Mad Men series 3 starts on BBC 4 tonight and the papers and blogs have been all a flutter about it. Over at the Guardian they asked various media types, like Mariella Frostrup and Rory Sutherland, the vice-chair of Ogilvy, to decide which character they most relate to or aspire to be like. Check out the full list here.
I've always loved Betty. And it’s not just for her outfits. While pretty much all the girls who work on the show are beautiful, I find Betty the most attractive. I also find her the easiest to identify with, which might mark me as out a crazy person but really it’s true. I know a lot of people single Peggy out as somebody that they feel they could connect with, but she is way too controlled for me. Yes, we know she lost that control in one huge breakdown but the fact that she is able to compartmentalise her life so much is pretty alienating to me. Joan was too much of a simpering man-eater in series 1 for me to really engage with but I did think that her series 2 was much more interesting and her relationship with the doctor looks set to be nicely complicated. But, yes, back to Betty. Betty is the one I can imagine having afternoon drinking sessions with. Betty is the one I could go the beauty parlour with. And Betty has an innocence that is completely refreshing in a show crammed full of liars. OK so she treats her son badly and slept with a stranger in a bar and shot at some birds for no reason - the list goes on - but it’s all born out of a complex naivety that I think would be pretty easy to carry around if you’d married a cheating, lying (and incredibly handsome) man like Don Draper, while still in your early twenties. Basically I think we should be friends; I'm really jealous of Francine. And I know I said it wasn’t all about the outfits but, wow, they’re great. LE
Posts
3 comments:
I don't watch Mad Men, but I do love Januray Jones....there's this lovely airy quality about her, where she never seems to focus her whole attention on anything and you get the feeling she's thinking of something wonderful at the same time!
That's the exact same quality that she brings to the role of Betty. There is this interesting vagueness but you know that underneath that there is a whole lot of other stuff going on. You really need to start watching it. Lx.
I always have the feeling that Betty is more complex under the innocent and naive surface. It is as if she didn't have a chance to fully develop due to her marriage. And the scene with her shooting at the birds is my favourite. I mean the poor birds diddn't deserve it but the tells a lot about her. She is all calm and nice at home, and then she goes and takes revange for upsetting her children. Priceless!
Post a Comment