The Hobo Code
Dropping his Gs
Roger Sterling makes no appearance in this episode but the ghost of something he said last episode does. When Don claimed that he swam in a quarry growing up, Roger spots it as a lie right away and says the way Don drops his Gs, he figured Don grew up on a farm.
And here we see it clearly, when Don stands up and says,
I think one of the best things about Don Draper—one of the reasons we admire the guy—is the way he uses his own past. He has no interest at all in authenticity. He knows where he comes from and he remade himself. The stylish ideal we see here is the result of a series of choices he made to make himself a new man.
And not just him. Despite all the excitement about the superficial details of style, the really important style of this era was that of millions of people who left rural farms and moved to cities and adopted polished, sophisticated attitudes. Don Draper exemplifies this perfectly. The things many people seem to think make him weak are his strengths.
One of them is the way he has gotten rid of his past, moved on from it. But he has not forgotten it. He uses it in his private exploration of the world but doesn't talk about it in it the way Cosgrove, Campbell and Kinsey do. And they all lie about their pasts. Don Draper's big "lie" is that he conceals his.
In any case, he sells Peggy's concept to Belle Jolie. That's another interesting detail about the guy. He rarely starts things. Freddy Rumsen spotted Peggy's intelligence and ability first. Don steps up when it was in danger of being rejected.
Babylon revisited
"We're going to get high and listen to Miles."
That, as Don says, is the "plan" Midge and her pals have. It's also the excuse to get a flashback going. A stoned Don can have visions.
The flashbacks have gotten a lot of abuse in various commentaries on the 'net. I can see that to a point. But only to a point. Outside of the clothes and the décor, nothing on this show is accurate. What we are watching is a series of competing impressions of the past. On that level, the flashback to the Hobo who visited the farm during the depression when Don was a kid is a great one.
In the first flashback, triggered by a stoned Do looking in the mirror, we find out that he does come from Christian upbringing. Dutch reformed? My first guess was Scotch-Irish a few episodes ago but these people talk like Dutch Reformed and they believe in predestination. Don's adoptive mother also calls him "Dick Whitman" and not merely "Dick" underlining his being adopted at every opportunity.
But Christian she is and she will show kindness to the hobo whether she feels it or not.
We cut back to Midge's apartment long enough to see that the police have arrived in front of the building. Midge speculates, it turns out correctly, that they are there to deal with a domestic abuse case.
Image does matter
The transition to the next flashback is brilliant. Done picks up a Polaroid camera there and takes a picture of Midge and Roy. It's a beautifully subtle touch that is this show at its best for, despite being very modern technology for the time, the Polaroid recalls the classic Crown Graphic and Speed Graphic press cameras and thus bridges us back to the 1930s (or at least to the 1930s we think we know about).
And then we get some of the best stuff in the whole series.
Little Dick Whitman is not won over immediately, although there is a crucial moment coming. He studies and thinks just like I did at that age. I almost said "just like we all do at that age" but maybe you didn't. I don't know. I identify with this character.
Then we get the Hobo code of the title explained to Dick who is now being made an honorary. This is meant to contrast with the opening in which Bert tells Don that he is a member of the John Galt fraternity. But he isn't Don is no unsentimental objectivist. He is a sentimental man if there ever was one.
And then we get a silly little argument about being bourgeois. Don, at one memorable moment says, "Make something of yourself." It's perfect because the irony works on so many levels. He did, after all, make something of himself. A lot of men and women of his generation did.
And then the proof. Don leaves.
He gives Midge one last chance to go with him to Paris. She, holding the picture that shows that she is in love with Roy (image and images matters, there is truth in them), refuses. Don signs over his bonus check.
Roy tells him ge can't leave because there are police out front.
Do turn says says, "You can't"
But he can because he is somebody. He is what he has made himself. (This will come back BTW.)
And they should have stopped there. Instead we get a stupid moment when Don rushes to his sons's bed and acts like a bad Paul Simon song. But honesty isn't fundamentally about what you reveal or conceal. It's about what you do. What you do today you will become tomorrow.
And we finish with little Dick seeing the sign that marks his father as a dishonest man. And he watches the hobo walk away—wearing a fedora just like what Don Draper will affect in case me miss the point.
If you are joining me here, this series starts here.
The next post in the series is here.
Dropping his Gs
Roger Sterling makes no appearance in this episode but the ghost of something he said last episode does. When Don claimed that he swam in a quarry growing up, Roger spots it as a lie right away and says the way Don drops his Gs, he figured Don grew up on a farm.
And here we see it clearly, when Don stands up and says,
Listen, I'm not here to tell you about Jesus. You already know about Jesus. He either lives in your heart or he doesn't.The reactions of the others, particularly Cosgrove, to this are perfect. This isn't some crap fake authenticity about tapping Maple trees, this is real hardscrabble Protestant heritage coming to the surface here and it sets us up for the coming flashback.
I think one of the best things about Don Draper—one of the reasons we admire the guy—is the way he uses his own past. He has no interest at all in authenticity. He knows where he comes from and he remade himself. The stylish ideal we see here is the result of a series of choices he made to make himself a new man.
And not just him. Despite all the excitement about the superficial details of style, the really important style of this era was that of millions of people who left rural farms and moved to cities and adopted polished, sophisticated attitudes. Don Draper exemplifies this perfectly. The things many people seem to think make him weak are his strengths.
