10211: Matthew Weiner On U.S. History.

Vulture published a short interview with AMC series Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, probing his thoughts on the integration of secretary Dawn Chambers and the Civil Rights Era. Weiner displayed his cluelessness on a couple of levels. “I feel like the expectation that introducing a black character means you have to tell the civil rights struggle is in a way racist,” Weiner said. Um, are viewers really expecting Mad Men to spotlight the civil rights movement? If the program remains true to its cultural accuracy, the staff at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce will not even notice the revolution. Audience members would probably be fine if Weiner simply developed a minority character versus having them serve as token props. Hell, Weiner’s talent-challenged son gets more screen time than Draper’s administrative assistant. “All I can say is, it’s early. We have 26 episodes left. I don’t feel like in the history of the United States that 1966 was the year of civil rights; it’s early,” Weiner added. Um, Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus—as well as the Montgomery Bus Boycott—took place in 1955. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed, “I Have a Dream” in 1963, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965. And MLK was shot in 1968. Sure, 1966 might not be “the year of civil rights,” but it’s certainly within the general timeframe.

Why Mad Men Hasn’t Dealt Much With Civil Rights

By Kyle Buchanan

If you were expecting Mad Men to devote more time to the civil rights movement after the salvo of season-opening episodes that introduced black secretary Dawn (played by Teyonnah Paris), creator Matt Weiner would like you to keep those assumptions in check. “I feel like the expectation that introducing a black character means you have to tell the civil rights struggle is in a way racist,” Weiner tells the Los Angeles Times. “I use her character the same way I use all the characters on the show. She is there. I’m sorry if people were disappointed. Do I regret there wasn’t more of it? Yeah. All I can say is, it’s early. We have 26 episodes left. I don’t feel like in the history of the United States that 1966 was the year of civil rights; it’s early.”

As for all that talk about the anachronistically high divorce rate on Mad Men? Well, there’s at least one married couple Weiner says he doesn’t plan on breaking up: Don and his recent bride, Megan. “People should assume like Don does that he will be married to this woman for the rest of his life,” says Weiner. “This is not one in a series of marriages for Don. This is the good marriage after the bad one. Of course, he’s part of his time, though. Can he really deal with an independent person?”