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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1664 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 24, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I got into a bit of an argument with a socialist feminist once. My position was that actually even if the President sucks, now is still the best time to be alive. She countered no it has always been great for men. Take Mad Men for instance. Don Draper was rich and got to fuck around and be drunk all day.

I was so shocked by this I couldn't even retort. Like the show leaves some people with the impression that the median male existence in the 60s was a Manhattan advertising executive's hedonistic life and not closer to all of the little people he steps on. (To say nothing of the fact that he was drafted to fight in Korea and ... I'll save the spoilers)

Additional random anecdote: an old girlfriend who was actually in the ad industry had a Mad Men themed birthday party at her place in Brooklyn, while it was still airing. That definitely brought out people's frisky sides.

More reminiscing: I remember that scene with the presentation of the carousel slide projector being pretty epic. Like some of the most mesmerizing TV ever.

Anyway, uh, it's a great show. The breadth and depth of the appeal makes it a legend. Though, I never did see it through to the end. Is it worth it?

I was so shocked by this I couldn't even retort. Like the show leaves some people with the impression that the median male existence in the 60s was a Manhattan advertising executive's hedonistic life and not closer to all of the little people he steps on. (To say nothing of the fact that he was drafted to fight in Korea and ... I'll save the spoilers)

I always thought the introduction of Don's brother in the first season was the showrunners trying to remind us that being an average white man in America in the 60s meant being extremely poor, because the country was (by modern standards) extremely poor.

It kind of reminds me of when some young guys think about polygamy, imagining that having a bunch of wives and concubines would be great. Ignoring the fact that if 50% of the men have two wives, then 50% of the men have none.

Yes it's worth going to the end. It's not as legendary of a finale as, say, The Wire. But it's a hell of a lot better than the sopranos.

I rewatch mad men every couple years, it's that good.

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