Studiously Uncool (9)

One thing you read over and over again in commentaries about Mad Men is how good it is at getting the details right. It isn't particularly good at it.

But, how good are the critics saying this at getting details right. Consider two examples.

Here is Julia Turner from Slate:

I'm dying to find out what became of isolated, pregnant Betty, whether Joan is still engaged to the loutish doctor who raped her (I'm betting yes), and what (if anything) Pete did with that shotgun he was left holding after Peggy spurned him in last season's finale.

 The "shotgun" in questions was a rifle. A bolt action .22. It's a boy's gun—that Pete bought it tells us a lot about him.

And here is Jessica Winter:

And when she strolls onto her lawn one weekday afternoon with a rifle—clad in nightgown and shades, cigarette dangling from her lip—and starts shooting at her neighbor's pigeons, she looks like she's just walked out of an A.M. Homes story.

 This "rifle" is a BB gun. It's a toy. A toy that has to be used carefully (much like a bicycle or a chemistry set) but a toy nevertheless.

This says a lot about the culture that produced these critics. It also explains a lot about why the world of Mad Men is so appealing.

If you are joining me here, this series starts here.

The next post in the series is here.