Memo to Tanner Colby: You were dead wrong.
In Colby’s painfully overwritten perspective, the author opined, “And if Mad Men’s schedule stays on the course it’s been following, it’s a safe bet that the season now beginning will finally bring us to the point when black consumers stand up and refuse to sit at the back of the advertising bus.”
AMC series Mad Men failed to realize Colby’s predictions—plus, the program almost moved backwards in its erasure of Blacks. The final episode made the point quite succinctly via secretary Dawn Chambers.
First, a client nastily referred to Don Draper’s administrative assistant as “Black coffee” during a meeting. Draper and his associates said nothing. Then again, directing racist insults at a coworker is no big deal for guys who willingly paid Joan Holloway to prostitute herself for a new account.
Later, Dawn greeted Don in the morning, taking his hat and coat before delivering a fresh pail of ice to his office. Don offered no friendly hello or any type of acknowledgement whatsoever. The woman did not exist on a human level—she was merely a prop.
Sorry, Mr. Colby, but you lost the safe bet. AMC series Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner is clueless about non-White culture and characters.
As previously noted, Mad Men reflected Madison Avenue in its handling of race this season. That is, when literally forced to deal with diversity, a token gesture was made, commitment to change was momentarily feigned and the entire matter was quietly dropped. But did Weiner deliberately infuse such keen insight into the plotline? No way.
Like his lead creative director figure, Weiner is nothing more than a clever hack.
Are you really that surprised? I'm not. Matthew Weiner has a history of being unwilling to face the issue of civil rights head on. The series is now at 1967 and he still refuses to do so. Dawn Chambers has become another Carla - a black token.
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