“The Other Woman” shouldn’t work. It’s so obviously constructed to be a “message” episode, and the message is far from subtle: No matter what we try to do to make them equal, men are always going to turn women into objects on some level, because that’s just how men perceive them. One of the most fascinating things about this season is how it occasionally seems like fan fiction Matt Weiner is writing about his own writers’ room. Don’s remove from his employees, his attempts to brow beat the other creatives into the perfect pitch, and a host of other plot points all come almost directly out of life in the Hollywood grind, only they’ve been perfectly adapted to another workplace. Well, here’s another one, and if you don’t buy my thesis, check out this blog post by former Angel writer Mere Smith. The male gaze is all-pervasive, and women are degraded by it in steps. Joan is literally prostituted, but that’s just the most direct version of what the casting agents want Megan to do when she comes in to audition.
- dave 5-29-2012 4:34 am [add a comment]