Mad Men? Really?

You know, when I hear white people talk about how much they LOVE the show Mad Men, I get it, I really do. What's not to love about that show from their perspective? It's based in the 1950's when you could smoke indoors, run a business without the fear of being sued for sexual harassment or discrimination, and where Black people are relegated to butlers, maids, shoe shine boys and the like.

That's why I can't help but scratch my head and look at Black people like they've just grown two heads when they tell me they too LOVE that show. I have gotten into some seriously deep discussions about that show and it's exclusions of Black people and Game of Thrones and theirs. I have heard crap like, "Well GOT has just one Black character and he's a pirate," which is true, can't argue that particular point. The point I CAN argue however is that GOT is fantasy, based in no kind of reality that we know of whereas Mad Men IS based in a reality that we are all to well aware of.

People have a hard time understanding why I don't like that show and I have an even harder time trying to understand why they can't understand that. Why would I be a fan of a show that is based in a time when all Black people were really was the help staff? They counter that with, "but it's so well written and with you being a writer and all, I would just imagine that it would pull you in". Now I know white folk are a fascinating bunch, some of the things white people do leaves me speechless and in awe, but what could make me want to watch a show about an advertising agency run by white men who smoke, drink hard liquor at lunch, and cheat on their wives with their secretaries? I don't see the appeal.

I tell my Mad Men fan friends to keep on watching that show and if something drastic changes in the cast to let me know. Meanwhile, I'll keep on being entertained by GOT and the wonderful writing of a fantasy show with dragons, king slayers, castle intrigue, and brutal violence. Honestly, I think I'm getting the better of the deal.