One of them is the way he has gotten rid of his past, moved on from it. But he has not forgotten it. He uses it in his private exploration of the world but doesn't talk about it in it the way Cosgrove, Campbell and Kinsey do. And they all lie about their pasts. Don Draper's big "lie" is that he conceals his.
In any case, he sells Peggy's concept to Belle Jolie. That's another interesting detail about the guy. He rarely starts things. Freddy Rumsen spotted Peggy's intelligence and ability first. Don steps up when it was in danger of being rejected.
Babylon revisited
"We're going to get high and listen to Miles."
That, as Don says, is the "plan" Midge and her pals have. It's also the excuse to get a flashback going. A stoned Don can have visions.
The flashbacks have gotten a lot of abuse in various commentaries on the 'net. I can see that to a point. But only to a point. Outside of the clothes and the décor, nothing on this show is accurate. What we are watching is a series of competing impressions of the past. On that level, the flashback to the Hobo who visited the farm during the depression when Don was a kid is a great one.
In the first flashback, triggered by a stoned Do looking in the mirror, we find out that he does come from Christian upbringing. Dutch reformed? My first guess was Scotch-Irish a few episodes ago but these people talk like Dutch Reformed and they believe in predestination. Don's adoptive mother also calls him "Dick Whitman" and not merely "Dick" underlining his being adopted at every opportunity.
But Christian she is and she will show kindness to the hobo whether she feels it or not.
We cut back to Midge's apartment long enough to see that the police have arrived in front of the building. Midge speculates, it turns out correctly, that they are there to deal with a domestic abuse case.
Image does matter
The transition to the next flashback is brilliant. Done picks up a Polaroid camera there and takes a picture of Midge and Roy. It's a beautifully subtle touch that is this show at its best for, despite being very modern technology for the time, the Polaroid recalls the classic Crown Graphic and Speed Graphic press cameras and thus bridges us back to the 1930s (or at least to the 1930s we think we know about).
And then we get some of the best stuff in the whole series.
Hobo: Thank you, Smoke?I won't go on but we can see the Don Draper beginning to form in young Dick's mind here. The hobo is well mannered and intelligent. He also is not forthcoming about his past. He knows better and merely responds to others.
Dick: No.
Hobo: Oh, he speaks.
Dick: I'm supposed to tell you to say your prayers.
Hobo: Praying won't help you from this place kid. Best keep your mind on your mother. She'll probably look after you.
Dick: She ain't my momma.
Hobo: We all wish we were from some place else. Believe me.
Dick: Ain't ya heard? I'm a whore child.
Hobo: No. I hadn't heard anything about that.
Dick: You don't talk like a bum.
Hobo: I'm not. I'm a gentleman of the rails. For me every day is brand new. Every day is a brand new place, people, what have you.
Dick: So, you've got no home. That's sad.
Hobo: What's at home. I had a family once. Wife, job, mortgage. I couldn't sleep at night tied to all those things. Then death came to find me?
Dick: Did you see him?
Hobo: Only every night. So one morning I freed myself with the clothes on my back. Goodbye! Now I sleep like a stone.
Little Dick Whitman is not won over immediately, although there is a crucial moment coming. He studies and thinks just like I did at that age. I almost said "just like we all do at that age" but maybe you didn't. I don't know. I identify with this character.
Then we get the Hobo code of the title explained to Dick who is now being made an honorary. This is meant to contrast with the opening in which Bert tells Don that he is a member of the John Galt fraternity. But he isn't Don is no unsentimental objectivist. He is a sentimental man if there ever was one.
And then we get a silly little argument about being bourgeois. Don, at one memorable moment says, "Make something of yourself." It's perfect because the irony works on so many levels. He did, after all, make something of himself. A lot of men and women of his generation did.
And then the proof. Don leaves.
Roy says: You make the lie. You invent want.Yup. Absolutely right. We can choose to believe in God or not (I do) but if you believe in a system or some sort of pantheistic world where nature has value in it, you are a scientific illiterate.
Don replies: I hate to break it to you but there is no lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.
He gives Midge one last chance to go with him to Paris. She, holding the picture that shows that she is in love with Roy (image and images matters, there is truth in them), refuses. Don signs over his bonus check.
Roy tells him ge can't leave because there are police out front.
Do turn says says, "You can't"
But he can because he is somebody. He is what he has made himself. (This will come back BTW.)
And they should have stopped there. Instead we get a stupid moment when Don rushes to his sons's bed and acts like a bad Paul Simon song. But honesty isn't fundamentally about what you reveal or conceal. It's about what you do. What you do today you will become tomorrow.
And we finish with little Dick seeing the sign that marks his father as a dishonest man. And he watches the hobo walk away—wearing a fedora just like what Don Draper will affect in case me miss the point.
If you are joining me here, this series starts here.
The next post in the series is here.
I see nothing admirable about stealing another man's identity in order to make a new life and be a new person. That's just pathetic to me.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the best things about Don Draper—one of the reasons we admire the guy—is the way he uses his own past. He has no interest at all in authenticity. He knows where he comes from and he remade himself. The stylish ideal we see here is the result of a series of choices he made to make himself a new man.
ReplyDeleteI see nothing admirable about stealing someone else's identity in order to make a new life and a new person.