My Real Hero

From last week’s post about well-dressed men (or rather, men who dress like slobs), I don’t want anyone to think that Don Draper is any kind of hero to me, other than as it pertains to his clothes.

My real hero in the Mad Men series would have to be Roger Sterling, he of the peerless quips and observations, and serial seducer and womaniser, a sublime mixture of sophistication and dissolution. How could you not be in awe of a man who says things like: “I like redheads; their mouths are like a drop of strawberry jam in a glass of milk” and  “Have another [drink]. It’s 9:30, for God’s sake.”

I never wish that I could be another man; but if I did, it would be Roger: utterly charming, cynical and right, every time. And even when he knows he’s about to make a catastrophic mistake (e.g. marry a much-younger woman), he just shrugs and does it anyway, fully aware of the consequences.

“Have a drink. It’ll make me look younger.”

Every single woman I’ve ever spoken to about Roger Sterling thinks he’s an utter bastard. And every single one of them admitted they’d probably let him have his way with them anyway. We mere mortals can only aspire to such greatness.

And for those Readers who wanted to see Joan Holloway, here ya go:

And Roger’s comment: “Has anyone even seen this baby, with you walking next to him?”

 

2 comments

  1. I have seen the entire series three time now and I am still amazed at how well they captured the mood and ethics as time passes from the late 50’s up to the early 70’s. Being 72 this year I can remember when we were not politically correct and we could fire someone without going through human resources which was personnel at the time. The period details were excellent.

    Having said all of that I agree about the character of Roger being a favorite with his dry sense of self humor and his own sense of ethics. The Don character was darker and more driven when he made stupid decisions and I appreciated the period portrayal of most all of the women including the hairstyles and dress.

    So yes, I would take Roger Sterling for a co-worker and drinking buddy over Don Draper any day and Roger also hated Japs and Commies.

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