MovieChat Forums > Mad Men (2007) Discussion > Roger's black face episode -

Roger's black face episode -


I love this show! Still not fully recovered since its end.

In the current climate, I hope that no one decides to tamper with or delete the episode where Roger wears black face. Putting this in the context of that era, this sort of thing was not frowned up. Most people present are either entertained or remain silent. Don Draper is disgusted by it and wants to leave.

We have already been shown that Roger is a racist, he is typical of the white male who enjoys his privilege. His outburst at the Japanese executives and his comments when Don hires a black receptionist reveal his attitude towards diversity and tolerance. He is not a forward thinker.

reply

Just read about the Golden Girls ep, and then started thinking about My Old Kentucky Home...as you stated, some in the crowd were amused or stayed silent...but it’s important to point out that two characters had memorable and interesting reactions: Pete, who looked disturbed and a bit disgusted; and Don, who might’ve been bothered (or not) by the racial component but thought it was ridiculous nonetheless, probably due to his grievances and indignation toward Sterling at that point in their relationship ....still, a great ep in season 3...

I’m with ya, merk, love this show and miss it...and then Netflix just recently dropped it...then Audience network, which showed it daily, just went dark...time to complete my collection and purchase the remaining seasons, I own 1-5

reply

Is there any word on where Mad Men is suppose to end up or are the producers or owners of Mad Men intend to make it a premium property from here on out?

reply

I was disappointed when the Netflix deal expired, but Weiner and his producers know what they have, a valuable property that was critically acclaimed with a devoted audience, so essentially, it’s going to the highest bidder....and what behemoth that can afford such a price tag fits that profile?:

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2020-07-02/mad-men-free-amazon-prime-video/

I had a feeling this would happen, and I have my issues with Amazon, but it’s just business, at least from their standpoint...I have seasons 1-5 on DVD so it’s time to complete my set and forgo that streaming option, unless of course I decide to purchase said DVDs from Amazon over another retailer...we shall see...

reply

Blu-ray is a big step up from DVD. The show looks brilliant in high definition.

reply

I hope they don't pull it either because that would be a cop out to the show's brilliance in capturing a moment in American history after World War 2 where powerful elites did what they did.

reply

All white people are racist.

reply

Mostly heterosexual white males. White females can play a victim card, so they're okay.

reply

"a racist, he is typical of the white male who enjoys his privilege"

Granting the existence of "privilege" just for the sake of argument, if he has it, why wouldn't he enjoy it? Is he obligated to be miserable because he's white? He may be a racist for other reasons, but not because he enjoys his life.

reply

I am surprised that:

a) They wrote that into the script
b) It got filmed
c) It stayed in the show
d) and into syndication

The left doesn't give a crap that "in the context of that era, this sort of thing was not frowned upon.

Look at how Columbus, the founders, slave-owners, etc. are looked upon today. Liberals don't care about "the context of the era". They choose to apply today's values, laws and standards against events from hundreds of years ago. It's total B.S..

Sad to say, but slavery was acceptable in the South. Keep in mind it was pre-Industrial Revolution.

And going back further, the Indians didn't just invite Europeans into the tee-pee for Peace Pipe; they fought and were ridiculously outnumbered and out-weaponed. It was a lawless, immoral, cruel, dog-eat-dog world back then. Deal with it. We don't have to be proud of our history, but don't go judging it with today's values and laws.

reply

As the new privileged people maybe we should forgive old sins of their time. who knows what we would have done back then ?

And by the way Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau did 2-3 black face and got reelected by the very same diversity and tolerance. And he did that in the '90s so I think I could forgive Roger in the '60s.

And what's wrong exactly with a "black face" ?

reply

And what's wrong exactly with a "black face" ?

Not much, seeing as it is only in the past very few years - and notably after this Mad Men episode - that the masses have been instructed to be super-upset about black-face. And they take the instruction to task, as they expand the definition to encompass any instance of a white person changing his appearance by the application of darker make-up as "black-face" - even though black-face was a very specific caricature.

reply

"he is typical of the white male who enjoys his privilege"

Nothing else you say can be taken seriously.

reply

That episode is still available to watch, unedited, on Amazon Prime. However there isa big warning and explanation message at the start about it.

I hope they don’t delete the whole episode because it has so many other great moments: Don makes an Old Fashioned 🥃 and meets Conrad Hilton, Joan sings with her accordian, and Pete and his wife do a roaring Charlston.

reply