|
| quote: | Originally posted by elektrikal
I think it works to the shows advantage the writers are confined to the fcc limits for basic cable. Given the early 60s was such a repressed society, both sexually and in conforming to family/societal expectations, where everything was about modesty, being polite, prim, proper, and making the right impression on others, not allowing the characters to swear in the series or show nudity kinda keeps in line with those themes.
Often the downfall, in my opinion, in a lot of media, whether it be movies, shows, songs, is being overly explicit and not giving the audience any credit for being able to draw conclusions on their own or fill in gaps. Instead of having characters scream obscenities, having Betty Draper sit in her cocktail dress alone in the bedroom is a much more powerful image (this was after the dinner party for those who have seen season 2).
Instead of seeing Joan Holloway (so much woman) nude, its more poignant to see her rubbing her shoulder where her bullet bra strap dug into her skin all day, upholding society's expectation of her to be a living barbie doll. |
actually, the fcc has no power to regulate cable television; the only reason that shows censor themselves is to prevent from alienating viewers and thus losing advertisers. there are some fairly powerful american groups that exist for no purpose other than attacking tv they think is naughty, like the parents television council
i do agree with your point, though, that mad men does a lot with the limitations of basic cable. mad men manages to have some of the most consistently sexy scenes i've seen on television (the gay scene between sal and that bellhop a couple weeks ago? holy shit) without having to show you everything. that's a mark of good storytelling and i wish more programming would follow that example
|
