Matthew Yglesias and Ta-Nehisi Coates are 2 of several people I've seen recently wonder why Mad Men hasn't spent any time marveling that it's characters are living in the middle of the Civil Rights era. I don't know why they'd expect an office of supposedly machiavellan, would cut Grandma's throat for the bottom line, upper class Northeastern white guys to really pay attention to the plight of black people; particularly when they're still at such an early part of the decade. I think it's a lot more realistic to show that Pete Campbell has more interest in finding out what kind of tv a black person may buy than whether or not that person can use a white restroom in public. He's not Brandon Walsh, he isn't interested in ending racism in 44 minutes.
More so, people live their lives to a daily grind that does not often give them the time nor historical perspective to stand around saying "boy, can you believe we're in the middle of the Civil rights Era!?? Awesome!" I don't know if a tree alone in a forest makes a sound, but I do know that it's probably only vaguely aware that he's in a forest.
My grandma kept a journal of every day of her life, and I distinctly remember seeing that her December 7, 1941 entry spending more time listing what she had for breakfast than mentioning Pearl Harbor. There's a reason it's called "history," not "hey, right now!"
So relax!
2 comments:
"He's not Brandon Walsh, he isn't interested in ending racism in 44 minutes."
Kudos.
(tears welling up with joy)
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