no global warming - just good old fashion values with funny funny sexism and racism  - with FANTASTIC clothes. We were all happy, and Don Draper was living the life.


Mad Men: The Carousel from ray3c on Vimeo.

Matthew Weiner is a puppet master. Nostalgia - the 2007 version for that America that we know never existed - but was played so well in our minds. Tonight we can sit and be nostalgic for 2007 - or 1960 , but it is all just smoke and mirrors. THE SIXTIES happened  and Matthew , tied that horrible little decade with a nice bow and handed it to us, also capping some of the very best television to ever be produced.

SPOILERS - so so many SPOILERS 

SO! I was wrong about how the show would end - It was not enough for Our Miss Peggy to own the tight choking corridors of McCann Erickson - no, she needed a man, and it was not enough for Joan to have a good man - no, she needed a career . Pete and Trudy stepped up into their golden coach on the way west and Betty, well she is still dying. 

I thought these silver platters were just a bit to fan fiction - punking us not once but twice with the DON IS DEAD and the Charles Manson much talked about themes here on the internet. The Girl Power Set went def con 9 when the chance of the Joan and Peggy show was tossed out - only to have Peggy wise up to the coming delights of our corporate overlords. I did not need this - BUT I now a lot of folks did so Brava for them for delivering. As close to a perfect ending as we could ask for . 

And then there is Don / Dick who ever - and again Puppet Master Weiner owned me tonight - I was fine with all the happy endings. It made perfect sense in the scope of the show for Stan to finally tell Peggy the truth. Perfect sense for Rodger to make little Kevin Harris RICH RICH RICH when he hits 18/21 ( which would have been...1985 ) A little too fairy godmother for Ken to come down from Dow on high and give Joan this job - but let art flow.

Don was making no sense what so ever. Wandering for the sake of wandering ending up in the MOST un buttoned down, most un grey flanneled place on the planet : some horrible " lets talk about your feelings" hippy retreat in Big Sur, and as far as I can tell he was there as Dick Whitman. Sally told him about Betsy, there is a sort of good bye, but he is told not to come home.

 Ever how many years of running catches up with him - Dick / Don , and he has a full melt down after a phone call to Peggy ( who unlike his family tells him TO come home ). At his lowest point the man who is not there met a kindred soul - Mr Cellophane - and together they find a life line. " I hear You , I see YOU "- men hug, the 60's are over , men can hug. Fad to Don, in lotus and full Ohmed. 

My comment online was that he had died on the road and was in hell - but look closer : he is wearing a white button down shirt amongst the tie die. He is wearing his armor - yes, he is trapped with these folks, but not as Dick Whitman anymore, he is the full Don Draper - and just as he created that backward looking Kodak ad in 1960's he blows up that entire universe with this one:

This is the complete opposite of nostalgia , Which EVERYONE over 30 had in 1970 - we were ( just as they say now ) going to hell in a hand basket. The uppity blacks , the women's libbers THE GAYS! for crying out loud. Dons Carousel world is gone - these are children of the world , every color and creed staring into the rising sun - Don Draper buried the all white happy suburban 60's for good.

Don Draper sat on that hill in Big Sur - WORKING!

I have to admit for the first few minutes I did not get it, at all, it had to sink in. Obviously I knew about the ad , writing about it here as soon as any mention of McCann Erickson in 1970 was mentioned, but as it sunk in - as I figued out that of course he went back - the ad proves it. Back to the world of Man Men and ruled them all.

I am going to miss this show.